Severely deflated eggs

Hi everyone i just wanted to get some opinions on my situation. My ball python eggs are on day 48 now and throughout the incubation process my eggs have been dimpled in quite a bit. The reason is i believe the hatchrite im using dried out early in the incubation process and by the time i moved them on to an egg crate and boosted the humidity they weren't able to plump back up but they have survived this long and appear to be doing well. I'm not sold on the hatchrite but i take most of the blame for it. My second clutch is also dimpling in, not as severely as my first clutch but i decided to switch them to vermiculite hopefully this helps. Anyways my question is should i wait till day 55 to cut or cut a little earlier? I was thinking day 51 just because they are so deflated that im worried about the baby being crushed or not being able to get out. Another question that i had was since the eggs appear to be dried out after i cut them can i pour saline solution into the eggs to keep them moist until they come out? I heard this is ok to do. Any help would be greatly appreciated thank you.

They absorb much of the contents of the egg anyway at that stage in development and there is often more than enough fluid.. I really don't think it's necessary to add anything.

The dimpling at this stage is natural, There is probably not a lot of risk they will be crushed.

My advice would be let them have at least 55-57 days on their own, then cut a little escape hatch in the rare case they couldn't get out on their own.

I think we tend to potentially cause more trouble interfering (with good intentions) than just leaving them be sometimes, myself included.

Good luck!

Switchen the substrate this late prolly wont do anything but wont hurt as long as the eggs arent roled. Ive read articles of people cutting around day 48 so 51 i dont feel is any issue. If you cut at 51 they should be poking there heads out by 55. If not i would feel around in the egg to make sure you see movement. They should still have enough liquid in them that you dont have to add anything. Ive never heard of using saline but seems harmless. After you cut them take pictures & post them. People should give you some feedback. Good luck

Thank you jack a agree with that last statement. Also when i said i was switching them to vermiculite i meant my second clutch which is around day 35 and Are having some dimpling issues as well.

One more thing im gonna take pictures tomorrow so you can see how dimpled they are. It seems like a baby wouldnt even be able to fit inside

I have seen eggs that I was convinced were completely desiccated and dead hatch out just fine. The rate that they collapse and shrivel in the last few days can be pretty amazing, and frightening. Sounds like they will be just fine.

What ratio of water to hatchrite are you using??

The only reason im worried is because they have been dimpled the whole incubation process. The ratio of water im using now is as wet as i can possibly get it i have the eggs on an egg crate with the water all the way to the bottom of the crate. The first 4 weeks of incubation i was under the impression that hatchrite didnt need water and it dried out i put a press and seal on it the first 2 weeks when i seen they were dimpling then 2 weeks later when i noticed they had gotten alot worse i put them on an egg crate and mixed alot of water

I use vermiculite with a 1:1 water to vermiculite ratio and being almost a week in the incubator they are just as plump as the day they were laid. So I used 250g of vermiculite in a 6qt tub and 250g of water..got the 1:1 ratio from Brian Gundy from his youtube video..

Yeah, I've had the same experience with hatchrite... too dry. Might as well buy the cheaper vermiculite.

Also, now that you are using an egg crate or light diffuser to lift the eggs off the incubation medium, you don't need to worry about water ratios etc.
I think you did the right thing adding a bunch of water and lifting the eggs off the hatchrite.

Like Shawn said, eggs can look pretty terrible and still hatch healthy babies

Originally Posted by ApReptiles

The only reason im worried is because they have been dimpled the whole incubation process. The ratio of water im using now is as wet as i can possibly get it i have the eggs on an egg crate with the water all the way to the bottom of the crate. The first 4 weeks of incubation i was under the impression that hatchrite didnt need water and it dried out i put a press and seal on it the first 2 weeks when i seen they were dimpling then 2 weeks later when i noticed they had gotten alot worse i put them on an egg crate and mixed alot of water

Hatchrite has some spotty quality control. Over the years I've seen several people have the issue of not enough moisture in that product. Save your money, use the eggcrate method and you never have to worry about whether or not you have enough humidity in that tub. No complicated formulas. No difficult to find ingredients. You can use just the plastic crate and water, or you can add some substrate in there underneath if it makes you feel better. I've used everything from perlite to aquarium gravel and all work well as long as it's not something that can hold and grow bacteria.

I agree with the above. It sounds like your eggs are right on course to hatch, and will more than likely do just fine with no intervention. If you're worried about the little fluid left in there drying out, make sure you keep that tub closed until they hatch. Meddle only if it becomes absolutely necessary.