Not looking good.. Deformed hatchlings

[Galaxygirl]

Our hatchlings began to pip on day 57. It's day 59 now and we took a closer look at the three that have come out... They all have bottom jaws like this... I can see another one pipping also has the same bottom jaw, so that's 4/7 eggs so far.. We had humidity issues about half way through incubation, so we turned off the fan that was in the incubator but there was no temp fluctuations in the incubator that we saw as the thermometer adjusted accordingly. We incubated at 88.7 and did the same last year without any issues. This is the first time we've bred the mother, but this is the second clutch for this father. Queen Bee x Pastel pairing.

[Daigga]

I've seen some people post about this same deformity in hatchlings in the past. Unfortunately, no one seems to know exactly what causes it. Even more unfortunate, but hatchlings like this don't seem able to eat on their own. It's a terrible situation to have to face with a shiny new clutch, but you may end up having to cull the deformed babies. Assisted feedings their entire lives is a terrible thing to subject a snake to.

Very sorry this happened, I wish you the best for the hatchlings still in the egg.

[Galaxygirl]

Doing some reading, as as you said, Daigga, no one really knows what causes it.. We have another clutch in the incubator that is about a week behind this one. We'll see what comes out in about a week..

[John1982]

That's heart breaking.

[Aercadia]

It's a terrible situation to have to face with a shiny new clutch, but you may end up having to cull the deformed babies.

;n; I can hardly imagine having to make this call. I know this is an awful subject, but if these babies cannot thrive and culling is the best (if heartbreaking) option, what is the kindest way to do so?

[Fidget]

What a shame. I'm sure you'll get good support from these forums for whichever of the difficult options you decide to go with.
Better luck with the next clutch.

[Galaxygirl]

Our female that laid these eggs went off feed for about 10 months during the time we were breeding her. She lost a lot of weight and we thought she reabsorbed after her long fast. She surprised us with 7 good eggs, pretty small looking ones with one slug and a boob.

We turned off the fan in our incubator because the eggs were collapsing at day 10 for our clutch still due to hatch which was around day 19 for this clutch, but the temperatures never seemed to fluctuate, we didn't have any power outages, etc, so we're afraid this may happen again and we're not sure as to what the culprit is. Lack of air flow/oxygen due to the fan being turned off? No one knows and we don't know how to prevent this from happening again..

We've only ever hatched one other clutch and it was from the same incubator, same father, different mother. That clutch had the fan on but also didn't have issues with humidity so we were able to leave the fan on. We burped the eggs maybe once a week or less, took them from the mom the day they were laid, used cling wrap, really stumped as to what went wrong..

Overall it's been a heart breaking process so far, we don't want to euthanize the hatchlings, but it'll have to be done if they cannot eat on their own..

So far it looks like 4 out of 7 have it. A spider has pipped and I couldn't see well, looks like he has it as well but not as bad. Two more still in their eggs...

If it is some incubator issue, I am now very afraid for the other hatchlings from the other clutch and still don't know how to fix this issue. The probe for the thermostat is kept in the egg tub to ensure the inside of the tub is the temperature it's supposed to be.

[bcr229]

If they all have it and the other clutch turns out fine then it's a problem with that particular pairing. Sometimes it just happens, there's just no way to predict it.

[Stewart_Reptiles]

Sadly with an underbite that severe they will not be able to eat on their own and starve (been there with 2 animals just like those) the only option will be euthanasia.

[rlditmars]

I'm very sorry to hear of your situation. It is unfortunate. Like others said it may simply be a result of the specific pairing and nothing you did or could have done would have prevented it.

If you choose to cull the animals which looks like it may be the most humane option, there is an option you might consider which could allow your animals to be of some benefit. I make this suggestion not to start an argument but just as one possible option. If you know someone who is raising kingsnakes then they may be able to use them as feeders. While it seems cruel and contrary to our ways as we all care deeply about snakes, it is no more so than the act of feeding our own animals live rats. I imagine a person who likes hamsters or guinea pigs would see our practices as cruel or barbaric. However we do it because it is what are animals require for food.

In the end this will be difficult regardless. But, by doing so, you could allow another breeder who cares about their animals to provide live feeders, which is something which they may not have access to on a regular basis. Also, I imagine it is not as quick a death as decapitation, but I wouldn't think it would be terribly drawn out. If a kingsnake will take a dead snake as a prey item, then by all means dispatch them in the quickest most humane way possible. I guess I just see this as a better option than just euthanizing and discarding them.

Again, I am sorry.