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My first ever clutch is hatching today after 59 days! It was an 11 egg clutch and it looks like all are healthy. It was a normal female and a pastel male and it looks like I have about 5 or 6 pastels. They are still in the eggs and I don't want to mess with them much.

Now I have a question: I see some breeders put their newborns on wet paper towels. How long do you leave them that way? Until they shed or just a day or so? TIA

>>My first ever clutch is hatching today after 59 days! It was an 11 egg clutch and it looks like all are healthy. It was a normal female and a pastel male and it looks like I have about 5 or 6 pastels. They are still in the eggs and I don't want to mess with them much.
>>
>>Now I have a question: I see some breeders put their newborns on wet paper towels. How long do you leave them that way? Until they shed or just a day or so? TIA

Just a day is all I do unless the yolk sac is large and has not been absorbed.
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Jay A. Martin
Jay Martin Reptiles

>>Just a day is all I do unless the yolk sac is large and has not been absorbed.
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>>Jay A. Martin
>>Jay Martin Reptiles

Awesome, thanks for the quick reply!

Thomas, take a long, deep breath, and relax It will be ok. Congrats on your first clutch, I hope you end up with a lot of female Pastels. Do you have a hatchling rack for the babies, if not, how are you setting them up?

I have a Vision hatchling rack, and I set up my babies with paper towels as substrate, cheap, holds moisture a bit, and is easy to clean. I clean my babies DAILY. I give them a small water bowl, or a hide box water bowl combo. I keep them on damp paper towels for a few weeks, then slowly let the paper towels get drier and drier. I still spray the babies off more often that I do the adults, you do not want the babies to get dehydrated.

After their first sheds, I offer fuzzy mice if they look like they are ready, hungry, alert, no big belly full of yolk. If they look fat and happy, I wait a week to feed them.

Dave

>>Thomas, take a long, deep breath, and relax It will be ok. Congrats on your first clutch, I hope you end up with a lot of female Pastels. Do you have a hatchling rack for the babies, if not, how are you setting them up?
>>
>>I have a Vision hatchling rack, and I set up my babies with paper towels as substrate, cheap, holds moisture a bit, and is easy to clean. I clean my babies DAILY. I give them a small water bowl, or a hide box water bowl combo. I keep them on damp paper towels for a few weeks, then slowly let the paper towels get drier and drier. I still spray the babies off more often that I do the adults, you do not want the babies to get dehydrated.
>>
>>After their first sheds, I offer fuzzy mice if they look like they are ready, hungry, alert, no big belly full of yolk. If they look fat and happy, I wait a week to feed them.
>>
>>Dave

I have a baby rack ordered. I ordered it almost 4 weeks ago, guess I shouldn't have waited so long. For now I have them set up in Rubbermaid containers.

They started pipping this morning and they are all still in the eggs. I read that they can stay in the eggs up to 24 hours. I cut the eggs that didn't pip on their own being very careful of course.

Thanks for the excellent advice! I will try to relax but I'm pretty excited. I have a second clutch due in about 10 days so maybe I'll be better prepared by then. And I have a 3rd female that may be gravid.

One of the babies looked really, really nice! I may have to keep that one! I will post some pics once they pop out.

If the tubs are big enough, or the clutch small enough, when they all first hatch, I sometimes leave the entire clutch together in one tub until they shed, then I move them to their own tubs. They seem to like being together right after they hatch. I never cut an egg unless all the eggs in a clutch have pipped and started hatching except one, then I will cut that egg. Keep them damp until that first shed, and moist after that for a couple of weeks. They all seem to like hides too, some hide in them, some sit on top like Snoopy.

Dave

>>If the tubs are big enough, or the clutch small enough, when they all first hatch, I sometimes leave the entire clutch together in one tub until they shed, then I move them to their own tubs. They seem to like being together right after they hatch. I never cut an egg unless all the eggs in a clutch have pipped and started hatching except one, then I will cut that egg. Keep them damp until that first shed, and moist after that for a couple of weeks. They all seem to like hides too, some hide in them, some sit on top like Snoopy.
>>
>>Dave

Hey, how long does it take for the babies to finally come out of the eggs? It's been over 24 hours since the first one pipped. Every now and then I will see one pop it's head out.

Whoever told you 24 hours has never hatched a Ball Python, it usually takes 3 to 4 days or more, from first pip to the Ball finally coming out of the egg completly. Let them come out on their own, sometimes it takes more that 4 days. If they pip on a Monday, they should all be totally out by Friday or Saturday, depending on the clutch size.

Dave

>>Whoever told you 24 hours has never hatched a Ball Python, it usually takes 3 to 4 days or more, from first pip to the Ball finally coming out of the egg completly. Let them come out on their own, sometimes it takes more that 4 days. If they pip on a Monday, they should all be totally out by Friday or Saturday, depending on the clutch size.
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>>Dave

Oh wow, had no idea it took that long! I will try to be more patient! Even my wife is excited, she can't wait for them to come out.

Chances are, the normals will come out immediately, but the morphs, especially the one you really want to see out of the egg, will be the last to leave the egg

Dave