Lately I keep seeing posts on twin dragons that people have hatched. I know this is fairly frequent with dragons and other reptiles. Although, I know with snakes twins from the same egg are not true identical or fraternal twins, does anyone know if this holds true with dragons or other lizards? Not looking to start any fights but just wondering if this could be due to environmental factors rather than genetics. Thanks
From--
Ross R. and Marzec G. 1990. The Reproductive Husbandry of Pythons and Boas. The Institute for Herpetological Research, Standford, Ca. p.116.
"Since snakes generally give birth to multiple offspring from multiple ova, all littermates, whether from viviparious or oviparous snakes, are probably non-identical twins(or triplets, quadruplets, etc). In vitellogenic oviparous snakes (snakes that lay yolked eggs) such as pythons, the yolk does not divide during cell replication. Instead, the embryo develops on top of the yolk. Therefore, the occurrence of two embryos in one egg must be caused by two separate embryos being '"accidentally'" shelled together during passage through the oviduct. They are not, therefore, true twins.
Since these '"twins"' are not true twins, this penomenon is a random event and not an inheritable trait. Furthermore, the number of young is unchanged, but the number of eggs is reduced by one."
