Sad news... *Graphic warning*

Well, during the nightly egg check I noticed that the wee-little egg didn't look the same. There was a seeping that had just started around the window. I nudged it, and no movement from the baby. Being at 52 days, I grabbed the scissors and made a cut. Unforantly the baby had passed. I spoke with Cue, and he suggested that I examine the baby. After removing it from the egg and weighing it... it was very obvious that it was deformed. Thanks for the great advice Chris... I felt much better after knowing that it wasn't something that I did that made the tiny thing expire.

So I thought this would be interesting for everyone to see.... even if you've experienced it before.

Weighing 16 grams...
http://i25.photobucket.com/albums/c7...ding/001-5.jpg
http://i25.photobucket.com/albums/c7...ding/003-4.jpg
http://i25.photobucket.com/albums/c7...ding/006-4.jpg
http://i25.photobucket.com/albums/c7...ding/007-6.jpg
http://i25.photobucket.com/albums/c7...ding/008-5.jpg

Oh the poor thing.

Sorry for your loss.

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Originally Posted by kc261

Oh the poor thing.

Sorry for your loss.

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Thanks you... I'm really no as upset as I was before I knew that it was deformed... still sad, but I don't feel as responsible!

that sucks, im sorry for the loss. its not easy losing a snake no matter what it is.

how are the others? did that one not even finish absorbing its yoke or was it pulled away?

I'm sorry for that. He is in a better place.:hug:

awe that sucks. :hug:

thanks for posting pics.

as weird as it seems...I kinda am interested in stuff like that. When I lost my eggs last year I had to cut them open to see what was going on. I got totally sick to my tummy while I was doing it.. but I am glad I did.

How is the rest of the clutch?

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Originally Posted by NickMyers03

that sucks, im sorry for the loss. its not easy losing a snake no matter what it is.

how are the others? did that one not even finish absorbing its yoke or was it pulled away?

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Thanks Nick... The other three seem fine... :please: Right after noticing that the small one was dead, and making a cut... I went ahead and cut a small flap in the other three. Not sure if that was the smart thing to do? Now I'm worried about them.
I have a small part of the press n seal pulled away under the egg box lid for ventilation, and the humidity is aprox 60% now.

Is that enough humidity for the 53 day old eggs that I cut to hatch OK? I know the box should not be air tight because they are air breathing now... Any input is appreciated!

On the little egg, the yoke was not completely absorbed, I pulled it away when I removed it from the egg...

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Originally Posted by pythontricker

I'm sorry for that. He is in a better place.:hug:

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Thanks! :oops:

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Originally Posted by MeMe

awe that sucks. :hug:

thanks for posting pics.

as weird as it seems...I kinda am interested in stuff like that. When I lost my eggs last year I had to cut them open to see what was going on. I got totally sick to my tummy while I was doing it.. but I am glad I did.

How is the rest of the clutch?

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Yea... it was interesting.. I saw where and how the yoke attaches to the egg... like you, there is a gross factor, but the interest in the inside of an egg over rides the "Eeewwww" part!
Thanks Meme !

Sorry about that :( But it is comforting knowing that it is not your fault. I had something similar with my first clutch a few years back; the egg was not hatching, and the snake inside was tiny and deformed. But it is good that you know that this is not your fault and can move on after learning from it and sharing it with us.

Awww...Thanks Gin :) Yea, as sad as it was, I thought it was post worthy...

I'm sorry to see that, but it is all in learning that we do these things.

Good luck with the other eggs. :)

Sorry to hear about your loss Laura. However, I always look at it as a learning experience, and I think you did the right thing by cutting the egg, and learning what you could from the tragedy.

Awwww...poor little thing! :hug:

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Originally Posted by LadyOhh

I'm sorry to see that, but it is all in learning that we do these things.

Good luck with the other eggs. :)

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Originally Posted by muddoc

Sorry to hear about your loss Laura. However, I always look at it as a learning experience, and I think you did the right thing by cutting the egg, and learning what you could from the tragedy.

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Thanks Heather... thanks Tim!

It was just sad to see after it went 52 days...

As for the rest of the clutch... I cut them as well, and they are at 60% humidity because I vented slightly for air flow...
Is that an OK percentage for 53 day old eggs that have been cut?

