Reptile & Amphibian Forums

three days ago i had few pipped from the eggs and now i got 5 out of the eggs and 4 pipped. the other 8 eggs are not pipped or hatch yet so my question is when can i go ahead and cut a small silt? thanks.

I have "Herpers Need Glacial Patience" written on my incubator to remind me that my time frame is not the only time frame.

I never slit. I let babies hatch when they get good and ready.

Paul Hollander

i feel the same way and never look forward to slit. but i thought maybe is there a reason when we had to slit from time to time? thanks

With good incubation technique, 90-100% of the eggs can be expected to hatch fine on their own. So I've always figured that I would kill more babies by slitting the shell prematurely than I'd save.

For what it's worth, I do start opening unhatched eggs a week after the last baby has come out. But I don't expect any living youngsters.

Paul Hollander

thanks for the advice. i rather wait around for the eggs to hatch on its own.