If and when to cut

I have been incubating our eggs at 89-90 degrees and we are at day 53. I keep reading stories about snakes that died in their egg from either no egg tooth or a twisted umbilical. I was wondering if or when I should cut our eggs.
There was one day for a couple of hours the temps went down to 82 degrees due to a power outage, but I have candled them since and everyone is moving.
This would be my first clutch to cut. Thanks for any advice 😀

Please move to breeding section, my tapatalk app always does this. It puts it in the wrong group 😡

How do the eggs look in terms of dimpling?

I wait until the first pip, at day 53 you should be fine if you choose to cut. Just be careful :)

They are dimpled a little, but still look plump. I had press n seal on the tub and humidity was very high

I would wait till the first one pips. That way you can be relatively certain the rest are close to hatching.

If you do cut before that then you need to read up on taking care of the eggs once you make them vulnerable.

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Originally Posted by dr del

I would wait till the first one pips. That way you can be relatively certain the rest are close to hatching.

If you do cut before that then you need to read up on taking care of the eggs once you make them vulnerable.

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Of course, if you let the babies pip and emerge by themselves, you are not making the babies vulnerable.

IMO, no egg tooth and a twisted umbilical are rationalizations for simple impatience. Ball pythons have been hatching without assistance for millions of years. I see no overriding reason to cut the shell.

I agree with PaulH. BPs evolved over millions of years to attain the characteristics for successful breeding. Something like an egg tooth not anatomically developing is a VERY rare mutation as it obviously would kill the neonate in nature. Ive found that more harm is done by an inexperienced breeder that makes early or faulty cuts. I know its hard when you just want to see the hatchlings, but be patient and let nature play out. Its much better at this than you are :)

I just read on one of my Facebook pages that someone just lost a pied hatching due to a twisted umbilical cord.....so it does happen. As much as I want to see what's inside, I'm just worried that they might die. Thank you for the replies.

It's up to you. Some say wait, others cut on day 52. Personally I TRY to hold out and let them hatch on their own, but I never do. I have cut from day 52 up to day 61 and never had a problem.

I hardest part is after you cut them.....I always want to look at them!

i personnally wait the first pipper or cut day 58 , my temperature of incubation is 31,5 Celsius

I'll admit it. I'm impatient and almost always cut around day 52 or 53.

When cutting, I wait until the majority of a clutch has pipped, then make a tiny slit in the eggs of the stragglers as a 'just in case' kinda thing. That way, if something goes wrong, they have an air supply, and I can play it by ear from there. Breaching the shell has to potential to be serious. Usually it's not and everything is fine, but every once in a while, something icky gets in. Not gonna lie, when curious, I candle with an older style flashlight. Depending on what you're working with, you can totally identify what morph a late-term BP fetus is through the shell. It seems like I've started making out pattern ~Day 35ish. (Please note that candling is as unnatural as cutting and will stress babies.)

Last year I didn't cut at all and was happy I didn't --- it seemed more rewarding somehow to watch everybody pip on their own.

As a side note, it's seemed so far that the babies that pip on their own are quicker to feed over-all than the babies whose eggs I've cut.

Ugh, day 56 and still nothing. I have been expecting pips all weekend but nothing has happened. I incubated at 89-90 the whole time, I expected them to pip already.

Were you checking the temps with a gun as well to see that it is 89 to 90 as the thermostat reads? If so it should be anytime now.

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Originally Posted by rlditmars

Were you checking the temps with a gun as well to see that it is 89 to 90 as the thermostat reads? If so it should be anytime now.

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Yes, I have 2 thermometers and a temp gun......the wait is torture. I'm anxious to see who the father was

I agree with Paul, there is no reason to cut. Of course I'll also admit to a great deal of impatience myself. If I DO cut I wait until the 1st one has pipped, though I also admit that I'm doing it for myself not for the sake of the snakes.