egg hatch times.... cutting... ect.

[West Coast Jungle]

I have left them in the incubator for several days after leaving eggs. As far as yolk goes if they have a yolk sac still attached then you can leave them in incubator untill they absorb it or put them on a damp paper towel in hatchling tub. Most that leave the egg on there own have already aborbed the sac. When you check the bellies you will either see a slit where sac was or the sac still attached.

[dracovolans]

Raul: Muchas Gracias!!

[West Coast Jungle]

Raul: Muchas Gracias!!

De Nada

[med]

sorry to hijack, but does the egg shrinking play a role in cutting , for example a egg that is 55 days in the bator just begin to shink or has not started yet would it be to early to cut? Thanks

[JimNAZ]

Great questions and good advice! (Thank you)

Are there "Proper Cutting Techniques" posted anywhere? First time breeder here and not sure yet what I will do . . .

Thx

Jim

[wilomn]

As a graduate of the Chuck Norris School of Reptile Reproduction all my eggs are instructed when to hatch. Times, dates, sexes, all taken care of before hand.

If not, it's omlette time.

And having a life size poster of Chuck in full view of the incubator insures there are no miscreants hatched out.

[frankykeno]

I cut 'em on day 55 at 89f. I have seen eggs cut with razor blades that bled like crazy. Scary looking. All the babies were fine. It seems like nicking a vein is not really a big deal.
Cutting to early would be bad. Waiting till the first one pips, then cutting the rest is what quite a few people do.

I think nicking a vein is a big deal personally. Kara from NERD gave me the best advice to avoid that. Take the egg box into a dark room, candle each egg and make a light pencil mark where you see no or very tiny veins and no mass of the ready to hatch snake. Come back out into the light and pinch gently at that marked area to raise it up slightly. Make your cut there (starting small and expanding the cut as needed). Very gently express a small amount of the egg goop through that cut. Worked beautifully for us last year.

One of Mike's Q hasn't been responded and I'm very interested in the answer. When they start to pip and absorbing the last of the yolk, do you leave them in the incubator? How long dois it takes for them to absorb it?

I leave them in until they are all hatched out. Once they are, they get their bellies checked, a gentle wash up and then they got on damp paper towels in the 6 qt hatchling rack. I may just be lucky I guess but out of 18 hatchlings last year I didn't see any unabsorbed sacs. It's a small sampling though to be sure, so I'm certain at some point I'll get a hatchling with a visible sac. From what I've been told though I would just treat it the same way as any other hatchling and it will absorb the sac in the 6 qt on the damp paper towelling.

[Lucas339]

this is a great thread!!

Joanna, thanks for sharing your kara method! that is a really good idea!

[frankykeno]

You're welcome Lucas. Mike and I feel so blessed to have gotten through our first year with eggs with the wonderful support of both Kara from NERD and Tim and Monica Bailey from Bailey & Bailey Reptiles. It's a bit of a nerve wracking time no matter how much you think you're ready so it was just such a gift to know I could pick up the phone and get an immediate shot of wisdom from one of those good folks.

As busy as I'm sure they all were, they were always happy to calm my nerves (or listen to me freak out when I accidentally cut a clutch a week earlier than planned). Learned a lesson from that to - label your hatch boxes with the dates you want to do stuff like cut, then double count your weeks again to make sure you are bang on. It's fair to easy to get confused when you have clutches at various stages of development.

One other bit of advice I forgot from Kara. After the eggs are cut and during the time the hatchlings are still in the egg, gently and VERY lightly mist the eggs once or twice per day. This keeps the egg from drying out too quickly and makes it easier for the hatchling to exit from it's goopy home. I kept a small plastic plant mister bottle right in the incubator so the misting water was not cold to them.

[Mike Cavanaugh]

thanks for the replies! The wait is killing me. and my poor eggs are only a week old.