Imprinting Scent on Captive-Bred Eggs?

Professor Hepper's research team is interested in all aspects of early learning. They aim to investigate all animal groups to see if the same effects of pre-hatch or embryonic learning are present. To date all vertebrate species investigated appear to show the same effect.

The implications of the general adoption of this truly quantum leap technique by herpetoculturalists promises to ease the captive raising of existing, problematic, captive bred species, whilst opening the door to new species previously considered practically impossible to get feeding as hatchlings. Similar experiments conducted with T-Rex's Mouse Maker have encouraged an active feeding response on mice for the subsequent hatchlings of Indigo snakes (Drymarchon spp.) and Hognose snakes (Heterodon spp.) from parents that previously routinely produced difficult hatchling feeders. I await the future with interest to see how effective and wide ranging this revolutionary technique will prove to be in successful herpetoculture and conservation breeding.

Now ... obviously the research was DONE by t-rex, so the fact that their mouse maker was used isn't a huge surprise But it might prove a better idea then making rat gut jus to coat eggs in!

ETA: paper reference for similar resarch in chickens - http://cat.inist.fr/?aModele=afficheN&cpsidt=2308953
Abstract for embryonic olfactory learning in frogs article - http://www.informaworld.com/smpp/con...9089968~db=all

So there you have it!! Thanks for that, Toyah. Incredibly interesting to read.

Now...does anyone have any idea how I can go about making Mouse Juice??

Use a blender!

Defiantly a blender add a cup of water or so and some pinkies
:-D Yummy protein shake!

...I realize that in order to do this...I will need to mix some pinkies in a blender at some point...maybe an adult, instead of pinkies...I don't know.

So, in all seriousness...I would like some input as to what to try and how to try it. An adult and some vegetable oil in a blender? A few pinkies and some water? How would you go about keeping the mixture, since it will need to be applied multiple times through the last 2 weeks of incubation? I assume a tupperware-style container in the fridge would suffice, but what would be the most stable mixture to use for "Mouse Juice"? What about cooking the "juice" to extend the life? Will that alter the scent enough to contradict the desired reults?

I desperately want to try this, and get some quasi-scientific results from a controlled experiment, but I am also not looking forward to blending a new batch of "Mouse Juice" everytime I need to scent the eggs...

This is very interesting and I look forward to hearing how it turns out for you.

I would use pinkies instead of older mice. Less bone development and less hair to deal with while blending.

I would then take the "mouse juice" and put it in an ice tray. Then each time you needed to scent you could simply take one of the "mice cubes" and thaw it.

Originally Posted by Rich in KY

...I would then take the "mouse juice" and put it in an ice tray. Then each time you needed to scent you could simply take one of the "mice cubes" and thaw it.

Now see? THAT'S an idea that never crossed my mind!

Then...I could do a couple different trays, one made with adults, and one with pinkies, and see if there is a profound difference in effect, by splitting the clutches into different control groups...No Scenting, Pinkie Mixture, Adult Mixture...

I think the company that did the research was T-Rex, and they make an artificial (?) scent liquid to entice animals to eat. ie. Mouse scent on lizards or vice versa.

You could use that and homemade juice to compare to a control.

D80

Yeah, in the quote above it says that it was T-Rex's Mouse Maker used on Indigo and Hognose eggs. I will probably give that a go and see how it works ...

ok, this might be really dumb but its something I am wondering and it hasnt come up yet so I gotta ask.... If eggs need good ventilation to be able to have air and liquid going into and out of the egg... by putting stuff On the egg... Doesnt that clog the egg shell??