Just HOW hardy are the eggs?

[4theSNAKElady]

I mean, just how much can a baby in an egg withstand, and still hatch? Temp fluctutaions, wrong temps, humidity too high or low, dimpling, mold, fungus, rolling, poking, proding, attached egg going bad, transporting, etc,. More specicifically, I'd like to hear others experiences with this. Some pics of any green, moldy, shriveled "raisin eggs" that actually hatched out a fine healthy baby would be extremely helpful.

[RichsBallPythons]

I mean, just how much can a baby in an egg withstand, and still hatch? Temp fluctutaions, wrong temps, humidity too high or low, dimpling, mold, fungus, rolling, poking, proding, attached egg going bad, transporting, etc,. More specicifically, I'd like to hear others experiences with this. Some pics of any green, moldy, shriveled "raisin eggs" that actually hatched out a fine healthy baby would be extremely helpful.

Pick one, Not all that happens to an egg during its period of incubation.

Temp fluctuations will happen in incubators that lose too much heat. But major fluctuations of temps and humidity can cause birth defects or the egg never makes it full term.

Most eggs will look like crap last week or so as they are collapsing getting ready for dday.


Only fluctuations in temp i get is when i open the bator to do air exchange and thats only 1-2 degrees.

[Freakie_frog]

I've had temp flux of 10 degrees or more. Lost power to the bator for two days. Found a mom this year that had laid sometime durning the week before I found her. I've clipped them on day 45 instead of day 55 by mistake. Had them roll around in the Egg box. Completly lose humidity. Had a clutch last year stay attached to an infertal egg, it went all black and fuzzy deflated and even started mold on the substrate, the attached eggs never had a problem.

Even with all of that the eggs hatched just fine..While they are sensitive we have to remember they are normaly hatched in the dirt of a termite mound, in the wilds of Africa so they can with stand more than I think most people are willing to risk.

[RichsBallPythons]

I've had temp flux of 10 degrees or more. Lost power to the bator for two days. Found a mom this year that had laid sometime durning the week before I found her. I've clipped them on day 45 instead of day 55 by mistake. Had them roll around in the Egg box. Completly lose humidity. Had a clutch last year stay attached to an infertal egg, it went all black and fuzzy deflated and even started mold on the substrate, the attached eggs never had a problem.

Even with all of that the eggs hatched just fine..While they are sensitive we have to remember they are normaly hatched in the dirt of a termite mound, in the wilds of Africa so they can with stand more than I think most people are willing to risk.

Many breeders start cutting BP eggs around day 45-50.

When i do i usually cover the hole with moist paper towel to help keep them from trying to come out to early

[PigsnPythons]

I had mine get up to a temperature of 95 degrees last year. I think it was for around a day, but they all hatched and were healthy.

[Dave Green]

I believe they are very hardy within reason. Just don't play egg toss in the snow...

Most problems occur from the eggs being too wet or a thermostat malfuntion.

[docturgonzo]

Brilliant question, one i was thinking of posting but was unsure how to word it. Looking forward to some good answers. We tend to try and play it as an excact science... no rotating, exact temperatures and exact humidity... nature is far from an exact science and im sure they go through hell in the wild sometimes. I have heard of people dropping eggs and them still hatching. People are experimenting now with rotating egss during incubation but i havent seen any results posted yet.

We tend to air on the side of caution to give ourselfs the best chances of healthy hatchlings... i guess if we have it in our power to provide ideal conditions its our duty to do so and not push the boundries too much and risk losing a clutch for the sake of experimenting.

[Python Dreams]

Eggs are pretty damn hardy!
I know someone that put a fresh laid clutch in a backpack, got on his motorcycle then rode 10-15 minutes to an incubator without any issues.
Ive heard of temps up to 100 where they incubate the ch in Africa. You can see in the videos of how they collect eggs, put them in a bag, and then continue hiking and looking for who knows how long... Probably a very bumpy ride.
I accidentally ripped a quarter sized hole in the top of an egg a couple weeks in. I just kept some moist moss over the hole and had no problems!

[Foschi Exotic Serpents]

Well I have 2 infertile eggs attached to good eggs and despite my best efforts to ward off the mold, they are finally covered in mold. Its the last 2 weeks and all the other eggs look perfect. I have another clutch with an egg that started to shrivle in the second week despite 100% humidity. It was a smaller egg and Im not sure what will come of it but there still seems to be a viable baby inside. I had temp fluctuations last year and badly collapsed eggs but babies made it. My new bator prevented those problems this year so the things that are happening to a couple eggs are just normal things that happen. Even in the best of conditions.

If you keep everything perfect and you still have some funky eggs that dont make it, well, they just werent meant to make it. Temp and humidity are the important things. You wuold be amazed at what these eggs can withstand.

[Dave Green]

I drove two clutches of eggs from NJ to AZ in an RV. I had no idea how bad an RV rattles and figured I'd lose the eggs. I regretted that I took them pretty quickly. I could only plug the incubator in at night and used heat packs during the day which kept the temps between 80 and 85. In addition, at one point the incubator slid and fell approx 1 foot. The eggs never flipped but they sure did take a beating. The trip took 5 days. All eggs made it and hatched.