| T O P I C R E V I E W |
| nickyff |
Posted - 26/07/2012 : 21:36:27
out of 17 eggs i have only 3 left incubating- the others all went manky.. the 3 look great nice and white, but its now day 68 and there's no sign of anything happening ....
Thing is, I haven't monitored humidity, except by sort of feeling the vermiculite, and now i'm worried that the shells may be too thick/dry/hard for a snakey-egg-tooth to get through- cos they just feel really quite firm, and pics I've seen of pipping hatchies, the egg shells always look quite thin and soft. don't want my babies to suffocate- should i scratch the tops of the eggs to thin them a bit?, or even maybe cut right through? i believe that it's fairly standard with pythons to open the egg up-
what are the pros / cons of 'helping' with the pipping stage? would they just stay inside if they're not ready, or would it force them out too soon and be dangerous??
thoughts and experiences, please???
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| 14 L A T E S T R E P L I E S (Newest First) |
| nickyff |
Posted - 30/07/2012 : 22:56:09
end of day 72:
One egg is still really fat, when i candled it there was still a large clear space that's obviously full of liquid; the shadow at the bottom/side of the egg was plainly snakey-shaped, and there was an ever so tiny hint of movement there, yay!!
Egg two, also still fat and feeling firm but softish, when candled had far less clear space where the light could get through, presumably this snakey is now absorbing the fluids inside, and will (fingers crossed) attempt to make its way out sometime soon.
Egg three (the worrisome one) has been shrunken and dented in for a few days now. When it first sunk inwards the shell felt quite soft, but today it has hardened a lot: its underside, in touch with the damp vermiculite, is softer, so I've put damp tissue over the top in a hope that this will soften the top of the shell a bit, to make baby's job easier, if it does have a try at getting out. (I'm assuming it would do as I've seen in pics, and head upwards, even though the shell seems to be softer at the bottom) When I tried candling this one i couldn't see a thing- the light just didn't pass through the shell for me to see anything.  so either no space, all snake-baby ?? or else the shell has thickened/hardened, or something??? - There was just the teeenyest little part right at the top of the egg, in a folded bit, that sort of let a miniscule chink of light in so i could see that the baby wasn't directly under that bit. SO, deep breath and keeping yogically calm, I followed Isoldael's original advice: I've made a teeny wee slit in the top of the fold using a clean stanley blade; the slit is literally one milimetre long, barely more than a pin-hole. My thinking is that, if the shell is a bit tough to get through with a tiny egg-tooth, then I've just put in a 'start-you-off' place. Enough to let in air if it needs it, but not so big as to cause any kind of problems- (stress, trauma? leaky yolk stuff, or whatever.)
Now of course, I'm desperate for a little nose to poke through, to prove my fears wrong, and its taking every ounce of strength I have to resist dashing up the stairs every five minutes to have another look- I'm now lurching from barely-controlled excitement about a nearly-arrived baby, to stomach-churning fear that something's gone horribly wrong at the very last stage...
God knows how other people do this year after year, and with multiple and large clutches.
I've only got three little eggs cooking, and I've aged about fifty years in the last 72 days.  |
| Jenn |
Posted - 29/07/2012 : 19:41:11
we are on day 71? I dont know, I have only had one clutch, but I did do a tiny slit in the eggs. The risk of them dying because of the slit at this stage in the game is fairly low as far as I know. I only made a tiny slit to give weaklings a "blow hole" I used tiny cuticle scissors, pinched as much as I could on the egg (as you have stated,they get full and pressurized!) and did 3mm slit. kind of cool once you get to that point, you can use your candeling light to shine in and maybe see!!! |
| ted89 |
Posted - 29/07/2012 : 16:21:59
my first ever clutch of eggs took 85 days to hatch with nearly all of them making it. one of the eggs was pretty much flat and it still hatched, so i wouldnt worry too much try and let it take course. |
| NexivRed |
Posted - 29/07/2012 : 13:31:02
Thing is, if the hatchling doesn't make it because you do nothing, then you're not responsible for anything going wrong. If it doesn't make it if you cut the egg open, then you'll probably beat yourself up over it and wonder if it was down to you cutting it. Does that help? :)
It must be so scary and I get the feeling of wanting to make sure every single one makes it. But I think it would be very hard to be a snake medic and delivery every single hatchling safely :) You've done your best and hopefully you'll get some lovely healthy babies. |
| nickyff |
Posted - 29/07/2012 : 12:31:01
I'm so glad I've got this site to turn to when I need a Voice of Sanity-  
thank you both- with all this help I'm managing (so far) to not do anything stupid, and am leaving them be, even the one that's being all scary at me...
And the cutting thing is too daunting really; when I get to the pragmatics of it my stomach churns and i have to run outside for another cigarette...
