Burmese python baby hatched early...

Submitted by dave and tracy on Fri, 2006-11-17 18:00

DEAR VPI,

I’M AWAITING A CLUTCH OF INDIAN X BURM EGGS TO HATCH ANY DAY NOW. TODAY IS DAY 56 SINCE THEY WERE LAID. BUT THE CONFUSING THING IS THAT ON THURS THE 54TH DAY I CAME HOME TO FIND A BABY HAD HATCHED OUT AND HAD DIED LYING 1/2 WAY OUT AND STILL ATTACHED TO THE EGG AND YOLK SAC.

WHY WOULD THIS BABY DIE LIKE THIS? THIS HAS NEVER HAPPENED BEFORE TO ME. NOW I'M THINKING I SHOULD MANUALLY PIP THE REST. SHOULD I PIP OR WAIT A LITTLE LONGER.

EVERYTHING I KNOW SAYS ONCE THE FIRST IS PIPPED, THE REST SHOULD BE WITHIN 24-48 HRS TO REDUCE THE RISK OF DROWNING! ALSO, NORMALLY THE BABIES TAKE A DAY OR SO TO EMERGE FROM THEIR EGG AND THIS ONE HAD PIPPED AND WAS OUT DEAD WITHIN 2-3 HRS, AND INSIGHT? PLEASE REPLY AS SOON AS YOU CAN SO I KNOW WHAT TO DO. THX A LOT,    STEVE 

 

Dear Steve,

That's weird, I can't remember that I've ever seen that before. We have seen one or two babies hatch out earlier than the rest, but not like the apparent suicide that your first one committed. Also, we have seen Burmese come out and die from what we believe was a tangled umbilicus when they came out a little too far, but it’s always seemed to be a random event.  

At 56 days it should be OK to slit open the eggs. When the eggs are a couple of days from hatching (in most incubation environments) the eggs in a clutch lose their adhesion to each other, and you will be able to pull them apart. When the eggs are a day from hatching, the blood vessel filled membrane that is adhered to the inside of the shell will lose its adhesion to the shell. Hours before hatching the vessel filled membrane will have been separated from the shell, usually torn and pushed to the sides of the shell, so that if you happen to slit the top of the eggs just them, there isn't any membrane there at all.  

So we first see if the eggs are releasing from each other.

Once they do that, we then slit one or two eggs and see if the membrane has lost its adhesion to the shell. Once we see that, then we slit the top of all of the eggs, making a 1" to 1.5" long straight slit across the top. That's all. We don't try to hatch the babies, or poke around in the egg or pull out their heads. We then wait until they hatch on their own. 

Good luck,  DGB.