Reptile & Amphibian Forums

I know, what I do now is wait! But I can't. This sucks! I am very happy, however to see four healthy-looking little full-term babies in the eggs. It appears I have three "normals" and one pastel!

I decided to cut this afternoon, day 57, because I need to leave for the weekend tomorrow afternoon, and I at least needed to see that the babies were in fact OK before I go. I won't be back until Sunday night. Will the babies be OK for a couple days in the incubator? They are in a no-substrate type setup with perlite under a plastic grating. The incubator remains at 100% humidity and 90 degrees, but they are in a small space, this being the only clutch in a 25 qt cooler.

I KNOW this seems as if I didn't plan ahead-- well, I didn't! My eggs were laid long before I learned I had to take this trip, and I wasn't about to go anywhere for Memorial Day before they hatched out. (I'm moving my brother out to Colorado, and I have to do it, I am the only one who can help him out. This came up very suddenly!)

Gah, if my babies die because I left them alone, I'll never forgive myself. I might have to quit pythons altogether. Taking the eggs with me would be an option, except I am flying back. No way I'm gonna ship three-day-old babies home. Grr, next time I'm clearing my calendar of everything from day 55 to day 70 if need be! That or I really need to meet some local snake people I can trust to help me out.

poke them until they get pissed and move out. JK Ryan.

First, congrats!

It depends on the type of incubator. Are the heating elements exposed? That is, can the babies burn themselves? If so, find something else. Is there a chance they could get lodged in the grate of the incubator? If not, you could just lower the temps in leave them there if absolutely necessary. Do you have a nursery setup? If so, put them in there with damp paper towels - egg and all. It would really be nice to have someone there to monitor them and mist if necessary. If you can't be there, it might be better to use wax paper as a substrate so they (yoke sack remnants) don't stick to the substrate.

Good luck!
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Jay A. Martin
Jay Martin Reptiles

That didn't even work though. They stilled stayed in the eggs for 4-6 days after I cut them. I thought you were gonna say he took my approach and cut them, then got even more paranoid after I did. Which was also true. Anyway, sounds like a touchy situation. I cut mine for the same reason because I had to leave town on what would have been day 60 but luckily they were all out by day 58. Being that you're gonna be gone until like day 61 or 62, I personally would count on them being out by the time you get back. I was right there to scoop mine up as soon as they left the egg and clean them up and put them in a clean box. So I don't know what to do if you wouldn't be there to help them out. Take Jay's advice. I guess that's my advice. I read this post late last night after I got back from my trip and didn't feel like typing so in that time Jay posted and stole my shine. Now I really have no point to even responding but just wanted to share my experience in the cutting situation. No matter what though, I think they will be alright. They really are alot more resiliant than it seems. You figure, they are reptiles, the ultimate survivors. If they have to sit in the incubator, it might cause them a little stress but they should probably be able to bounce back. And it will definitely be less stress than if you took the eggs with you. Don't do that. (I also considered the same thing, if it came down to that being an option.) But if you think that one through, it's a really bad idea. Good luck man. Keep us all posted.

Yeah, I've been following Ryan's progress, and that's what gave me the courage to cut the eggs in the first place! But of course, I am still really freaking out.

They're cut off from the heating elements, but I don't think the egg box is the safest. I siliconed a piece of plexi to the lid and it isn't super sturdy, so I will set everyone up in thier tub, use wax paper, mist the heck out of it, and hope for the best. Aaaah! Of course, nobody's left the egg yet.

Thanks for the answers, guys!

you plan to use wax paper. You don't want it too wet. You could create other problems with the snakes. However, if only a couple of days, you will likely be ok. The wax paper is just so the snakes don't stick to the substrate if it gets too dry in the enclosure.
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Jay A. Martin
Jay Martin Reptiles