Dead Baby (Graphic)

This was not a very fortunate clutch, my male pastel who is not very good looking was bred to a light female normal in hopes of making some good looking pastels. Instead we got 7 Normals, 2 Pastels which are not great looking so far, but I'm waiting to see how they look after the shed, and one gorgeous pastel that was dead in the egg.

I just have a few questions about snakes dying in the egg, I slit this one and pulled it out after all its siblings had hatched. A good chunk of its egg was uncalcified and hard, I was wondering if perhaps it drowned because it couldn't slit or could something else have happened?
Also, if it had lived would it have kept this amazing coloring? The opening seems to be a bit high up the body, any comments? I assume that what is hanging outside the body is the yolk, someone please correct me if that's wrong. Its lower jaw also appears to be misformed which I believe you can see in the picture somewhat.

I do want to say that pulling this baby out of the egg was probably the saddest experience I've ever had working with snakes, I've never had an animal die on me. RIP, little buddy.

awww... im sorry that this happened to you. Definitely a pretty looking baby, though i cant say for certain if it would have kept its color or not.

I suppose this is something that everyone who breeds these guys has to face at one time or another.
On a good note, I hope the others do well for you!

If I were to guess, I would say that snake was dead before the others pipped. It had nothing to do with not being able to slit the egg (by that time, it would have absorbed the yolk, and that crater in his chest would have healed/sealed).

Alicia, thank you for the sentiment, its siblings seem to be doing well and the other two clutches have all shed and are ready to be fed.

Harald, good to know it was dead already and slitting it earlier wouldn't have helped. It helps to know there wasn't something extra I could have done to save it.

aww, so sorry about your little one. I hate it when they don't make it. That was a very pretty one too. I've been breeding for 3 years now and each season at least one baby will pip and then die without leaving the egg. I can't explain it, just chalk it up to a defect of some sort.

a couple days ago a spider pipped great, looked fabulous, breathing. Next day dead in his egg. He never came out. When I inspected him, his yolk was partly absorbed and part hardened. He seemed to have an enlarged heart, roundish and firm. I'm guessing birth defects of some type.

It is always sad when a baby dosn't make it. I have noticed over the years, that animals that produce high numbers of young. Tend to have a higher mortality rate(they have alot of babies, because not all survive). Then also I am seeing with alot of the morphs. A shorter life span and higher defect rate. I have never bred ball pythons. That has been my experience with the lizards and boas that I have bred. If you bred enough animals for a long enough time. This is eventually going to happen. Not that it makes it any easier to deal with. But Nature is a hard one to fight. Best of luck with it's siblings and future clutches.

That is a pastel baby right there.. What a shame...

I have had losses before as well. When you work with live animals, it comes with the territory. I'm so sorry..

These things happen.

That baby looks like the original jungle ball pythons. That was not genetic; it seemed to occur in some of the survivors when eggs were incubated in poor conditions. My guess is that the pigment simply had not fully developed when the baby died.

Thanks everyone. Its siblings are doing well, they're starting to shed as we speak, and hopefully they'll be eating in a week!

Damn that would have made a gorgeous pastel!

I would have loved to have seen what it looked like if it had made it and got thru it's first shed... Just goes to show not so good pastels CAN throw some great looking baby's...

I am sorry this happened to you but atleast the others made it out and are doing well for you. Post shed pics when ready PLEASE!!