How Early Can you Cut Eggs

[lord jackel]

Hey Gang...Figured this question is fairly advanced. Simply put how early can you cut an egg and what do you need to watch out for?

Reason: I have a clutch of eggs at day 46 they have started to get moldy and green (just started in the last 2 days not sure why they waited so long). However, they still have veins(though they are getting fewer everyday). I have seen movement in the eggs and it started me thinking at what point could I cut them to check for live animals (so I could remove any truly dead eggs) and/or to help a snake that might end up dying in the egg.

Nothing "special" expected form the eggs but I would still like to save as many of the babies as possible.

[gncz73]

i have cut eggs at day 48 for the same reason just try not to cut the veins that early. but they should be fine if the eggs just started to mold

[frankykeno]

Sean, we cut at day 52. However with one clutch I somehow miscounted my days and cut at day 45. I can tell you I was totally freaked, ended up on the phone with Kara, Tim and Robin completely sure I'd gone and killed the hatchlings with my stupidity.

Said hatchlings are sitting in their hatchling boxes as I type this. Just fine, eating me out of house and home and perfectly healthy. Granted they all sat in those eggs that extra 7 days and didn't start coming out till day 53 but they all did quite fine being cut 7 days earlier than I'd planned.

P.S. I know have the cut date written on each hatching box so I never miscount again. Thanks for that suggestion Tim!

[lord jackel]

i have cut eggs at day 48 for the same reason just try not to cut the veins that early. but they should be fine if the eggs just started to mold

Sean, we cut at day 52. However with one clutch I somehow miscounted my days and cut at day 45. I can tell you I was totally freaked, ended up on the phone with Kara, Tim and Robin completely sure I'd gone and killed the hatchlings with my stupidity.

Said hatchlings are sitting in their hatchling boxes as I type this. Just fine, eating me out of house and home and perfectly healthy. Granted they all sat in those eggs that extra 7 days and didn't start coming out till day 53 but they all did quite fine being cut 7 days earlier than I'd planned.

P.S. I know have the cut date written on each hatching box so I never miscount again. Thanks for that suggestion Tim!

OK..I am off to go cut and try and save some kids...wish me luck. I will post pics of the "adventure" shortly.

[lord jackel]

They were all dead I am very disappointed especially once I opened up the eggs to look at the babies...perhaps I was wrong in saying they were nothing special.

This first pic shows the eggs right before I cut them...the center egg had died a couple weeks ago but was attached so I didn't remove it...all the other eggs were white 2 days ago.


This is what I pulled out...a full stripe (on all the babies)!!



Dad was a imported Yellow Belly and mom was a normal CH from 3 years ago...though I always thought she was something special. No stripes on either of them.

Pic of Mom (could she be a spectre (sp?) - I think they are ones that throw stripes when bred to YB)??? When I got her she was as bright as a Lemon Pastel but after laying browned out like a Grazy Pastel...she is neither as far as I know.

[blackcrystal22]

They were all dead I am very disappointed especially once I opened up the eggs to look at the babies...perhaps I was wrong in saying they were nothing special.

This first pic shows the eggs right before I cut them...the center egg had died a couple weeks ago but was attached so I didn't remove it...all the other eggs were white 2 days ago.


This is what I pulled out...a full stripe (on all the babies)!!



Dad was a imported Yellow Belly and mom was a normal CH from 3 years ago...though I always thought she was something special. No stripes on either of them.

Pic of Mom (could she be a spectre (sp?) - I think they are ones that throw stripes when bred to YB)??? When I got her she was as bright as a Lemon Pastel but after laying browned out like a Grazy Pastel...she is neither as far as I know.

I'm sorry to hear that man. It's never good to have anything like that happen. Good luck on your next try though, maybe you'll get some real special stripes. :]

[gncz73]

sorry to hear about your bad luck. they would have been hot babies too. better luck next year or with your next clutch

[lord jackel]

I'm sorry to hear that man. It's never good to have anything like that happen. Good luck on your next try though, maybe you'll get some real special stripes. :]

sorry to hear about your bad luck. they would have been hot babies too. better luck next year or with your next clutch

Thanks...I will definitely be trying again next season with this pairing...now I want to know what mom is or is carrying.

Anyone got any ideas what it might be?

[muddoc]

Sean,
did that clutch have any extremes while incubating(i.e. too wet, too hot, too cold)? I ask that becasue extremes in incubation or "egg stress" have been known to create extreme looking snakes that aren't truly genetic(I believe that is what happened to the Halo clutch that Cue had a couple years ago). Judging from the developement of those snakes, I would say that they died at around day 32 - 34. Were the eggs slightly firm at all when you cut them? I ask that also, to estimate when the eggs went bad.

I am not implying that you not try the breeding again next year, because there may be something going on with the female, but I always like to try and figure out exactly what is going on, especially with eggs.

[muddoc]

Also, I meant to answer your original question, even though I know you already cut them. About 3 weeks after I talked to Jo, and let her know it would be ok, I cut a clutch at day 45, because my calculations were incorrect. Boy did I learn to listen to my own advice on that one. At any rate, they are all eating there 3rd meal this week, and we didn't lose a single one.