Bummer...poor little guy. Well, it happens. May the ball python gods now shine upon you brightly!

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Originally Posted by JLC

Awwww...poor little thing! :hug:

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Yea, I was pretty excited at the thought of a 16g baby! :oops:

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Originally Posted by cassandra

Bummer...poor little guy. Well, it happens. May the ball python gods now shine upon you brightly!

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Let's hope so! Thanks Cassandra!

Aw Laura, that's sad. She had a cool pattern on her too...
Take away assignment of fault and the feeling is still the same- sadness. Poor little thing... :(

:gj: I am glad that the rest of the clutch looks good and kudos to Cue for helping out :banana:

That's too bad. :(
At least you didn't have to cull it. That would be really hard too.

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Originally Posted by starmom

Aw Laura, that's sad. She had a cool pattern on her too...
Take away assignment of fault and the feeling is still the same- sadness. Poor little thing... :(

:gj: I am glad that the rest of the clutch looks good and kudos to Cue for helping out :banana:

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Your right... even after the fact of it not being my fault... it's still sad... Cue is an awesome support to have! :D I also need to thank Tim Muddoc for help via PM! You guys are irreplaceable!

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Originally Posted by snakelady

That's too bad. :(
At least you didn't have to cull it. That would be really hard too.

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You know... that's an excellent point! That would have been MUCH worse.

I'm sorry... It's kind of a relief that nature takes care of some of those deformities on its own instead of leaving an animal to suffer.

So sorry... It happens to all of us and it always makes me very sad to find a dead baby in the egg.

Justin

Laura,

I'm sorry about the little guy, thanks for posting the picture. Its something I think about dealing with when I start breeding and I can't imagine it being easy. :hug:

Aww so sorry that happened :(

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Originally Posted by darkangel

I'm sorry... It's kind of a relief that nature takes care of some of those deformities on its own instead of leaving an animal to suffer.

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Originally Posted by jkobylka

So sorry... It happens to all of us and it always makes me very sad to find a dead baby in the egg.

Justin

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Originally Posted by Spaniard

Laura,

I'm sorry about the little guy, thanks for posting the picture. Its something I think about dealing with when I start breeding and I can't imagine it being easy. :hug:

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Originally Posted by joepythons

Aww so sorry that happened :(

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Thanks Amy, Justin, Rich, and Joe... for all the kind words and good points that you all made...

Aww :(

So sorry to hear that Lo :hug:

Such a sad story. :( But you're right to think of it as a learning experience. It was a hard thing to have to do but you'll be a wiser and stronger person because of it. I'm a believer that everything happens for a reason. Maybe the baby needed to go now because it would have had very bad problems later on in life. Thinking things like that always make me feel better because I don't feel that it was a senseless death/loss anymore. I also think that maybe now, you'll love the others in the clutch that tiny bit more, and appreciate them all the more as well. And that's a good thing in itself. ;)

I'm sorry to hear about your little one. I'm glad that you shared the experience with us. It's not only you that benefits from this lesson. :hug:

Thats actually pretty cool! (not the loss, but the fact that you can discover exactly how deformed it was)

He looked like a wicked pastel too!

Too bad that little one didn't make it... can't wait to see the healthy babies that come out real soon.

Thank you for sharing Laura, even though I'm saddened by the news :(

Can't wait to see the other three in all their healthy glory!

wow that sucks but like someone else said its a good learning experience and youll appreciate them all a little more now all in all a sad story

I'm really sorry to hear the little one didn't make it.

Our prior experiences with small "boob" eggs had a positive ending, so I hoped yours would also.

That's one of the drawbacks to doing what we do. You get your heart broken every now and then. Still it's worth it for all the joy they bring into our lives.

Best of luck with the others.

Sorry to hear that hopefully the other one will be ok, crossing my finger for you. :hug:

Awww Laura, was this your boob egg baby? I'm so sorry it didn't make it. I know the worry of having your first imperfect egg and I so wished it would turn out well for you. I know they often don't and even if they hatch are often smaller and sometimes don't even make it then. Even if we know all this, it doesn't stop the hurt of losing even one of these precious snakes though. Big hugs, dear. There's nothing you could have done except what you did...learn from it, share that information so others can learn and move forward.

