Yes i did, at the advice of a friend
Homemade. I rebuilding a different one. I rhink the incubator was not heating eventually
If your incubator isn’t holding temperatures that well the worst thing you can do is cut eggs. With swinging temperatures it’s tough to gauge where the eggs are development wise. I think you unfortunately cut way earlier judging by the size of the hatchlings. And if they are underdeveloped and don’t absorb the sac they probably won’t make it.
6 Likes
I realize that now. They were at 60 days and i panicked. But if temps were unstable, who **** knows… i know i killed them, and im sick over it. Lesson learned, and trying very hard to prevent this from ever happening again.
1 Like
I have lost snakes from cutting early and that is why I don’t personally cut eggs anymore. But if you are going to cut it’s better to wait until at least one pips so you know they are at least close to hatching.
6 Likes
Ya i wont again…
Congrats and sorry to hear about the situation. Unfortunately we are all human and prone to mistakes, and when starting out, there are going to be a few (when I eventually have my first clutch im going to be a nervous wreck trying to figure out what mistakes i might be making before making them).
Dont let it get you too down. Learn from them and move forward, at the end of the day, thats all you can do, as well as giving the best care you can to the surviving babies 
4 Likes
Yes i have learned the hard way… also need to stop taking advise n go with my gut on things…
1 Like
Or ask here and get a lot of opinions and real life examples 
4 Likes
Ya i should have… this sucks
Getting advice isnt a bad thing, however it should be taken with a grain of salt, and getting advice from more than one source greatly increases its value. There is too much info in the world for any one person to know everything, asking around and getting a consensus for what has worked for the community can be a good help what works for one person may not be applicable to you however.
1 Like
It’s your first clutch, things happen. Don’t beat yourself up just learn - maybe how to make the incubator better or adding multiple probes to check temps or circulate air etc, whatever you can. I’m sorry you are dealing with this. Good luck.
1 Like
I’m sorry things didn’t turn out how you’d hoped, but we all make mistakes when keeping, learning from them is how we grow and become better with time. Nature doesn’t follow rigid schedules. In the future just remember: if they’re viable and meant to hatch, they will if given time.
1 Like
Dont feel bad, your willing to learn and also - It may not be your fault the first one died, the black and white should not have looked like that from the pairing, could be a genetic anomaly. If your temps can be relied on cutting should not be an issue.
Regarding the incubator being home made, that should make no difference. - if temps are stable and your using a thermostat and its well insulated and your thermometers are calibrated for accuracy and temps are relatively even in all areas…
Regarding making sure thermometers are accurate, Private Message (PM) me (I think they call it Dm here) , i have made so many posts about how to do that and cant be bothered again, unless that is you ask me specifically
Check this thread for tips on any incubator temperature’s stability :-
In addition consider drafts on part of the incubator if not well insulated…
1 Like
If it wasn’t fully developed or there were incubation issues that caused it’s pigment to not develop properly then I don’t see why it shouldn’t have looked like that. That, and it looks like it was a ghi lesser (poss fire) combo. It of course would have looked different once it shed. Given the evidence we have, chances are it isn’t a genetic anomaly (especially since more than one died and they all look small). As the saying goes “When you hear hoofbeats, think horses, not zebras”. The most likely answer is usually the cause. Just like @saleengrinch said, wait until babies pip before cutting, especially if you aren’t confident in your incubator. @julezbnutz also said they don’t think their incubator was working properly. All that said, I don’t think they should feel bad since this was an honest mistake due to bad advice and being new to this. Mistakes help us learn better ways to do things, even if they hurt sometimes.
3 Likes
Fluctuating temperatures cause hatchling colors and patterns to be “off” ie “jungle”
3 Likes
Im rebuilding incubator with new rhermostat with alarm, i got aeat thermometer with wifi to notify me.of tempsin real time… im not messing around. Ive dine my own research and think i cN do it right. My las incubator was too small, didn’t have a fan, so trmps were inconsistent so snakes bake unevenly. 2 cooked, the rest were raw. At almost 70 days they were still underdeveloped.
Lesson learned. But ouch.
So ill be posting about the build as i go… should start this weekend
Didnt know that
Thank you all. I guarantee you it was my incubator. Its a home.job build.by someone else with no fan, very small. Air couldnt circulate, egg box fit in tight, heat tape on 2 sides… ya… i should have never used it. Just goes to show, your always better off to do your own research, rather than assume someone knows what they are doing…
Mine shall be epic