Reptile & Amphibian Forums

12 days to go until my best guess hatch date. Eggs are all looking great. Thermostat has been riding 89 degrees the whole way with only two brief power outages that lasted no more that a few minutes. No real temp loss.

A question about this clutch, when I got to the eggs I was alittle late and the clutch setup on me into a mass of eggs. How will this effect the snakes hatching towards the bottom? When they cut their way out will the weight of the other eggs squish them out? I'm not so sure of trying to separate the eggs this late in the game. I got a few when I first put them in the incubator but stopped because the rest felt really stuck. Bottom eggs have sides exposed to get air and still look great. Just worried about the weight. Should I support the mass of eggs somehow to lessen the load?

Also how long should I wait to cut an egg that hasnt hatched with the rest of the clutch? I've no experience with it and know nothing about it. However I dont want to loose a single baby since they have all made it so far.

Any help with either or both question would be great.
Thanks....Mike

Hi Mike!
The eggs being in a cluster is fine. The weight of the top eggs is usually evenly distributed among all the other eggs to where collapsing/entrapment isn't an issue.

"Also how long should I wait to cut an egg that hasnt hatched with the rest of the clutch?"

Personally, I'd cut any egg that hasn't pipped by day 60. I use cuticle scissors. Not to insult your knowledge, but be sure to let the snakes crawl out of the egg on their own. They'll come out when it's time and/or when they're good & ready.

Just like a soon-to-be dad in the maternity ward - anticipation.

Later!
HH

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Due to political correctness run amuck,
this ol' hillbilly is now referred to as an:
Appalachian American

www.natures-signature.com

That's one of the best baby pictures (of anything) I think I've ever seen.

That photo is very good. Really conveys a message.

The Pro Python folks should be allowed to use that one to press their case.

jsc
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"As hard as I've tried, just can't NOT do this"
John Crickmer

Yeah that is a great shot.

Thx for the advice, and i'll have to get me some of those cuticles scissors.

My eggs cluster is like 30 big eggs and for some reason she went high instead of wide with a open space in the middle. Like an arch of eggs, so the whole thing is supported by like 3 eggs on each end. I cant help but be alittle concerned, i'm guna put a strap underneath the open part on either side of the middle to lighten just alittle bit of the load.

as the female puts a fair amount of her weight on the egg mass during maternal incubation. Some of the eggs in the mass are always heavily creased and somewhat flattened out when they hatch.

Kelly

Thanks for the compliments on the egg photo, John! I see what you're saying. It's a less menacing python photo compared to the photos of the big ones and I wouldn't mind it being used by the right group(s)/organization(s). I've got the original, without the watermark.

Have a good one!
HH
-----
Due to political correctness run amuck,
this ol' hillbilly is now referred to as an:
Appalachian American

www.natures-signature.com

Are those labyrinth babes? I've got two albino labs, had nothin but trouble with them lol they are coming along tho, the female is great she eats fine but is alittle bitey, the male i duno what his problem is, he is a terrible eater, i still feed him rat pups cause he is scared of mice or small rats, trying to get him on the right track tho.

Is that all you breed are labyrinths?

"Are those labyrinth babes?"

Both of the parents were double hets - het albino, het labyrinth. I got normals (possible hets), albino, labyrinths & albino labyrinths from that clutch.

Labyrinth is the only Burmese Python morph I've been working with the last few years. A labyrinth with a high quality pattern is hard to beat.

Catch ya later!
HH

-----
Due to political correctness run amuck,
this ol' hillbilly is now referred to as an:
Appalachian American

www.natures-signature.com

I agree with you there, I love the patterns on their heads, simply amazing. My clutch should pip in a few days guesstemated them for the 5th through the 10th. They are albino and albino granites, Next year im guna do regular granites and give my other female a break. Been thinking about rolling the dice on a hybrid project still on the fence tho.

Here is a pic of my female Albino Lab, she has alot nicer pattern than my male. I love this snake, wish it shared the feeling tho it tried to bite me frequently. sok tho i'm still workin with her.