Reptile & Amphibian Forums

Hey all! I have never cut eggs before but i have a clutch that is at day 62 and i just want to make sure they are all doing good, just being slow. What are the general rules to go by? I see people say dont cut the viens but almost all of the pictures i see of cut eggs have pretty much the entire tops cut out and you can see where veins had been cut. Just curious how everyone goes bout it.

What temps are you incubating at...that affects the time frame.
As far as cutting...if you are that worried just slightly pinch the top of the egg and with a small pair of scissors slit the protion that is inside your pinch. You dont have to cut doors in them most just do that so they can see the pot of gold at the end of the rainbow.
Most of the time they wont even use the slit you make anyway but will use a door. Doors destroy to many blood vessels and cutting one really wont affect the snake this late in the game.
Most important ....be careful.
Travis
-----

LAIR OF DRAGONS

I incubate at 88.5 and this is my first clutch to go past 57 usually they pip on average for me around 53 to 55. ill probably only do a slit big enough to make sure they are alive and not stuck or anything. Thanks for the advice

At day 62, I wouldn't worry about cutting any veins! Just be careful that you don't cut the animal!

Travis gave good advice. You can also look up videos on youtube.

Hello...At that temperature it will take longer to hatch the eggs...If you've got veins as you mentioned, leave them alone. They will come out when they're ready...Don't be surprised if you start pushing into day 65 or 66 or 67 for that matter. I'd leave them alone till at least one of them cuts their egg. When you start getting into lower temps you have to be prepared for longer gestations. Balls have been successfully hatched at over 80 days. Hope this helps...Be Patient!

At 88.5 and 62 days I would cut them at least an escape route if they need it.I pinch the top of the egg and roll it between my fingers to push the veins away from the shell. If you substrate is too wet they will drown in the egg.Are the eggs dimpled at all?

Shane

yes the eggs started dimpling at 48 which has been about my average for all my past clutches so everything was fine and dandy in my mind but as days past the eggs dimpled more and more and more and now (i made small slits last night) and the little ones are fine but the eggs have basically sunk in all around them and only have a small space between their coils. They all moved when i cut them so the waiting game continues!

I use the Travis method myself, before that I used a nice little pair of surgical scissors. They worked fine but were a bit tedious to use, and I did not like having to put the scissors inside the egg to make the cut, also hard to avoid cutting veins (which is not much of a problem for a full term snake). Now I use a big old pair of scissors. I open them wide and rest them flat on the surface of the egg, I begin at one end and start my cut, once I get a bit of the egg pinched in the scissors I can slit the egg open from end to end in a single stroke, I cut the absolute smallest sliver possible and often don't damage any veins, I get a great view inside and have never had a problem. I incubate at 88.5 degrees and slit at 55 days (an easy way to figure out 55 days from being laid is go forward 2 month and then back up 5 days, made my head hurt otherwise). one big tip on choosing the right pair of scissors for this method is to have THIN blades, it makes getting a starting bite on the egg much easier.