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Eggs: Good vs Slug vs Opened

Drizzt80

Drizzt80

Dakota Corns
To continue the D80 educational series this season . . .

I had a female lay a mixed clutch of (apparant) fertile eggs and some definite slugs.

The apparent fertiles are a nice white color (sometimes they won't be), dry and typically stuck together, soft (I like to equate them to the texture of marshmallows), and "plump".
07NO16xNO18Eggs.jpg


The slugs are an off white, slimy (looking and feeling), "squishy", smaller, wet and generally don't stick to each other.
Slugs.jpg


I took it upon myself to cut open a slug. I've done it before, but never got pics of it. Best I can relate it to is the consistency of the caramelly center of a cadbury egg . . . :shrugs: I'm thinking I may sacrifice a seemingly fertile egg to see if there is a difference in the interest of learning . .. I have a female right now in the process of laying and she already has 17 on the ground, so I may do it. :shrugs:
SlugsOpen.jpg


Thanks for looking,
D80
 
I'd be very interested to see the difference given that I have heard that some people have had perfectly normal hatchlings out of eggs they thought should have been tossed.

On a side note I used to love a Cadbury candy bar called Caramilk and after reading your description I don't think I could eat one again. BLAH :puke01:
Thanks for posting.

Joanna
 
NI GUY said:
There's no need.The fertile one will have a red embryo starting to grow.
Click to expand...
Ahh, but while you can tell me that . . . can you show me that?! :) FYI, you're right, as I've already done it, but I was more interested in the consistency of the 'yolk' material. I'll have pics up tonight.

D80
 
Okay, so my Lavender female laid 19 eggs last night. 18 of them were good and 1 was a slug. I decided that I would sacrifice one of the eggs in the interest of curiousity. (I had to see . . .sue me! :) ) "Why?" you may ask . . . interest of science? I may just answer. Anyone else have a picture?!

Anyway, "Why" you may ask? Obviously this isn't a method that can be used and save the eggs, but IF I should happen to get a questionable clutch in the future, I think I can accurately sacrifice 1 of the questionable eggs to see what is happening internally because, as you can see, there is a definite difference!!

Thanks for sticking with the D80 educational series of breeding season pics!
D80

Good Egg cut open. The contents were noticeably whiter and runnier . . . not globby, nor caramelly-like.
GoodEgg1.jpg


Next to a slug from the same clutch you can really see the difference:
GoodEggwSlug.jpg


Here's a close up of the embryo internally:
GoodEgg2.jpg
 
It would be interesting to see that under a microscope.
I wonder if a snake embryo has a giant head and little body or if they are little worm shaped things.
Thanks for the science lesson!
 
Drizzt80 said:
Okay, so my Lavender female laid 19 eggs last night. 18 of them were good and 1 was a slug. I decided that I would sacrifice one of the eggs in the interest of curiousity. (I had to see . . .sue me! :) ) "Why?" you may ask . . . interest of science? I may just answer. Anyone else have a picture?!
Click to expand...

That is amazing. The snake embryo likes almost like a human embryo. You need to start some kind of book on this. Absoultly amazing.
 
From what I remember, all embryos look amazingly similar in the early stages of development, and then look increasingly divergent as development continues.
 
Great post Brent and very educational actually. I will have to say that the picture of the embryo was very cool. I would never have even thought about the possibility of what it might look like. It never occurred to me that molecular gestation produced the embryo inside the snake before laying and not outside. I thought it occurred in the later. Stupid me...I should have known better :bang: . Great thread, great pictures, great information. :cool: :cool: :cool:
Jay :cool:
 
PJCReptiles said:
It never occurred to me that molecular gestation produced the embryo inside the snake before laying and not outside. I thought it occurred in the later.
Click to expand...
Thanks! And on that note, from what I understand, those snakes that give live birth actually incubate (pseudo?)-eggs internally, they hatch, and then expel/birth the babies.

D80
 
Great educational thread and photos!

But I'm wondering when you'll get the comments on your killing a perfectly healthy snake simply out of curiosity? ;)
 
Susan said:
But I'm wondering when you'll get the comments on your killing a perfectly healthy snake simply out of curiosity? ;)
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;) I've been waiting too . . . I sacrificed a perfectly (supposedly) healthy egg that could have died while incubating, been born deformed, been kinked in some way, or chosen not to eat. (I know you weren't pointing the finger Susan, just getting the points I've been holding inside out!) Sacrifices need to be made in the interest of gaining knowledge. From the comments, I'm assuming knowledge was gained by more than just myself . . . though it was self-motivated to begin with.

Besides, would it be any different ethically than going the other direction and purposely breeding entire clutches of deformed snakes that have health issues. :shrugs:

D80
 
diamondlil said:
From what I remember, all embryos look amazingly similar in the early stages of development, and then look increasingly divergent as development continues.
Click to expand...

Yup. :) The typical 'original' embryo body plan is very successful.

Try having a biology lab on identifying which embryo is which species. Oh yeah, they're on slides, and you need a microscope to look at them. :headbang: :headbang: :headbang:

Although I probably won't be breeding anytime soon, the difference in the internal structures is interesting. But I am kind of annoyed that you ruined Easter (Cadbury Eggs) for me. :cry: :)
 
Jrgh17 said:
But I am kind of annoyed that you ruined Easter (Cadbury Eggs) for me.
Click to expand...
Although it was a very imformative post Brent, I too am annoyed that you ruined the one thing that I look forward to from the Easter Bunny. So here's a pic for you Brent. From now on, every time I see a Cadbury egg, I'll always think about something white, slimmy, and gooey that came out of my snakes butt.

Sweet post Brent! (no pun intended)
 

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