SO- here we are at day 71 and....
nothings happening.
I'll keep you posted.  |
| NexivRed |
Posted - 29/07/2012 : 12:19:16
I've never had my own eggs, but I think not being able to see any space just means the baby is taking up all the room? Perhaps that one is close to being ready.
What temperature have the eggs been at? If they've been cooler than 28 degrees, I think they will just take longer. I don't know about the humidity.
As to helping the dented one, it's completely up to you but it will carry a risk. I don't think the inside out hatchling had anything to do with not being able to get out of the egg did it? You have to remember, that whatever will be will be. If the snake is alive and healthy then it will hatch.
If it does struggle to break out, then don't forget that it's getting it's nutrients from it's yolk, and the egg is probably like a chicken's egg and porous so air can get in to be breathed.
Can someone confirm whether you'd see the egg moving slightly if a hatchling was inside thrashing about trying to get out? |
| nickyff |
Posted - 29/07/2012 : 00:10:18
day 70 has been and gone and still i have two big fat eggs and one thats dented quite a bit, and has no clear space when candled- does this mean the babby has died inside? the other two have still got pink veins and are full of fluid that light shines through, so seem to be still ok-
should i try 'helping' the dented one? what do you think?
70 days is longer than normal, isnt it?
(just saw the pics of the inside-out hatchy, so now ive gone into neurotic worry overdrive, and my nail-biting is down to the elbow...)
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| Isoldael |
Posted - 27/07/2012 : 14:58:06
Aye, as soon as the liquid gets absorbed the egg will feel softer. It doesn't always happen though - my eggs didn't dent at all before they hatched! |
| nickyff |
Posted - 27/07/2012 : 13:37:20
candled them, and the dinted one is feeling soft and looking very dark - which is the liquid been absorbed, i guess? the other two are still really round and quite firm and have a big clear space in the top with veiny bits round-
the one thats gone squishy is sort of clearing up for me how the process goes...
the firmness lessens as the liquid goes, ??
-getting excited now- sillyme |
| Isoldael |
Posted - 27/07/2012 : 13:09:27
I wouldn't worry too much - the eggs tend to feel very firm when they're still "full" and not dented. Unless the shell looks abnormal in any other way, I wouldn't assume there's anything wrong with them. Sometimes they just take a little longer :) |
| nickyff |
Posted - 27/07/2012 : 03:15:20
I've only got three eggs altogether- and never incubated any before. none of them are showing any signs of hatching yet, at day 68/69, and I don't know what they *should* feel like., it's just that in all the pipping pics I've been looking at, the eggs look soft and pliable where there's little snake noses poking through, and I can't imagine that a teeny snake nose is going to be able to cut through these eggshells. they feel almost like a hens egg they're so tough- i'll see how they look in the morning then come back here and worry a bit more...
(thx for the help so far |
| Isoldael |
Posted - 27/07/2012 : 00:29:21
Them feeling hard could just be due to the pressure of the fluids + snake inside. Do you have reason to believe it's the actual shell that is firm? How long has it been since the last eggs from that clutch hatched? |
| nickyff |
Posted - 27/07/2012 : 00:24:01
thank you for the advice- ...and for not just giving me a simple- "Don't do it!!"
do you think its possible that the shells may be too thick? they feel really really firm- shouldn't they be quite soft?
If i do do anything proactive, it's not going to be before tomorrow, and I'm more likely to chicken out i think- one of them has dimpled ever so slightly, i noticed when i had another look a bit ago-
so ma a a aybe something is finally happening?? i really don't want something awful (the worst) to happen because of me doing the wrong thing, and I don't know at the moment if the wrong thing is
1- leave them to themselves and they suffocate and die inside the eggs
2- start them off too early and sign their ticket that way...
aaargh- spiralling....... |
| Isoldael |
Posted - 26/07/2012 : 22:55:35
I've done the cutting thing in one of the eggs I thought had too thick an egg shell this year. The hatchling was actually the first of the clutch to emerge - and perfectly healthy. I'm not sure I want to advise anyone to try the same as it's obviously a risk, but if you want to proceed, make sure you keep the following things in mind:
1) use clean tools. Some alcohol will clean it of all contaminants (just make sure all the alcohol evaporated before cutting the egg).
2) Candle the egg to find a safe spot to cut. Even if you're very careful, there's always the risk of cutting more than you intended, and at least you won't hit the snake then.
3) If you can, pinch the shell a tiny bit to make for a safe little ridge to cut.
4) Don't make the cut too big, the snake will only need a small hole.
5) DON'T hold the egg too tight. If you do that and make a hole, all the liquid inside will spill out.
Whether or not you decide to do it, good luck! |
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