Egg cutting

[Dave Green]

I noticed in the past that clutches I didn't cut seem to have babies that fed better. This past season I held off on cutting and I had a much better feeding response from my babies. I had at least 75% start on frozen thawed. It's not scientific, nor do I know why, but I won't be cutting eggs this year...

[BHReptiles]

just asking, what is the purpose of the egg cutting? to see the babies and their potential morphs? or to make it easier for them to get out?

It's a little of both. Think of egg cutting like a prenatal ultrasound for humans - You want to see the sex of the baby, but most importantly, you want to be able to see if there are any defects on the baby. That's how I view it at least.

If i get a clutch this year i plan to cut once the first one pips. Not saying its the right thing to do, but its what im planning on doing.

This is what I will be doing! I would be too worried about cutting too soon, but I do plan on making a teeny slit once the first one pips.

[ericarditti]

gotcha, at first i thought there was more to it and that i was asking a dumb question, guess not. good luck with the little ones!

[Don]

If you do cut, don't do it early. There are tons of threads on this forum where people lost babies because of cutting early. In the incubator, you have a warm moist environment that is perfect for breeding bacteria. Once you cut that egg, all kinds of gunk can get in there and do damage. Leave them protected inside their egg as long as you can hold out.

Breeding ball pythons is a test of patience. You need to learn to wait. Then just when you think you've got the waiting thing figured out, you gotta wait some more.

I used to cut on day 57 or 58 because I was inpatient. The more I do this, the longer I wait. Most of my clutches now emerge on their own - unless it is a really good pairing and I can't help myself. Then I cut, but never before day 57. I too find that if I wait for them to come out on their own, I get a better feeding response. Like Dave Green said, it is just my observation and I'm glad to see someone else had the same observation.

[Mike41793]

I noticed in the past that clutches I didn't cut seem to have babies that fed better. This past season I held off on cutting and I had a much better feeding response from my babies. I had at least 75% start on frozen thawed. It's not scientific, nor do I know why, but I won't be cutting eggs this year...

Ok now I'm thinking I don't wanna cut unless I think there's something wrong with the baby in the egg... These kind of odds don't seem like a coincidence imo...

[BHReptiles]

Ok now I'm thinking I don't wanna cut unless I think there's something wrong with the baby in the egg... These kind of odds don't seem like a coincidence imo...

But how will you know there's something wrong if you don't cut? Seems like a true catch 22 if you ask me.

[snakesRkewl]

I noticed in the past that clutches I didn't cut seem to have babies that fed better. This past season I held off on cutting and I had a much better feeding response from my babies. I had at least 75% start on frozen thawed. It's not scientific, nor do I know why, but I won't be cutting eggs this year...

I noticed that too this past year, not a big sampling but I was kind of surprised how hungry they seemed compared to some past clutches that we cut on day 52.

[BHReptiles]

I noticed that too this past year, not a big sampling but I was kind of surprised how hungry they seemed compared to some past clutches that we cut on day 52.

My hypothesis is that they are using up a lot of their energy from the yolk storage to cut through the egg and thus that energy needs to be replaced by other methods of nutrients (i.e. a rat or mouse). When you cut, they don't have to use up that energy since it's already done for them. But again, just a hypothesis.

[Marrissa]

My hypothesis is that they are using up a lot of their energy from the yolk storage to cut through the egg and thus that energy needs to be replaced by other methods of nutrients (i.e. a rat or mouse). When you cut, they don't have to use up that energy since it's already done for them. But again, just a hypothesis.

Makes good sense to me. Good thinking.

[Don]

Or, it could be that the bacteria and other nasty stuff that gets into the eggs that we cannot see make the baby weaker and gives it a slower start. As for how do you know if there is something wrong, you cut a very small "v" in the egg. Without digging around, how do you tell if there is a problem. The cut window is so small, all you see is the side or back of the snake. And, unless the cord is wrapped around that specific spot, you may still miss it. So yes, cutting may let you see a problem, but it may also be missed even with a cut, unless you are making big cuts (letting in more junk).

Please do a search on this form for problem eggs. There are many many threads where cutting early caused all kind of issues. I think it may be the number one reason that babies are lost. We all want to see what is in those eggs. We have slaved over these animals for a full year to get to the point where we have eggs in the incubator. I know it is hard to wait, but if you do not have the experience to deal with the problems you may find, then the best avenue in my opinion is to let them pip on their own.

Just my 2 cents, your experience may be different.