This
One thing to consider if you have incubation issues you have no idea where you are at development wise. So you may end up cutting way to early. I used to cut as well when I started but I stopped awhile ago and am glad I did.
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Well, judging by how the eggs looked when I cut them; I’m going to say it was too early. There was way too much fluid inside and overall they looked completely different than when I cut the others.
Learned the lesson the hard way; but growing from it is what matters most.
Editing to add: I’ll also be upgrading my thermostat this year, In hopes that this won’t be an issue again.
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For sure!!!
Seems to be the only way I ever learn lol.
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I agree that cutting the eggs was a likely problem. When did you cut the eggs? After a certain day or after the second snake pipped, first snake pipped, 24 hours after the first snake pipped, etc?
I think (I’m a little iffy on the complete accuracy) but I was assuming these would be ready the same as my other clutches, because timing wise the other two clutches were like clockwork, and had two pipped by day 54 or so.
I cut them on day 56, and I’m not certain any had pipped yet. So I definitely think I cut early, hence why I say this season I just won’t be cutting. If I lose them in the egg, then so be it, I’d rather that happen then have them cut and hatch under developed
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If it does it doesn’t pertain to this post I would like to say I have assist feed a hachling for 11 months before it took food on its own. It was my brothers who passed away soon after it was hatched so I really felt the need to keep this thing alive but now it is thriving
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I hate to sound foolish, but what are you trying to feed it? Have you tried live or did you just go straight to F/T?
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Op stated they were attempting live feedings in between assist feedings.
I had been trying live for the first 2 months. Tried mouse fuzzies I think is what they were classified as.
Never had any interest in the food. Tried rat pinkies, no interest, and then had to force feed with mouse fuzzies. Between feedings I would try a few weeks with live, without luck.
Dang, this quite similar to what happened to one of my babies. She hatched June 13 at 38 grams and she wouldn’t take a meal for a month or more (live mouse hoppers or fuzzies, I even tried a rat fuzzy). I eventually had to assist feed her about 10 or 12 times and I was feeding her every 5 days but 2 months ago she took a F\T mouse fuzzy herself and has eaten ever since; I guess this is saying some bounce back and some can not.
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I must have missed that. Too much time in the lab looking at tiny things LOL
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You might want to try a live hopper. Over the years I have found that anything smaller than that tend to get ignored by babies.
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The main issue of being a geneticist…
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I agree, I was assuming they tried varying sizes of life prey
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Sorry should have indicated I did try a hopper as well. I tend to forget the names of the different sizes of small feeders. I tried fuzzies and hopper mice, and then the equivalent size rats.
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Nothing to apologize for, just trying to run down all the possibilities 
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The most humane way to euthanize is from a Vet. I’ve unfortunately had to do it this summer for a hatchling w similar issues and for a very elderly 10ft carpet because of long term health issues that wouldn’t improve, both were quality of life decisions for the animals and not my emotions. If you’re going to keep and especially attempt breeding you should have a reptile specific Vet setup well ahead of time. Mine charges $100 per animal(euthanize) and won’t do it unless it’s 100% QOL for the animal, not just to make a difficult situation easier for the keeper. Best of luck with your outcome.
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I’ve hatched out babies with hardbelly, split open stomachs, babies at 20 grams, babies with no will to eat and assisted forced fed them all. I have fed them all until they were ready to eat on their own. One baby I had didn’t have her first shed until she’d was 4 months old because she was so under weight from hardbelly.
The reason I have found that hatchlings don’t seem to do well is because they haven’t reached a good weight. All the babies that do poorly are generally under weight for a normal size new born hatchling I then try to feed them up to the appropriate weight first. While I may have been lucky I haven’t lost a single hatchling that has made it out of the egg that I was able to assist/force feed. Even if it took months of extensive care.
This is my opinion but I think cutting is important especially in situations as these because you chose to breed your animals to produce some babies. By letting ‘nature’ take its course you are choosing to let certain animals die because they ‘might’ be difficult which I find wrong.I think since it still has a will to live you should be obligated to care for it. Of course, there are scenarios where the animal is suffering that it should be culled but this animal is eating (assisted), pooping, and living.
For hatchlings like this I feed every 3-5 days especially if underweight, if it will only take via forced( my definition of forced is where the mouth of the snake can close but no further). Teaches the hatchling to swallow on its ow n. If thebaby is 25GC r less I use a peach fuzzy mouse. If the baby is 25-60g I use mouse fuzzy to mouse crawlers. No hoppers especially when assist/force feeding because you want multiple small meals not just large meals especially when feeding every 3-5 days.
Absolutely no live rats until it eats on its own and no live hopper mice. They move way to much and can scare small hatchlings. I would use live mouse fuzzies which you leave over night . I continue this until the animal takes forced , then assisted, then live mice, then fzn thawed. It’s a pain, and a ton of work but I feel it’s the job of the breeder to care for all their babies regardless of the issues that pop up.
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Absolutely but it’s been. 5 months without eating a single time and it’s visually defective. At what point do you stop? Do you force feed it it’s entire life?After 5 months and will not eat on its own does it really have a will to live? If it’s internally underdeveloped you could just be prolonging the animals suffering. If you hatch enough snakes some don’t make it, they just don’t it’s a part of breeding. As the breeder it’s also your job to decide when the snake has zero chance and you are just keeping it alive.
I would also like to specify assist feeding means the snake takes it on its own after some help. This animal is being force feed. So it has shown zero interest at all in eating its being forced.
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This visual defective part doesn’t impact it ability to live though I assume. Eyeless snakes thrive in captivity all the time. The underdeveloped portion is a guess though it could be underdeveloped or just not thrive. That baby that had her first shed at 4 months was forced/assist fed until she was 6+ months old and then took a live mouse crawler when she hit 90 grams. She is a little small for her age, about three years old at around 800g but she is thriving (will only take mice though). You are right, it is up to the breeder to decide when it’s time to have them keep going or let them go for quality of life but I think your little one could make it. Could I be wrong, absolutely, 100% but if I was in your position I would keep feeding but I’m not, so whatever you decide is the right decision in the end because you did all that you could. And that’s all we can ever ask for.
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Right but it also has as a serve wobble and a jungle pattern all these together tell me that the snake was WAY underdeveloped and then forced out early by cutting the eggs. All this together tells me the snake probably is underdeveloped internally. Do you force feed this snake it’s entire life to keep it alive?
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