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Originally Posted by daaangconcepts

Aww :(

So sorry to hear that Lo :hug:

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Originally Posted by Mindibun

Such a sad story. :( But you're right to think of it as a learning experience. It was a hard thing to have to do but you'll be a wiser and stronger person because of it. I'm a believer that everything happens for a reason. Maybe the baby needed to go now because it would have had very bad problems later on in life. Thinking things like that always make me feel better because I don't feel that it was a senseless death/loss anymore. I also think that maybe now, you'll love the others in the clutch that tiny bit more, and appreciate them all the more as well. And that's a good thing in itself. ;)

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Originally Posted by tigerlily

I'm sorry to hear about your little one. I'm glad that you shared the experience with us. It's not only you that benefits from this lesson. :hug:

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Originally Posted by Patrick Long

Thats actually pretty cool! (not the loss, but the fact that you can discover exactly how deformed it was)

He looked like a wicked pastel too!

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Originally Posted by Rapture

Too bad that little one didn't make it... can't wait to see the healthy babies that come out real soon.

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Originally Posted by rabernet

Thank you for sharing Laura, even though I'm saddened by the news :(

Can't wait to see the other three in all their healthy glory!

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Originally Posted by tideguyinva

wow that sucks but like someone else said its a good learning experience and youll appreciate them all a little more now all in all a sad story

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Originally Posted by Louis Kirkland

I'm really sorry to hear the little one didn't make it.

Our prior experiences with small "boob" eggs had a positive ending, so I hoped yours would also.

That's one of the drawbacks to doing what we do. You get your heart broken every now and then. Still it's worth it for all the joy they bring into our lives.

Best of luck with the others.

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Originally Posted by Deborah

Sorry to hear that hopefully the other one will be ok, crossing my finger for you. :hug:

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Originally Posted by frankykeno

Awww Laura, was this your boob egg baby? I'm so sorry it didn't make it. I know the worry of having your first imperfect egg and I so wished it would turn out well for you. I know they often don't and even if they hatch are often smaller and sometimes don't even make it then. Even if we know all this, it doesn't stop the hurt of losing even one of these precious snakes though. Big hugs, dear. There's nothing you could have done except what you did...learn from it, share that information so others can learn and move forward.

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Thank you everyone... Your kind words made a sad situation much easier to deal with.

You are all amazing, caring, people... and I'm so fortunate to be part of such a great community :grouphug:

I'll keep everyone posted on the remaining three!

Sorry she didn't make it. There will many more in store for you. You did everything right, nature has the last word.

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Originally Posted by West Coast Jungle

Sorry she didn't make it. There will many more in store for you. You did everything right, nature has the last word.

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Couldn't be said any better Raul! *Big HUGS*!!!

That's a bummer but thank you for taking the time to snap pictures for us, at least it's loss wasn't a total waste as we can always learn something from everything.

this post should be combined with her happier post i believe this little babies siblings were twins correct me if im wrong

cant believe i missed this one.

im really sorry to hear bout your loss. i read that things like this happen alot.:(

look on the bright side,hey atleast you got twins.;)

Sorry about the loss...Its s roller coaster ride for sure alot of ups and downs...good luck :please:

Kevin Stoltz

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Originally Posted by Entropy

That's a bummer but thank you for taking the time to snap pictures for us, at least it's loss wasn't a total waste as we can always learn something from everything.

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Thanks... As sad as it was, it was defentlly intresting... I'm glad Cue suggested that I remove it from the egg...:gj:

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Originally Posted by royal morphz

this post should be combined with her happier post i believe this little babies siblings were twins correct me if im wrong

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You right! I actually did a thread with all the sibs... including Thing 1 and Thing 2 :oops:http://www.ball-pythons.net/forums/s...ad.php?t=67639

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Originally Posted by munding

cant believe i missed this one.

im really sorry to hear bout your loss. i read that things like this happen alot.:(

look on the bright side,hey atleast you got twins.;)

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Thanks so much! I hope I filled my quota for the next few years... lol

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Originally Posted by KMS

Sorry about the loss...Its s roller coaster ride for sure alot of ups and downs...good luck :please:

Kevin Stoltz

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Thanks Kevin :) No joke!!!

very sorry for your loss :( how traumatic :(