Here you can see baby ball pythons hatching - it is a slow process for them. First, they use their egg tooth (a small, sharp cutting device on the upper lip) to break out of the tough, leathery shell of the egg. Often they make many slits before they use one to poke their heads through. During incubation, the egg shell itself serves as a 'lung' - with veins across the inside of its surface for air exchange. Once the snake detaches these by moving around and cutting the shell, there is no going back. They start breathing air - you can see all the bubbles here, a good sign everything is progressing well!