what do you all like to do when your eggs pip question?

Ok I see so many different approaches so I figured it would be a good poll or post to have responses. So here it is when your first egg pips and you all cut the eggs in anticipation to see what you get how many of you just leave the babies in the tub with substrate? Or do you put them in a different tub in the incubator with damp paper towel bottom till babies come out of the egg?

Thanks,

Lance

So far I just leave them in with the substrate till they leave their eggs.
I think some people would like to reuse the incubation medium, so they try to get as little 'egg goop' in it as possible by moving the eggs soon as they are pipped.
My way around that is to just use very little substrate under the egg crate; just mostly water and maybe 1 1/2 inch of substrate to help stabalize and minimize sloshing.

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Originally Posted by lance

: what do you all like to do when your eggs pip ?

Thanks,

Lance

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I like to go spend some quality time with my loved ones,and wait til they are all out of the egg!

I wait till they're all out of thier eggs. Once they are, I put them into a fresh tub on wet paper towel, add a water dish and put them back into the incubator until they shed. Once shed, they go into the rack, in individual tubs. A week later I start feeding.

I move the eggs to a new tub with damp paper towels and keep it in the incubator till all are out of the eggs :).

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Originally Posted by grcforce327

I like to go spend some quality time with my loved ones,and wait til they are all out of the egg!

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I've not tried this method. Seems like a well thought out plan. I will have to give it a try this season. Just when you think you have this ball python breeding figured out you learn something new.

I incubate with vermiculite in a tub with no air holes and glad press n seal. Once the eggs are pipped, I remove the press n seal and replace the lid with one that has a few holes in it. I open the lid usually once a day to check on the babies and make sure there's enough fresh air. Once all the babies are out of the eggs, I remove them from the incubator and place them all in a single tub with wet paper towel and a water bowl in my hatchling rack. I spray this tub with water once a day to keep it wet. Once they all (or most) shed, I then separate them into their own tubs.

Last season I took them out of the vermiculite and placed them on wet paper towel after cutting the eggs. I noticed the egg shells got hard to the touch with this method. Possibly from the paper towels not releasing humidity as well as the vermiculite? With my current method, I don't see the eggs getting hard. It might not make a difference, but a hard shell might grab an umbilicus or otherwise make it difficult for a baby to get out of the egg.

I usually take them out daily as they come out of the egg and put them in a small container in the incubator until they shed(if I have room).
I also try and avoid getting the albumin on my hatchrite so I can reuse it(minus the part that gets egg goo all over it). I have reused the hatchrite for 4 seasons now without any issues.

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Originally Posted by jhaven

I usually take them out daily as they come out of the egg and put them in a small container in the incubator until they shed(if I have room).
I also try and avoid getting the albumin on my hatchrite so I can reuse it(minus the part that gets egg goo all over it). I have reused the hatchrite for 4 seasons now without any issues.

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Honestly, why reuse it?

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Originally Posted by Coleslaw007

Honestly, why reuse it?

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No great answer other than it looked fine. It was already set up in our egg containers, and now it is just habit and seems to work well for us.

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Originally Posted by jhaven

No great answer other than it looked fine. It was already set up in our egg containers, and now it is just habit and seems to work well for us.

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Idk, that would worry me but if it's working it's working lol.

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I couldn't remember where else I had seen it, but Kevin at NERD seems to reuse his hatch rite as well.
See video at around the 7-8 min mark.


http://www.maballs.net/#!page4/cfvg

You can rinse hatchrite.. No sense in continuously buying such expensive medium when you can dump it into a strainer or colander and use a sprayer on your sink or outdoor hose to rinse and flush it out very well..

Must be awful for those wild BPs laying eggs in filthy termite mounds and animal burrows.. No one cleans and disinfects them regularly for them. ;)

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Originally Posted by Foschi Exotic Serpents

You can rinse hatchrite.. No sense in continuously buying such expensive medium when you can dump it into a strainer or colander and use a sprayer on your sink or outdoor hose to rinse and flush it out very well..

Must be awful for those wild BPs laying eggs in filthy termite mounds and animal burrows.. No one cleans and disinfects them regularly for them. ;)

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I used to just toss it and buy new, but hey, if re-using it is good enough for the evilmorphgod, it's good enough for me...
:gj:

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Originally Posted by sho220

I used to just toss it and buy new, but hey, if re-using it is good enough for the evilmorphgod, it's good enough for me...
:gj:

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I use to also. At one time I had a bunch of bags stocked in a closet. When I realized that wasn't cost effective, I started washing it. Ill re use it a few times unless it gets a lot of goop in it. Rinsing it very well and spreading it out in an underbed tub to completely dry. Then I put it in my clean egg tubs, put the lid on, and re wet it next season.

I put mine in a new tub with damp paper towels. I mist them about every day, maybe every other day. Mine stay in the incubator together until they all shed.

First my real question:

For those of you who put the eggs on a light diffuser, I am currently worrying and wondering about the babies being out of the eggs in the tub with the light diffuser as it is somewhat sharp edged and produces lots of little spots that could pinch or poke. Am I overthinking this or do you do something else at the end to make sure the babies don't sit right on the plastic grate?



My comment on reusing substrate:

I realize in the wild things are 'dirty' but if you can control the amount of egg-eating bacteria that your new clutches get exposed to, why wouldn't you? A huge industrial sized bag of vermiculite is like 10 bucks. I'm not sure if hatch rite is anything but pre-soaked overpriced vermiculute/perlite mix, but once it has been used it kind of defeats the 'ready mixed' selling point of the substrate - the reason that it costs 5x as much as the raw ingredients. If you lose a single egg to mold you've already negated the financial benefits of reusing substrate. It just doesn't make much logical sense in my humble opinion.

I use light diffuser, and I move the eggs onto wet paper towels in another tub when the first one pips, so they don't snag anything on it as they emerge.

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Originally Posted by Annarose15

I use light diffuser, and I move the eggs onto wet paper towels in another tub when the first one pips, so they don't snag anything on it as they emerge.

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Surprised this is the first I've read that given how many 'omg the eggs are hatching' threads there are but I'm glad I asked.