Reptile & Amphibian Forums

Well my first clutch is hatching! They started yesterday and some are already completely out. Two eggs look to have a snake in them but no signs of pipping.

I seem to remember someone mentioning that some of their eggs hatched days later than the rest, but wanted to make sure.

Do you ever need to cut open hognose eggs and if so, how long after the first eggs in the clutch have pipped? Thanks everyone!

Ross

There is never a need to cut eggs open in my opinion... If a neonate can not hatch on its own, it is better of dead in egg than it is in yours or anyone elses collection...

The egg cutting thing became popular with ball python breeders... Mostly because the eggs contained balls hat could sell for tens of thousands so they did not want to "risk" losing those high dollar hatchlings...

To me, when a breeder cuts eggs, it is a show of impatience... Like I said, if those eggs are ment to hatch, they will do it on their own with no problem in heir own time... If they can not make it out of the egg, there is a reason and in my opinion, should not be assisted...

Will some eggs take longer than others to hatch in the same clutch?

Yes. Some eggs can take a few days longer to hatch out, that's normal. It also has to do with incubation and how well the eggs can absorb oxygen and humidity.

I have two clutches in my incubator that were layed on the same day. One clutch is in a S.I.M. container and have been hatching since yesterday. The other clutch is in a more traditional setup and haven't started yet. Keep in mind the S.I.M. eggs are actually hatching early. I chock it up to embrio development having to do with the incubation environment. Maybe some eggs are getting more O2 than others. I wouldn't worry though.