Reptile & Amphibian Forums

Nine of my Brooksi eggs have hatched. five lavenders and 4 dark phase. All are robust, fat, and vigorous. However, I have three more large beautiful eggs that haven't even pipped yet. They are quite full and appear that the babies inside are alive. I read in a book that 36hours after the first baby pipps you should make slits in any remaining eggs because they may be weak and not able to pipp. I am not wanting to do this. What is the opinion of this forum pro and con leaving them completely alone and hope for the best? Open slightly? Or continue to wait for a couple more days? (my favorite) However, I don't want to lose any due to my lack of competence. My continued thanks to all.

But if 36 hours went by after the last snake had LEFT the egg, I would slit the remaining eggs open. See if I had live babies in the eggs, and for those living, leave them be to come out or not as their abilities dictate. BUT, after the slit and ascertaining if the babies were alive, I would make sure NOT to continue to disturb them. Once you've made a slit, it's up to them to have what it takes to exit the egg.

Raising snakes is full of "hurry up and wait" moments like this one!
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~Sasheena

I would leave them alone. If they can't even hatch, what good are they...especially for breeding. Maybe if more people had this philosophy this wouldn't happen so often. I feel the same way about force-feeding babies to get them started. Seems like even when it works, the snake would be more likely to have non-feeding offspring.
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Martin Whalin
My Email

Quotes from guys named Carl:

"Science stops at the frontier of logic. Nature does not, she thrives on ground as yet untrodden by theory."
-Carl Jung

"It is foolish to let singleness of purpose deprive one of the joy and delectation of the many wonderful sights and sounds incidental to the quest."
-Carl Kauffeld

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Hello,

For years I have cut open every egg once the first one pips. Before that, I would wait several days after the rest of the clutch has hatched and they were almost always dead in the egg by that point. I have never lost a baby due to cut blood vessels either, and I have severed some major ones over the years. It just seems too risky not to open the eggs up. However, I never, ever remove a baby from the egg though, I just open the door for them. Pulling a baby from an egg before it is ready is a good way to kill them. I know cutting the unslit eggs is not natural, but what we are doing in captivity is so far removed from nature that the argument doesn't seem to even apply. Good luck.

Will

Very well put with a great conclusion to your premise. I myself agree with you here but have only slit unopened eggs after 3 - 4 days of the first egg hatching. I have done this so infrequently over the years though I never really gave it much thought. Then again I have had on occasion a dead individual within an egg , although more so then not a living one.

I wonder how many others practice this as well?

Best Regards, Rich Hebron