Reptile & Amphibian Forums

I just dissected this egg. After thoroughly candling them all and seeing alot of movement and healthy signs in the other 6. I haven't seen any movement in this one for about a week and what I did see before was very faint. All I could see when candling this one was a big dark mass. Anyway, I cut it open. I want to learn as much as I can the first time around to avoid future mistakes but I hope this wasn't premature. Either way, a good learning experience. I'll explain more with the following pics. This is what the egg has looked like for going on a week. Alot more sunken in than the others. And just not healthy inside or out. It started molding about 5 weeks ago.

It was oozing pus like liquid around the mold and "sweating" on top.

This is day 46 for the eggs. Like I said, I haven't seen any movement inside this one for at least 5 days. Anyone have any idea what stage this one looks like it's at? I really wasn't expecting it to be this well formed. There was no movement at all the entire time. The fluid inside was greyish and very cloudy.

Not knowing any better, this baby looks pretty healthy. I could see the scales fairly well formed. The eyes were glazed over and "dead" looking though. I hope it wasn't still alive. But I really don't think so. I assume it would have moved in some way at some point if it was? It had an overall pink color to it. It was kind of kinked up and bloated though. The belly didn't look as well formed as the top part.

This is what the egg looked like inside. About 2 thirds was filled with the yolk which was hard and in my opinion didn't look like it would be nourishing the baby anymore. It was pale yellow, sickly looking. Don't know how else to describe it. Also, it smelled like a mixture of chicken broth and crab legs if you can (want to) imagine that.

This is the mass separated from the egg. It was really big. Had alot of unusual features to it I wouldn't expect a healthy yolk to look like. One other thing that made me decide to cut it open was that I saw no more red veins.

This is the baby next to a ruler. It's right at 7 inches. I hope this wasn't still alive. One more thing about the yolk, you can see the scab that formed where the mold was on the right side of the pic. I think I've described all the important details. I'm anxious to hear what ANYONE thinks.

If the snake wasn't moving at all when you cut open the
egg, then it sounds like it was already dead. Very interesting
pictures. Hope the others turn out just fine.
Good luck.
Chris Simone

I was going to say the same thing about movement...

the egg looks like crap

if it stinks...it's dead......egg and baby

looks kinked or crokked..head a little odd looking in the one pic yet almost normal shaped in 2 others.I cannot tell if it mis-shaped and growing wrong.....?.....weak babies have bad heads....I cannot think of the proper wording......

........again.I would have ripped that egg off the others and chucked it into the can and not even opened the thing....

again..,...stink == dead
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The dumbest RRaXX design I ever bought.........

If it is kinked it wouldn't have gotten unkinkinked in the last 10 days. Of course it also wouldn't have hurt to wait just in case it was normal. Some nasty looking eggs have been known to hatch ok.

I had a couple of kinked albinos a couple years back that died full term and surprisingly didn't stink for many days even after slitting the eggs (well no more than normal eggs stink). I kept waiting just to be sure they where dead but apparently the egg fluid had pickled them or something.

I answered some questions about embryo death here last night but the BP forum ate my post, so I'll RETYPE the thing again tonite after work....sjm

I agree with the others...I think that one was in fact already dead. A few years ago I disected a couple of eggs that died around 6 weeks in, and they were a bit more developed than that one.