Question about hatchlings

casacrow · 09-23-03, 02:17 PM

So I came home to day to find that I have 5 baby balls in the incubator. They all looked great except for one. This one was dragging it's shell around and was still attached to the yolk, but was outside of the egg. I cut the cord even though it had not absorbed the yolk because it looked as though it was really pulling on it's insides. The snake is obviously smaller than the others having not absorbed it's yolk. My concern ( of course I think of this after the fact) is that I may have caused possible damage to this snake. Do any vital organs exist outside of the snakes body when in the egg? Any answers would be appreciated as i would not like to lose this little one.

Thanx pros.

BoidKeeper · 09-23-03, 02:25 PM

No organs outside the egg. I don't think you should have cut it. What would have been preferable would have been to move the whole thing, snake yolk sac, shell all of it into a small plastic dish like a cleaned out butter dish with wet paper towl in the bottom. That way the snake would be in a clean yet humid environment.
Keep him warm and clean maybe lightly mist his cage. Set him up on paper towl all by himself and then leave him alone for a few days. I hope more people can add to this as I've never had to deal with what you've described.
Good luck,
Trevor

casacrow · 09-23-03, 07:06 PM

Thanks for your input. I always thought that the hatchlings did not cut their slits until they had pretty much absorbed their yolk. I was away for the weekend so I did not get to see the happenings. I wonder if the other babys disrupted it somehow in the incubator. Well as of now it seems alright, although it is not quite as active as the others.