They're ugly, but they're pipping

Well, the worst looking eggs I’ve ever incubated are pipping. It’s Day 64 for Rubik and Victory’s clutch and I don’t mind admitting I’m relieved to be seeing little noses! One egg did go bad, as you can see, but the rest just stayed ugly while they developed. (They’re still huge, too.) It’s a smallish clutch, but I may get some answers about hets. The moral of the story is, don’t give up because the eggs are ugly!

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Can’t wait to see what pops out of these!

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You and me both, lol! I will say that a couple of these pippies look to be pretty good-sized.

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There are five pippies visible now, five more to go. I see a two Caramel noses, a Classic, a bunch of bubbles and hardly a nose at all, and… something else. Thin noseband, very light body ground color, and much lighter than usual Caramel-based saddle color when it poked a bit further out of the egg. It promptly retreated when it saw me. I’ve been good and not pestered them (much). But now I’m dying to see more!


Apologies for the bad picture but I had to share.

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Cool! Definitely a great example of ugly eggs =/= infertile! Looks like that baby is at least masque.

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Right?? These eggs were so fragile looking when Victory laid them, I wasn’t sure they’d make it. There was one which actually broke in the laying process. There was a bit of an issue with mold on the exterior of a couple which had been lying in the contents of the broken one. I wiped them down as well as I could using only water and not pressing too hard. And one never developed veins, darkened and hardened. So I held my breath, crossed my fingers, said prayers. We made it to Day 64.

And now it’s hatching day! I am super excited to see these babies I wasn’t sure I would ever see! Here’s part of one. It’s all I’ve got so far, lol.

PS - Sunlight and Victory laid on the same day. They’re still in synch. Sunlight’s first pippy has just appeared.

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What a beauty :snake: :heart:. As they say its the inside that counts.

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I love this!!

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When I checked this morning, this little charmer was just exiting its egg.


I contented myself with one quick pic for now. Apparently the lighter areas I was seeing through the slits were belly. Talk about split checkers!

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These babies are all set up now. Many are Masque with the expected variations in expression. Lots of Caramels. Some have adorable facial markings like the girl pictured with markings which remind me of eyelashes.



They’re big babies too, with most weighing in between 9 and 10 grams. Except…

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This little one weighs 4.0 grams. It’s a twin! I’m sorry to say that the other twin didn’t make it to hatching. I’ll post some more info on it tomorrow. Victory herself is a twin. It’s interesting that she produced twins, too!

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I really hope this sweetie makes it and thrives. They say the best things come in small packages.

I have a special place in my heart for the “runts” being one myself. I remember when i was 10 my 5 yo. Brother was my same height. My parents use to ask the drs why i was so tiny and if anything could be done, the drs said it wasn’t a concern.

You have a special baby here.

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Thanks, I think so too! The past couple of days have been incredibly hectic for a variety of reasons. I’m seriously hoping things calm down and I can actually begin a progression thread about this little creature.

Victory was just about the same size. If memory serves, she was actually a bit smaller. I think she and her twin sister were like 3.6 g. They started on pinky heads and did just fine. I expect that this little one will do the same. It isn’t premature, doesn’t have any noticeable defects. It’s just tiny. :heart:

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For some people a smaller snake is desirable. If she maintains a small size and is healthy maybe you stumbled on a “dwarf” size breed? I got the snakes i did bc they dont get too big so im sure that others like smaller snakes. All of your babies are beautiful though so congrats.

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Lol I’d love to magically produce miniature corn snakes. That would be totally cool.! But no, I’m sure it’s just a twin. Corns do produce them on rare occasions. From all I’ve read, they begin life smaller due to the constraints of fitting into one egg, but they’ve all grown up to be normal adults.

I know first- hand that Victory is a normal sized adult female. I was worried about her and her sister, and felt quite relieved when they ate and grew. (That’s actually why she’s named Victory. :grin:) I expect this new twin to do the same.

And thanks for the congratulations!

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Any word on Septres egg?

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Thanks for asking. It’s just sitting there looking like a normal egg so I guess so far, so good!

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