I Guess I'm Officially The Newest Snake Breeder?

[Aedryan Methyus]

So, I made the decision to cut my very first clutch of eggs yesterday on my birthday. It was day 55 (at 89 degrees) and I thought it would be a really neat way to commemorate my first ever clutch... The pairing was Lesser x Mojave... My lesser girl laid 10 eggs on her very first time around! One of the eggs looked a little off right in the beginning and sadly, it went bad. Anyway, none of the 9 babies have emerged yet, but as far as I can tell, it looks like I have 4 BELs, but the one with the markings must have something special going on? 2 Mojaves? 2 Lessers? Only 1 normal??? If that really is the case, I would say I hit some pretty remarkable odds on my maiden voyage, yeah? lol Maybe the 10th could have been another BEL, though... Grrr! I should also mention, i'm a little concerned about lack of movement (that I can tell) with that upper-most BEL. Do you guys see the large veins on that one as well? What could be going on there?

While i'm at it, I guess I should get your guys' opinions on the next steps... Do you guys recommend letting them remain in the incubator for a couple of days once they have emerged before washing, sexing and then housing in super wet individual tubs until they shed? My concern with keeping them in the incubator once they have emerged is, will they get enough air? The egg box isn't air-tight and I have a layer of parchment paper between the lid and the tub. But, I don't have any holes in the tub...

More pics coming soon!

[rufretic]

Congrats!
Unfortunately I think you made a bad decision to cut this early, they may not be ready to emerge for another week so now you're going to have to hope they were ready or it's not going to be fun keeping them from drying out or the possibility of exposing them to infection or even just unnecessary stress. For future clutches it is highly recommended to wait until at least the first one pips on it's own and then it's still a risk but at least you know they are close to being ready. If you do cut next time, try not to expose them so much, you don't want to cut a big window but instead just a v shape flap so you can still check inside but it won't make them so exposed. Trust me, I understand the anticipation but something to consider for next time.

Other than that, looking real good! They look real good and healthy from what I can see and I think the odds Gods where with you. Very nice clutch! Good luck with the rest of the process, I hope you don't run into any issues but just be sure to keep an eye on them and don't let them dry out.

As for the after care, I like to keep them in the incubator until the first shed. Once they are all out of the eggs, I clean the egg tub and put wet paper towels on the bottom and then just put them all back in the incubator until they have their first shed. I think they would get enough air but I still open the tub daily and check on them. As each one sheds, I take it out and sex it and then give it it's own tub in my hatchling rack.

Once again, congrats and good luck!

[JodanOrNoDan]

If you got a lot of blood when you cut, you cut too early. Like ruf said, wait for the first to pip. Cutting early is not the end of the world however you run the chance of the liquid egg contents going bad. If this happens the snake needs to come out whether it is ready or not. If you run into this, PM me and I will explain what you need to do which is basically build an artificial egg that can house the animal in the incubator until the yolk sack is absorbed.

I always remove my animals once they are out of the egg. It is easier to keep track of who is who.

[Mirakuru]

Congrats!!!! I hope they all turn out, you got some beautiful sneak(snake) peeks

Please don't feel bad if you lose a baby or two, I don't know much about breeding but I'll cross my fingers!

[Aedryan Methyus]

If you got a lot of blood when you cut, you cut too early. Like ruf said, wait for the first to pip. Cutting early is not the end of the world however you run the chance of the liquid egg contents going bad. If this happens the snake needs to come out whether it is ready or not. If you run into this, PM me and I will explain what you need to do which is basically build an artificial egg that can house the animal in the incubator until the yolk sack is absorbed.

I always remove my animals once they are out of the egg. It is easier to keep track of who is who.

There wasn't any blood at all when I cut any of the eggs, so that's a good thing... Next time I will definitely wait to cut until the first egg has pipped and I won't cut such a large window. I thought cutting on day 55 seemed pretty reasonable, considering some of the big name guys like Justin Koblka cut on day 52... So, once yours have come out of the egg, you always move them right into their own baby tub, Jordan? I know I would feel a lot better knowing they are getting plenty of air, so that's what I would prefer to do if you guys think it would be alright...

I just peeked in on them and the one BEL I was concerned about wiggled around a lot when I touched it. So, i'm definitely happy about that!

[JodanOrNoDan]

Yeah, I put them in Sterilite shoe boxes that I built a rack for with a single hide (simple plastic container), water bowl, and paper that is kept damp until the first shed is complete. There is not any supplemental heat. The room is heated.

[rufretic]

There wasn't any blood at all when I cut any of the eggs, so that's a good thing... Next time I will definitely wait to cut until the first egg has pipped and I won't cut such a large window. I thought cutting on day 55 seemed pretty reasonable, considering some of the big name guys like Justin Koblka cut on day 52... So, once yours have come out of the egg, you always move them right into their own baby tub, Jordan? I know I would feel a lot better knowing they are getting plenty of air, so that's what I would prefer to do if you guys think it would be alright...

I just peeked in on them and the one BEL I was concerned about wiggled around a lot when I touched it. So, i'm definitely happy about that!

The thing is, everybody's setup is a little different and can yield different results. Justin has hatched 100s of clutches so he knows with certainty when his are ready. My clutches have actually all hatched early between day 51-55 and that was at 89. I lowered to 88 this year so we'll see. But then I know breeders who do 89 and theirs don't pip till after day 60. So until you hatch quite a few clutches and know exactly what is normal for your setup, you really don't know when they are going to be ready. Once one pips, then you know. Imo it's just better to be patient and safe rather than possibly do harm.

Just one other note of caution, I'm glad the one you were worried about is moving but keep in mind, you actually don't want them moving around in the egg, especially since you're not sure how far along they are and could very well still have an egg snack attached. That could definitely cause complications so I wouldn't go poking at them. Just take a peak a couple times through the day to check on them but for the most part you want to leave them alone. I understand how hard it is lol, but just try to be patient and they'll all come out when they're ready.

Make sure to post pictures once they are out, I can't wait to see them!

[Ax01]

congrats Aedryan! i can't wait to see them out. i think the white one w/ a lil pattern is either 1) a Lesser who's colors hasn't come in yet (cut too early) or 2) a Paradox! i'm crossing my fingers for a Paradox BEL.

alot of good advice already given. i was a 1st time breeder last year. i waited until the 1st pip, let the rest pip over the next few days and cut the V-shaped flap for the remainder. my 3rd clutch didn't pip until day 67. i kept the ones fully emerged from the egg them together by clutch on wet paper towels in a separate tub from the ones still in eggs in the incubator. i kept them there until they all shed then moved them to their own tubs in a hatchling rack. my egg tubs have a single hole covered w/ black tape that i can remove for a lil venting. my 1st shed tub has the regular amount of holes i use for my hatchling rack.

congrats again. you must be so excited!

[BrandonPythons]

Congratulations mate

[cincy]

So how are they doing? Any updates?