Reptile & Amphibian Forums

Been meaning to post these for a couple of weeks.
Found the following in the incubator. Unfortunately
the smaller guy was dead. Note the strange scute
formation on the surviving twin who is doing fine.

They were connected by a partially absorbed yolk sack.

Didn't have time to consult a vet, but after taking the photos and studying their "connection", I sterilized an exacto knife and cut the yolk sack close to the dead baby, where the tissue of the yolk sack started looking "dead". Cleaned what was left on the live baby with nolvasan.

Anyone ever preserved anything in formaldehyde?

I have the fetal twin in a cool whip conainer in my fridge.

N/P

Thanks for sharing these photos! What a learning experience for me!
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Tess
Kingsnake.com Forum Host

It was almost too difficult to view these pics but I'm glad you posted them. Remarkable!!!!
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Cindy
Mom to Josie, Shorty & Seminole

No, but I bet the folks at the local morgue/coroner's office can help you out.
Stephanie

The biology department of a local college/university should be able to help you out. Besides immersion in fix, the body cavity should be injected with formaldehyde. Best do it soon!
Stellar photos, sad occasion...

I have preserved things in formaldehyde but its nasty stuff, you wouldn't want to have it inside your house. Why don't you use 70% Ethanol? Or rubbing alcohol? I have preserved a lot of things in rubbing alcohol (isopropanol). You need to get some INSIDE the animal so it doesn't ferment itself and blow up. You can forcibly squirt some down the throat. And with a turtle you will need to inject some inside of it. Go to a farm store and buy a big syringe and an 18 gauge needle and fill it up inside with alcohol, and then inject it into the turtle. Sounds kinda gross but it will work fine. Let it sit in the alcohol for a few weeks and then change the alcohol its in because the alcohol will be a tiny bit yellowed, and if you didn't get enough inside then it will kinda smell so you will want different alcohol in its container.

That's an amazing series of photos... thanks for sharing. I wonder how often that happens: the survivor is certainly quite a bit more developed than the other. Makes you wonder...
Stephanie

I wonder if it was triplets and two grew together into one big one and the other into the smaller one that died. That might explain the crease down the middle.

thats a real shame lisa, hopefully the surviver will make it and not have any hiden deformalities, fingers crossed keep us posted!
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