Vote for BP.Net for the 2013 Forum of the Year! Click here for more info.

» Site Navigation

» Home
 > FAQ

» Online Users: 2,920

3 members and 2,917 guests
Most users ever online was 6,337, 01-24-2020 at 04:30 AM.

» Today's Birthdays

None

» Stats

Members: 75,031
Threads: 248,489
Posts: 2,568,441
Top Poster: JLC (31,651)
Welcome to our newest member, isismomma
  • 05-14-2021, 01:50 PM
    Butterfly
    Has that umbilical chord a normal size?
    Hi all,
    i am not new to keeping Ball Pythons but i never bred them before. So i am not experienced with this and that.
    I have a clutch with three eggs. After the first one piping out on day 63 i cut the other two. One of them pipe out after that, too.
    the last one is alive cause he is moving but it didnt come out jet, so i take a closer look. I noticed that it has a quite thick umbilical chord on the Belly and i realy dont know if it is normal. I m familiar with the umbilical chords from Boas when they born, they are maybe 2 mm in diameter. But this is massive for me!
    Or is it normal looking like this, when they absorb the yolk before they leave the egg?
    I m affraid that it is become a hard belly. Or am i worrying for nothing and this is total normal looking? Please help!

    Oh i forgot to mention that the liquid in this egg looks a little "milky" too. The other two eggs liquid was a little clearer, in my opinion!


    Thank you and Greetings from Germany!

    https://ball-pythons.net/forums/cach...pR/MG-9503.jpg

    I edited this Image:
    https://ball-pythons.net/forums/cach...503-edited.jpg
  • 05-14-2021, 04:07 PM
    Lord Sorril
    Re: Has that umbilical chord a normal size?
    I can't see anything in the photo other than what appears to be too much fluid/yolk for that stage in the development process (possibly due to a lethal failure to develop).
    The only concern I would have for the umbilicus in this case would be that it was damaged while the egg was cut.
    Failure of ball python egg viability in the final stages of development is common.
    I would patch the egg up and continue to incubate until the snake hatches, or the egg dies.
  • 05-14-2021, 05:58 PM
    Ascended
    Re: Has that umbilical chord a normal size?
    Don't know much about hard belly, never had it.
    I have had a couple of snakes in the distant past where the umbilical did not detach right away after hatching though, so the snake had a long umbilical hanging off after hatching.
    If that happened i just kept it moist, so it would not be puled off prematurely by the dry substrate, and in time it shriveled up and dropped off.
  • 05-15-2021, 06:50 AM
    Butterfly
    Thank you for your replies.
    Meantimes he look out the egg and is breathing.
    The second one that yesterday came out of the egg have past away last night. It’s sad! He has 50 gram. I wonder why. Yesterday evening I get him out of the incubator, washed the vermiculite off, and put him in his Box. Today morning he’s dead.
    The first one looks very strong, she has 60 gram.

    How long do you let them in the Incubator after they hatched? Should I have wait a little longer maybe?

    oh btw the Incubator is a self made one. A styrobox with an Aquarium Heater in water. The Humidity must be very high, cause non of them eggs dinkle . They look very round til the end. Maybe is this why there is too much Liquid in the egg for this stage?
    I already hatch some Lampropeltis with this incubator with no problems at all. But for regius the next time I buy a Incubator.
  • 05-15-2021, 08:27 AM
    Lord Sorril
    Re: Has that umbilical chord a normal size?
    Quote:

    Originally Posted by Butterfly View Post
    The second one that yesterday came out of the egg have past away last night. It’s sad! He has 50 gram. I wonder why. Yesterday evening I get him out of the incubator, washed the vermiculite off, and put him in his Box. Today morning he’s dead. The first one looks very strong, she has 60 gram.

    I have not seen any of my hatchlings die so soon after successfully hatching. You say 'he' and 'she'. By chance did you pop these snakes? If so...could be the source of the issue.

    Quote:

    How long do you let them in the Incubator after they hatched?
    Depending on how many hatch: I will grab them at any time in the process from newly hatched to left in the incubator for a week. If I see a yolk sack stuck to the snake I will definitely leave it in until it falls off...
    Quote:

    oh btw the Incubator is a self made one. A styrobox with an Aquarium Heater in water. The Humidity must be very high, cause non of them eggs dinkle . They look very round til the end. Maybe is this why there is too much Liquid in the egg for this stage?
    Is your incubator using a proportional thermostat or an on/off one? I have found aquarium heaters to be inaccurate with balancing temps--I would not try to incubate using this method without a proportional thermostat and a highly insulated container in an area with perfectly stable temps.

