LOL! Yea after they all pip i make sure I cut large openings so that there is no chance of them getting stuck... that has happened to me before. It also seems to prevent them from leaving the egg prematurely without absorbing the yolk. Why? I don't know but the only ones this year that have vacated their egg without their yolks have been ones that hatched while I was asleep, that were not "slit assisted"



And I use the drop down celing grate to help prevent the growth of fungi on the eggs and the separation between the perlite and the eggs seems to help. It also helps keep the eggs doing well even when the perlite becomes too dry or starts off too damp. It mostly helps with those eggs that are laid with windows, not fully calcified. Those eggs always seem to go bad on me at some point through the process, but this year none have "knock on wood". The last reason is a play off of the "SIM Containers" that are catching on for incubation. It seems that more oxygen "potentially" can reach the egg, and at all points of the egg, even the bottom, and it results in larger, more fully developed hatchlings at the point where they pip. For me, it has meant that my incubation period has drastically gone down from 60ish days to the low 50s and even 40s. This snake I posted "pipping" was laid on 4/31/2011, so it's been around 49 days instead of 60 days. Yes, it is even more unnatural, but with some projects, every egg counts and if I can "save" one egg that is iffy from the start, I will try and do that.



sorry for the rant lol,



Jeremy Thompson

Captive Born Investments Inc.

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