Nervous about 1st time hatching eggs and ?

After 57 days of incubation, one of my eggs had a head pop out yesterday afternoon. This is my first ever ball python clutch! I'm so excited and nervous! Last night the head retreated back into the egg. I figured the baby would be out of the egg sometime today. Tonight I came home after work but the snake was still in the egg with the head poking out at a different angle. How long does it take for babies to come out from the egg after poking their heads out? Anyways, father is an albino and mom is heterozygous. Three other eggs in the clutch but one egg is a dud. Hopefully I'll get one albino out of the remaining two good eggs. http://img716.imageshack.us/img716/7236/e2c0.jpg

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Originally Posted by KenW

After 57 days of incubation, one of my eggs had a head pop out yesterday afternoon. This is my first ever ball python clutch! I'm so excited and nervous! Last night the head retreated back into the egg. I figured the baby would be out of the egg sometime today. Tonight I came home after work but the snake was still in the egg with the head poking out at a different angle. How long does it take for babies to come out from the egg after poking their heads out? Anyways, father is an albino and mom is heterozygous. Three other eggs in the clutch but one egg is a dud. Hopefully I'll get one albino out of the remaining two good eggs.

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Takes anywhere from 10 minutes to a couple of days...if it's a normal it'll be out in minutes. If it's something crazy cool it'll take days to come out. Never fails. :)

Good luck on getting an albino!

Best of luck, Ken. They will come out when ready :)

Excited to see more pics in the morning !

Woke up this morning to find the little one has finally come out of the egg! Next question is when should the other two hatch out? Do they usually hatch out in quick succession after the first one? I've considered cutting the eggs a bit, but figured the risks probably outweigh the benefits for me at this time. Can't wait to come tonight and see what's happened. I'm planning to leave the het albino in the incubator until the others hatch out. That should be okay, right? Thanks in advance. Sincerely, "Nervous Nelly" Ken :) http://img96.imageshack.us/img96/6438/5ssr.jpg

Normally I cut my eggs after the first pip (not saying you should, to each his own) but afterwards I setup a hatching tub with moist paper towels and transfer the entire clutch (hatched and unhatched) over. Then place the tub back in the 'bator. I do this so the hatchlings don't have vermiculite or any rough surfaces coming into contact with their umbilicals.

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I would go ahead and cut the other two. Just small V shaped flaps. How do you know the other one is a dud? Is it pink on the inside when you candle it? If you can see veins and it is pink inside then this is your albino.
In your last pic it looks like I can make out three more good looking eggs. I may be wrong but fingers crossed that is your albino. Good Luck

If it does end up that the dud is the albino... it would be really awesome to call him DUDLEY! LOL...

That baby is super cute! Can't wait to see the rest! :banana::banana::banana:

Came home tonight to find two other heads poking out. I did end up cutting the egg that I thought would be a dud. A few days ago I shined a light on it and didn't feel or see anything. I assumed nothing had developed inside. I was wrong as I saw a brown and black body inside! Anyways, from this albino to het breeding, it looks like I will have 4 hets produced. The ball python odds gods were not in my favor this time. Maybe next time :) Thanks for the support and encouragement! http://img513.imageshack.us/img513/2184/xiy5.jpg

Stinks you did not hit the Albino but Congrats on hatching out your first clutch.

Congrats on the first clutch. Sorry about the odds. I am so looking forward to this myself.

It's only 4 eggs so the odds may have been poor, but it kind of brings into question the het mom. Did you produce her yourself?

Good point Mr. Lang. This morning I did consider the possibility that she may not be a het. I bought the pair years ago from a well-known and reputable breeder. I don't doubt they intended to sell me a male albino and female het. What is possible is that with a facility producing tons of babies, there's a chance a normal looking creature or het for another gene could have been accidentally misplaced or mislabeled. Accidents do happen. Anyways, I'll have to breed her next year with the albino and see what she produces. Yesterday I was disappointed that no albinos were produced but I am looking forward to raising these little ones up for some time.

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Originally Posted by KenW

Good point Mr. Lang. This morning I did consider the possibility that she may not be a het. I bought the pair years ago from a well-known and reputable breeder. I don't doubt they intended to sell me a male albino and female het. What is possible is that with a facility producing tons of babies, there's a chance a normal looking creature or het for another gene could have been accidentally misplaced or mislabeled. Accidents do happen. Anyways, I'll have to breed her next year with the albino and see what she produces. Yesterday I was disappointed that no albinos were produced but I am looking forward to raising these little ones up for some time.

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First of all, congrats on the clutch! My first clutch hatched about a week ago, so I know the high you are feeling!

Second, I would give the female two more seasons to try and prove out her het. If she doesn't prove out, I'd contact the breeder. Most offer a genetic guarantee and should honor it.

3 het albinos cleaned up and removed from the incubator. 1 still in the egg. Can't resist posting up 1 last pic for this thread. I like pics in these forums. Hope you do too :) http://img856.imageshack.us/img856/6852/fewe.jpg

First head poked out at day 57 and three hatchlings came out by day 60. I have one still in the egg. I cut it a few days ago to see how it was doing. It moves but hasn't come out yet. How long should it take to come out? Should I cut the egg more and assist the baby out? Any suggestions or tips would be appreciated. Thanks in advance.

If he's moving, give him another day or two. Just check for a twisted cord. If he doesn't have one, leave him be

Not sure what a twisted cord is or how to check for it. I guess I'll just wait a day or 2 and hope it works out. Perhaps I've been monkeying around too much with the eggs and I need Mother Nature to take care of things here.

************ WARNING: Graphic image to follow text***************** I don't know about this forum's protocols for sharing graphic images so I've tried to add this warning in case there's anybody squeamish. I've included a graphic image of the 4th snake in the clutch. The other day I asked about the fourth egg that hadn't hatched yet. The other 3 hatched and were doing fine. The fourth wasn't moving yesterday in the egg so I cut it open. The snake was dead. What I believe was a large unabsorbed yolk was attached. BHReptiles warned me about a twisted cord. I think that's what might have happened. I had to unroll the cord around the snake. The snake's body does look deformed. Perhaps this is rigor mortis after being dead in a cramped egg. Perhaps the snake's development in the egg was really messed up. I don't know. I am disappointed this snake didn't survive. It's probably Mother Nature's way of taking care of these things. Any ideas on why this happened or what I could have done to prevent something like this? http://img543.imageshack.us/img543/963/agpb.jpg

So sorry. :( Grats on the other babies though. Did you have any incubation problems, or temp fluctuations?

No, I don't think there were any major temp fluctuations. No power outages or anything like that. I have two other clutches in the incubator. Keeping my fingers crossed for those. It's my first breeding season so everything feels new to me.