QuickSilver
New member
Past or current. I'm curious if this happens. I'm assuming it is very rare. If so, would they hatch?
-
Hello!
Either you have not registered on this site yet, or you are registered but have not logged in. In either case, you will not be able to use the full functionality of this site until you have registered, and then logged in after your registration has been approved.
Registration is FREE, so please register so you can participate instead of remaining a lurker....
Please be certain that the location field is correctly filled out when you register. All registrations that appear to be bogus will be rejected. Which means that if your location field does NOT match the actual location of your registration IP address, then your registration will be rejected.
Sorry about the strictness of this requirement, but it is necessary to block spammers and scammers at the door as much as possible.
Has anyone had any "twin eggs" in their clutches?
- Thread starter QuickSilver
- Start date
Heck, it might happen here quite frequently, but I would never know. Whenever the number of hatchlings I pull out of the egg incubating box is more than the number of eggs I noted on the card, I just assume I miscounted them in the flood of eggs being dropped by the females.
Sometimes I will count the eggs three times and get a different count each time!
Sometimes I will count the eggs three times and get a different count each time!
Yeah, sometimes I feel like I got overwhelmed. Kind of sensory overload where too much seen too often deadens the thrill. I guess that is why I keep forging ahead to produce new things. The real fun is to produce something that no one in the world has ever seen before.
But it can be rather frustrating trying to keep one step ahead of Murphy's Law. Every year now, I will take some brand new animal that looks exquisite and show my wife. We will both stare at it for a while, then in unison will say "It will probably die." Fortunately, most don't, but it has happened enough times that the gallows humor every once in a while helps blunt the disappointment when it does happen.
Having a baby snake refuse to eat can be frustrating enough, but if it is the ONLY one like it in the world, it can really get to you.
But you know you have to keep plugging away at it. Because each egg might be the start of a whole new saga in corn snake genetics.
But it can be rather frustrating trying to keep one step ahead of Murphy's Law. Every year now, I will take some brand new animal that looks exquisite and show my wife. We will both stare at it for a while, then in unison will say "It will probably die." Fortunately, most don't, but it has happened enough times that the gallows humor every once in a while helps blunt the disappointment when it does happen.
Having a baby snake refuse to eat can be frustrating enough, but if it is the ONLY one like it in the world, it can really get to you.
But you know you have to keep plugging away at it. Because each egg might be the start of a whole new saga in corn snake genetics.
Susan
Go Ahead, Make My Day!
I've definately had 2 snakes from the same egg several times over the years. The first time it happened, I, too, thought I had just miscounted the eggs. Since then, I always triple count the empty shells, pulling them apart and laying them out after all have hatched. "Yes, there are 18 hatchlings and only 17 shells!"
I've been unable to tell if the twins were identical or fraternal in those cases. Survival rates of twins, in my cases, is unknown, since I can't tell which hatchlings are the twins.
Last year, I actually witnessed both hatchlings inside the same egg. It was more of a tragedy in that case though. One hatchling had made a hole but didn't make it all the way out. When I tried to pull it out the rest of the way, I was sort of "stuck". I gently opened the shell more and realized that there was a second hatchling inside. The twins were actually siamese, attached together just below the umbilicus and then seperating again just above their vents. The second hatchling was already dead and had a severely deformed head as well. I euthanized the first hatchling since it was still alive.
I've been unable to tell if the twins were identical or fraternal in those cases. Survival rates of twins, in my cases, is unknown, since I can't tell which hatchlings are the twins.
Last year, I actually witnessed both hatchlings inside the same egg. It was more of a tragedy in that case though. One hatchling had made a hole but didn't make it all the way out. When I tried to pull it out the rest of the way, I was sort of "stuck". I gently opened the shell more and realized that there was a second hatchling inside. The twins were actually siamese, attached together just below the umbilicus and then seperating again just above their vents. The second hatchling was already dead and had a severely deformed head as well. I euthanized the first hatchling since it was still alive.
Clint Boyer
'Former' Snake slave
Siamese twin eggs???
CornCrazy
What's one more???
I have had twins...
I had two "twin" or "girdled" eggs last year from my snow corn. Both eggs were in the same clutch. This year, however, she did not lay any twin eggs. Last year, one of the twin eggs didn't make it, but the other hatched out two perfectly formed babies. I'm not going to post a picture because my eggs resembled Clint's picture.
I had two "twin" or "girdled" eggs last year from my snow corn. Both eggs were in the same clutch. This year, however, she did not lay any twin eggs. Last year, one of the twin eggs didn't make it, but the other hatched out two perfectly formed babies. I'm not going to post a picture because my eggs resembled Clint's picture.
Serpwidgets
New member
I got twins this year...
I actually watched this teeny tiny little amel hatch from an egg, thinking, "what else is in there taking up all that space?" I then saw another amel through the hole in the egg.
You can see him in there. His eye is the most obvious part.
(I spent most of my free time this week just laying on the floor watching the egg box like a movie, so I saw quite a few of them emerge from the egg... this one worried me, he came out and spazzed when his umbilical cord was still connected. He was thrashing and I actually grabbed a pair of scissors and cut the cord because I was afriad he was gonna screw himself up pulling so hard.)
After they both came out, I checked that egg, and there were no other holes in it. (So it didn't come through another egg.) I also counted the eggs vs hatchlings after all was said and done. Definitely twins.
Their head patterns are amazingly similar, although the rest of the pattern varies a lot between them. However, there's a lot of "aztec-like" influence in pretty much the entire clutch, and that might be a totally randomizing factor on pattern anomolies. (They genetically cloned a calico cat and the "white patch" was different on the clone.)
So I dunno if they're "identical twins," but it probably doesn't matter. They're both way small, one of them is even smaller and horribly uncoordinated (looks like neurological problems and I bet he won't eat even if he does live for long) and they both have some kinks, probably from "starving" inside the egg as a result of sharing all the food.
BTW I don't think anyone mentioned this, but two-headed snakes (of all kinds of species) are conjoined twins. (I'm pretty sure those are all identical twins, IIRC.)
So it happens. Dunno how often though. I've probably "beaten" the odds...
I actually watched this teeny tiny little amel hatch from an egg, thinking, "what else is in there taking up all that space?" I then saw another amel through the hole in the egg.
You can see him in there. His eye is the most obvious part.
(I spent most of my free time this week just laying on the floor watching the egg box like a movie, so I saw quite a few of them emerge from the egg... this one worried me, he came out and spazzed when his umbilical cord was still connected. He was thrashing and I actually grabbed a pair of scissors and cut the cord because I was afriad he was gonna screw himself up pulling so hard.)
After they both came out, I checked that egg, and there were no other holes in it. (So it didn't come through another egg.) I also counted the eggs vs hatchlings after all was said and done. Definitely twins.
Their head patterns are amazingly similar, although the rest of the pattern varies a lot between them. However, there's a lot of "aztec-like" influence in pretty much the entire clutch, and that might be a totally randomizing factor on pattern anomolies. (They genetically cloned a calico cat and the "white patch" was different on the clone.
)So I dunno if they're "identical twins," but it probably doesn't matter. They're both way small, one of them is even smaller and horribly uncoordinated (looks like neurological problems and I bet he won't eat even if he does live for long) and they both have some kinks, probably from "starving" inside the egg as a result of sharing all the food.
BTW I don't think anyone mentioned this, but two-headed snakes (of all kinds of species) are conjoined twins. (I'm pretty sure those are all identical twins, IIRC.)
So it happens. Dunno how often though. I've probably "beaten" the odds...