by Chantel » Fri Jan 23, 2015 11:15 pm
Aah, here is the answer to all my questions regarding "twins" in snakes. Below is an e-mail response from Don Soderberg from SMR Reptiles, whom we imported most of our corns from:
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"Of all the corns sharing eggs, only about one in a thousand is identical. In the shelling process in the oviduct, if two embryos are too close to each other, they are shelled together. Most of the identical twins in snakes are rendered as bi-cephaloids (twin-headed). Therefore, the odds of identical twins is easily as rare as it is in humans. Fraternal twinning in humans is very common, but the early cell-splitting in embryogenesis resulting in separated twins is one in many millions. I always get excited when I see two heads out of one egg (1-4 such eggs each year for the past 35 years), hoping they'll be two-headed. Only four have been two-headed in the past `5 years, but never did one survive for me. Wouldn't you think that of the 50,000+ corns I've hatched in the past 15 years at least ONE egg would have rewarded me? Sheesh.
Paradox albinos aren't supposed to be heritable, but it sure is heritable in your precious sand boas. Therefore, maybe true twinning (not shell-sharing) will someday be proven heritable in snakes, since snakes are so different from mammals?"
Gavin & Chantel