Cut eggs or not

[IrishBalls]

Unfortunate timing but I've had a serious hospital appointment pushed forward to tomorrow due to a cancellation.

I had planned on cutting the eggs on day 52 which is this Monday.

I wont get out of hospital until Thursday, all going according to plan. That will be day 56.

Question is should I cut a small flap in them in the morning to reduce the chance of drowning. Or is this too soon.

They look pretty deflated and not to far from naturally pipping. I've a smart thermometer and on for the most part they've been incubating at 90f.

[rlditmars]

Do not cut. Let them pip on their own. They may just be pipping by the time you're back anyways and then you can cut any that haven't. Remember, in the wild these animals do it all on their own and have for millions of years. They'll be fine. Wishing you a speedy recovery yourself.

[Bogertophis]

I have not raised BPs, but I have hatched plenty of other kinds of snake eggs. I am definitely not in favor of cutting eggs. All the best with your hospital stay as well as the eggs. Que sera sera...

[IrishBalls]

Thank you for replying. I understand where your coming from and respect your advice. some people totally disagree with cutting and others do anyway.

Id be in the cutting anyway camp ( out of curiosity and saving possible snakes that wouldn't make it in the wild, this ain't the wild)

Would be great to hear from someone who does cut their clutches. What they think?

[Bogertophis]

...Would be great to hear from someone who does cut their clutches. What they think?

I think we know what response you're looking for -just can't help you there, sorry. Off-hand I don't remember which members do that or have in the past, I just know that some have. Doesn't always turn out so well either, so maybe they don't always return to boast about it?

[Spicey]

The people I know who cut, only cut after they've had a couple of pips.

[Bogertophis]

The people I know who cut, only cut after they've had a couple of pips.

Yes, I can recall some posting about doing it that way also- that's not as bad as just cutting them all before any have come out. I've cut only a few eggs ever...but that was only after the rest of the clutch came out normally & there was one or 2 left. They were deformed & expired.

[IrishBalls]

As far as I know Deborah cuts and I belive her reason she she gave was because she can.

I reference Deborah again as she is one of the most regular users of the website.

[IrishBalls]

Yes, I can recall some posting about doing it that way also- that's not as bad as just cutting them all before any have come out. I've cut only a few eggs ever...but that was only after the rest of the clutch came out normally & there was one or 2 left. They were deformed & expired.

This is what I'm worried about . That one pips tomorrow and before I get home one or more has drowned. Or does the time frame seem to short for that to happen?

[Bogertophis]

This is what I'm worried about . That one pips tomorrow and before I get home one or more has drowned. Or does the time frame seem to short for that to happen?

I think you're looking at this the wrong way. Whether or not it's obvious to you, the ones that don't make it usually had issues that were good reasons why they shouldn't have.

For example, snakes have an "egg tooth" to slit the egg, but let's say they have a genetic defect that did away with the egg tooth. If you save them & breed them, you're guaranteeing that more won't be viable because they'll pass that defect along to others, thus you might churn out a few more snakes to sell (-I'm assuming that is your goal?) but in the long run, you're hurting their health & ability to survive when they pass on their defects. That's in direct opposition to "only the strong survive" as natural selection achieves. There are all sorts of potential defects, some not genetic but due to temperature fluctuations or other interference- but most eggs that don't hatch failed for a "good" reason. Sometimes those defects are visible & obvious, sometimes not, like with internal defects.