    Also, the developing hatchling will absorb fluid as it grows. Having an egg at the end stage with a lot of fluid suggests it may have had trouble growing.
  • 05-15-2021, 10:00 AM
    Butterfly
    Re: Has that umbilical chord a normal size?
    Quote:

    Originally Posted by Lord Sorril View Post
    did you pop these snakes?

    No, i did not pop them. Sorry, i expressed myself wrong.


    Quote:

    Originally Posted by Lord Sorril View Post
    If I see a yolk sack stuck to the snake I will definitely leave it in until it falls off...

    The strange is that the strong one, the first one that hatched has left some yolk in the egg. But the one that died has left allmost nothin in the egg. it must have absorbed all.

    This is a Picture of the Yolk from the strong one:https://ball-pythons.net/forums/cach...FG/MG-9505.jpg

    Quote:

    Originally Posted by Lord Sorril View Post
    I have found aquarium heaters to be inaccurate with balancing temps--I would not try to incubate using this method without a proportional thermostat and a highly insulated container in an area with perfectly stable temps.

    Yeah you right. The Temperature ist not very stable. It fluctuates around one degree Celsius. But extreme Heatspikes dont occur, as far as i know of. I also checked it with a Heatgun. The next time i definetly use a external Thermostat and a non-water method!
  • 05-15-2021, 10:58 AM
    Bogertophis
    Re: Has that umbilical chord a normal size?
    Quote:

    Originally Posted by Butterfly View Post
    Thank you for your replies.
    Meantimes he look out the egg and is breathing.
    The second one that yesterday came out of the egg have past away last night. It’s sad! He has 50 gram. I wonder why. Yesterday evening I get him out of the incubator, washed the vermiculite off, and put him in his Box. Today morning he’s dead.
    The first one looks very strong, she has 60 gram...

    Sorry for your loss. Personally, I'm not a fan of cutting eggs; I know many do that, but in nature, no one does, & snakes that "need help" coming out may have internal abnormalities that you cannot see, but which affects their survival just the same. Even if they do survive, do you really want to pass on these traits to future generations of snakes if & when these grow up & happen to reproduce? I wish that everyone who is breeding snakes would consider the big picture, not just immediate rewards. :snake:
  • 05-15-2021, 04:26 PM
    Ascended
    Re: Has that umbilical chord a normal size?
    Quote:

    Originally Posted by Bogertophis View Post
    Sorry for your loss. Personally, I'm not a fan of cutting eggs; I know many do that, but in nature... :snake:

    I AGREE. Mostly.
    I would only cut if the others have slit naturally a good few days ago, then only because the egg tooth may have fallen off or not be good enough.
  • 05-16-2021, 11:55 AM
    Butterfly
    Re: Has that umbilical chord a normal size?
    A small update.

    Although it only weighs 50 grams, it apears to be a strong animal. It seems to have completely absorbed the yolk, there was nothing left in the egg. I supose that the thick umbilical chord is normal when they begin to absorb the yolk?

    Btw can you help me please? Do you think this is a Firefly, Superfly or a Pastel/Superpastel-Butter? The pairing was Butterfly x Champagne-Pastel het Piebald.
    https://ball-pythons.net/forums/cach...M2/MG-9710.jpg


    https://ball-pythons.net/forums/cach...fD/MG-9714.jpg



    This was the 2nd one that died. I asume that it is a Superpastel? Because of the pattern?
    https://ball-pythons.net/forums/cach...5b/MG-9509.jpg

    And this is the one that hatched at first, a pretty normal with obvious het pied Marker (or maybe a Fire? Do they look darker in the beginning?
    https://ball-pythons.net/forums/cach...5k/MG-9701.jpg


    https://ball-pythons.net/forums/cach...wv/MG-9705.jpg
  • 05-16-2021, 08:21 PM
    Butterfly
    Re: Has that umbilical chord a normal size?
    I can not edit my Post. Just wanted to add this Image.

    https://ball-pythons.net/forums/cach...ZY/MG-9719.jpg
Powered by vBadvanced CMPS v4.2.1