egg advice

[RhacHead]

I have a clutch of 4 BP eggs that are currently on day 56.I cut the shelll. (but not the inner membrane) on day 52 then went out of town I came back today to find a whitish film inside the eggs which concerned me. So I have two questions
1.What is the whiite looking film?
2.On average on what day do the snakes pip/emerge from the egg?

[J.Vandegrift]

The film is the fluid in the egg starting to get nasty. I think it is the bacteria starting to build up. The day they emerge depends on what temp you incubated at.

[2kdime]

Could it be the eggs interiors starting to dry out?

[RhacHead]

I thought they could possibly by drying out so I sprayed them a little bit. I incubated at 88.5F and kind of figured they would be out any day.If it bacteria should I be concerned? What can I do?

[J.Vandegrift]

I don't know. Pics would help a lot. I usually squeeze a bit of fluid out if it starts getting nasty. I am sure they will be fine either way as long as you did not cut them way too early. What temp did you incubate at?

[RhacHead]

I incubated at 88.5 through the whole period with a possible fluctuation of +/- 1- 2 degrees and cut on day 52.I was thinking of getting some of the nasty looking fluid out and replacing with water but I wasn't sure if that was a good idea. I added a little water and bumped the incubation temp up to 90F to try and speed up the process since now I'm a little worried about a possible bacterial infection killing them off.I can take some pics tomorrow if that will help.Tomorrow is day 57 5o you think they are in danger of not hatching?I would hate to come this far only to lose them at the end.

[J.Vandegrift]

I think they will be fine. The fluid always gets a bit nasty after a few days. I wouldn't worry too much. Did you make a large cut into the eggs or just a slit?

[WingedWolfPsion]

The albumen (the clear slimy liquid) inside of the egg is where the animal's waste products go during development. When you cut the egg, of course bacteria will get in and start to go to work on it. This doesn't generally cause any harm. Rinse it, if it seems to be getting out of hand.

[mykee]

Incubating at 88 degrees may mean that your eggs may have pipped (on their own) around day 65 or so, so you may have cut almost two weeks too early. That said, there really isn't much you can do after the fact except wait and hope they're ok.
I know it's been said a million and a third times or so, but this is another perfect example of why not to cut early.
Hope everything works out in your favour.
Good luck.

[RhacHead]

http://s61.photobucket.com/albums/h7...00628-1027.jpg

Here's a photo I took on a blackberry not the best quality but it gives you a general idea what iut looks like.I didn't realize it was that early,though BP hatched on or before the 60 day mark.should I try and remove the milky fluid or just wait and see what happens?