Reptile & Amphibian Forums

Hey everyone,

So I just hatched out my first clutch,6 eggs in all. All of them pipped and came out on their own, except for 1. I waited until 24 hours after they all left the egg until I cut the stragler. When I cut it open, (s)he was fully formed, but there was no movement. I gently nudged it and looked for a head. No movement, and no visible head. Every pic I'ved seen of snakes in the eggs, the head is visible. I made sure there was sufficient liquid in the egg, and placed it back in the incubator.

My question is, is there some way to deffinatly tell if (s)he is still alive? I'm on day 57, if it matters. I don't want to monkey around with her, if this is normal. But I also would like to use the proportional therm I have on the incubator, for the hatchling rack. No use in incubating a dead egg, right?

I can get pics if need be. Thanks in advance for any help you can give.

leave it and smell it everyday

I had one fool me this year and one alive but only came out 3 inches and died.....really odd pattern too as always ....

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...one of the CraZieS...?...

........JY.......

Use the end of scissors or tweezers and very gently touch the hatchling's body. If it's alive it will flinch away from the touch....if it doesn't move, it's probably not alive. If I get no movement, I usually pull it out of the egg to examine it to see if I can determing what may have been wrong.

Susan
SSNAKES

I did poke it a little, and manipulate the egg slightly to find the head. No response, no movement. Everything I've read says to leave the snake in the egg, so I'm hessitant to move it, let alone pull it out just yet. It's a pastel, the 3rd from the clutch. So I'm hoping it'll come around. I'll try again later to provoke a response.

I did smell it. Didn't smell like death/rot. It does have a very light pattern.....

it won't stink yet
the color says dead at times....
poking it makes it move and fools us...
IF the egg was too swelled and too wet...that's when I lose them....I lost 2 this year...all on the bottom....the top dried out ones hatch....

....good luck....

(I pull them out, and IF they are alive, stick them back into an 8 Oz deli-cup and stick them back into incubator...keep yolk sac attatched....

don't just yank it out.....I'm just saying....when I think it's dead...I do....
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...one of the CraZieS...?...

........JY.......

I had some dead kinked albinos a few years back that seemed to be pickled and didn't smell any worse than a live hatching egg for several days before I finally gave up and pulled them out.

Good advice below! I usually use a snake probe to "prod" them! Keep in mind also, you are only at day 57!

Thanks everyone for the insight, tips/tricks. After closer examination I saw what I thought was a head. Pulled it out and it was wrapped around itself. I think it either choked itself out in the egg, if thats possible, or had some sort of birth deformity. It's body was crimped and wrapped around the head. The head was very deformed. Bottom jaw was bigger than top, one eye larger than the other, head had no taper and was smaller than the body, and it was completely lifeless/limp. Part of the underbelly appeared to have rot/decay starting to form. Yolk sac attached and about the size of a couple grapes..... A very sad event.

All in all I think it was a good learning experience. Oh, and it was the bottom egg, and had crazy patterning, as Jyohe stated.

Any ideas to why it died? Or is it just one of those anomalies that happen?

Sounds like congenital defects! Not a lot you could've done!

bottom egg,....too moist....they swell too full and too pretty (kinda)...you know what I mean...they are the fat eggs the biggest and best looking....BUT they have too much moisture and swell, the pressure is too much and the neonate dies from having too much liquid and too much pressure.......

my thoughts....discussed it years ago with a few people...(even that long haired guy BHB)....

....I think it's a feasable idea.....

......Oh....the pattern in mine was from a dead egg next to it...and a scab formed on it....the dead egg and fungus(not visible fungus)....creates chemicals that affect the live eggs...
....there have been some really odd snakes that came from moldy eggs......patternwise.....

...good luck...!....it gets better.....

....
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...one of the CraZieS...?...

........JY.......

No so sure "high pressure" or water logged egg would cause a jaw deformity?

might just look that way...

and don't bet it doesn't...

not wet wet....real wet eggs die...they turn yellow and or look wet....

high pressure...

ask BHB his thoughts..........make a vid of it...LOL....for [ban]....

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too many puppies....are trained not to bark,,,at the sight of blood that must be spilled......to protect our oil fields.....too many puppies....too many p-p-p-p-puppies....

........JY.......

If it was as deformed as you say...be glad it was dead.

Some deformed hatchlings come out live. Then you must face the grim decision of how to end its life....or it may live for a few hours and then die.