One of my corn snake hatchlings has died?

Question

I had 5 corn snake eggs that started to hatch on monday. The first baby piped and came out of the egg within just a few hours, it did not seem to spend much time in the egg, where as the other 3 that have piped stayed in the egg with just their head out for between 24-48 hours.

When the first baby came from the egg it seemed to pull out the umbilical with it and a small amount off blood at the base of its tail where it was attached to the egg. As this is my first time and this was the first egg to hatch I thought this might be normal. But as the other babies seemed to spend much more time in the eggs absorbing their yolk and haven't pulled out any type of umbilical I thought that this wasn't so normal.

When I checked today the first baby had died. Is this because it pulled itself out of the egg to quickly, I have read they can die from ripping the umbilical, and the other eggs that have fully hatched haven't pulled anything out like this.

Answer 1

It is normal for some reptile eggs to either not hatch at all or for the a percentage of the  babies to die after they hatch. You are doing well for your first time, many breeders don't get any babies on their first try.

Answer 2

One of the questions we get asked quite often is "How do I breed my Cornsnake". This seemingly simple question is often never considered by the novice. First, do you have a market for the offspring once they have been produced? Second, do you have adequate food supplies and caging for the offspring? Third, are you willing to risk the life of your Cornsnake? I'm not trying to tell you not to breed your Cornsnakes, just making sure you are aware of a few of the problems associated with it.