Reptile & Amphibian Forums

Was snapping a few photos yesterday morning early of my next clutch to hatch, alterna due to pop out the week of the 25th and just had to show them off. Due to my fascination over these things, I wanted a few clean close-up shots to be able to take a close look at. Plus I was bored. Anyhow... I think it is just so cool how these things are expandable by design and these pics show it pretty well, Jonel had some great shots earlier which prompted me to do this. You can clearly see how they are designed to be able to billow out and expand like a balloon.

I am also curious as to why reptile eggs are adhesive and are designed to "cure" and secure themselves together the way they do. Was it just accidental and not an intended feature, or was there a reason or need for them to do this? Is it intended to stabilize them so that they don't move easily, and/or aid in temperature/moisture transfer to help stabilize conditions? And they are amazingly durable... ever try to tear an infertile casing open? Not an easy thing to do considering that they are such a small egg. I had a tough go on a couple trying to open them with an exacto knife they are so darned resilient. But these hatchlings sure can bust through!

I must be bored again this morning... here I am at 4am sharing my crazy mind. Wish my body wasn't trained to get up so friggin' early, and I have been rambling around here for a while already.

Here are the alterna eggs and adults, and if anyone has any thoughts on the above ramblings, please share.....

Well at the very least, the eggs sticking together keeps them from rolling at a later date after being laid.

LOL......... Like me............ LOL
My little sister used to have this saying, "Simple things fascinate simple minds".
I had set up an aquarium when I was 11 and I would turn out all the lights in my room and just have the aquarium light on and just watch the guppies and other fish do their thing. "Life" is a cool thing. My sister admits now that simple "life" is much more complex and fascinating then she at 1st thought. Most of my favorite hobbies involve other life. Whether its flyfishing for trout.... trying to tye a fly that will imitate what they want to eat or chasing elk/deer with my bow needing to get really really close. Or breeding/feeding thayeri king snakes. "Life" is definately cool.

...and I also did the aquarium thing when I was a kid and my favorite time back then was when I was raising German Half-Black fancy guppies, got the biggest thrill out of seeing those microscopic babies born and raising them to adults. Spent many an hour studying those little fish, their behavior and perfecting my breeding efforts. The tropical fish interest picked up again about 20 years ago and it ended when I discovered the world of kingsnakes.

I also raised and bred many small animals during my early teens, I guess the miracle of new life will always be a big part of who I am.

Life is without question, an amazingly cool thing!