Day 58

[muddoc]

I would not advise popping him out of the egg... do a search on "hardbelly" on the forum.

So not entirely sure to what degree you can remove them, but personally I would not do it. Again, that is just me.

You can tie the umbilicus off with dental floss, and then cut it (messy). You have to then sop up the blood before it gets mixed in the yolk and then scoop off the top layer of scum. (Qtips work great for quickly absorbing the blood).

Bruce gave some very insightful information. I quoted Bruce (not his whole post, but what I wanted to comment on).

As Bruce stated, the snake wrapped in the umbilicus definitely looks bad. Hopefully the snake is not dead yet, but it is a possibility. While Bruce does not recommend removing the snake from the egg, I would definitely recommend it, and here is why. It is important to remember that if the animal has not poked it's head up and begun breathing, then that means that it is receiving any oxygen from the blood vessels that are attached to it via the umbilicus. If the umbilicus is restricting blood flow to the animal, it could die, and hence why I stated that it may already be deceased. With that said, I would not tie off the umbilicus and cut it yet.

Here is what I would recommend, and what I personally would do. I believe step one is to remove the animal from the egg, so that it's head is in open air, and it can begin breathing. Once you see the tongue start flicking, it is breathing. I think that some hatchlings can stick there head out and begin breathing, but can then submerge it's head back into the fluid in the egg because it is still receiving oxygen via the blood vessels. After you see that it is breathing, then begin to try getting the umbilicus untangled. If you get it untangled, attempt to put the animal back in the egg. If that does not work, then put it in a very tight fitting container lined with very moist paper towels, and watch it's progress with absorbing yolk.

If you cannot get the umbilicus untangled, then tie off the umbilicus with dental floss, and cut it off between the tie and the yolk. This will keep the animal from losing too much blood. Back to Bruce's post. If you cut the umbilicus before the snake emerges from the egg, and it has not started breathing on it's own, it will surely die in the egg.

I hope that was helpful, and gives you a better chance of success in saving this baby. I wish I could give you a better description of how to untangle the umbilicus, but it is complicated, based on how the umbilicus is twisted, wrapped and/or tied around the animal. Let your eyes be the guide. It is just like trying to untie a knot in a rope. Please keep us informed on how everything went, and good luck with the "procedure".

Hope that helps,