Reptile & Amphibian Forums

Hi guys and girls

Ok so i may have counted wrong but i thought i had 11 days now til my corns were due to pip.
As you will see from my post further down the forum they started to pip yesterday.
Now the first egg to have slits appear sat and did nothing since yesterday morning til this evening.
The second egg had 3 or 4 slits appear last night,its head pipped this morning and by mid afternoon it was out an about (photos at the bottom)
Noting he was out and the first egg that slit (nearly 34 hours now) was still motionless i very gently eased a slit open to peak inside and check everything was ok.
The snake inside sort of popped out and unravelled next to the egg (I am guessing the easing open of the slit did this although i applied no pressure)and unfortunately it was obviously dead and it looks to me like it had drowned inside the egg, its tongue hanging out and its mouth full of mucus (egg contents).
So the other 5 eggs are still sat there untouched no slits appearing.
My questions are this:
Considering its nearly 34 hours or more since the first started to pip should i start to think about slitting the others to help?
Or is it possible that these 2 were simply premature and the rest will hatch in 11 days as i originally worked out?
This is my first time if you had not already guessed and i am getting worried.

Second piccie

Final one

Don't slit the eggs, let them pip on their own. I have read that others do this but the couple of times that I have tried it, the result was always a dead hatchling. I have read that once they pip, leave them alone. If you disturb them, they may pull their head back in and yes some do drown. Like I said, I have read that and I have had it happen one time. A few years back the first thayeri to pip was from an egg in a cluster with a couple of eggs above it. It pipped, I kept checking, and it pulled it's head in. A few hours later, nothing, it drowned. Now I always cut away a section of egg after they pip. A fairly big window with some small scissors that have a rounded tip. I have not lost another hatchling since losing the thayeri. Unfortunately it was one of the nicest I ever produced.
Be patient.