I woke up this morning to this corn snake excitement! Clearly I need a tripod or something for my phone. The shaking is a bit annoying, but still the time-lapse video results are pretty amazing to witness. These are big video files so be patient with the download.
Above you’ve seen a few of Cookie and Brownie’s newest offspring “pipping”. Pipping is the name given to the animal behavior of breaking or tearing through an egg to hatch. Birds and reptiles all “pip” and they all have a special sharp adaptation called an “egg tooth” that sticks out from their snout that is used for this purpose. Corn snakes and most reptile eggs are soft and leathery so the egg tooth tears the shell so the little snake can peek out into the world.
So far, seven of Cookie’s nine eggs have some sort of “activity” as you can see below. I am careful not to disturb them because I don’t want to startle the hatchlings causing them to leave their eggs too soon. It is important that they fully consume their first “meal” before venturing fully out into their shoe box …. Thanks for the egg yolk, mom! ...
The pebbly looking material the eggs are resting in is called vermiculite. Vermiculite (available at most hardware stores) is a natural mineral product that is known for being porous and holding moisture/water. I use it to help maintain a humid incubator environment. It is also a friendly first material for the hatchlings to explore once they have bravely exited their egg. Here is one of our first bold explorers. And yes, she is amelanistic!!
Are you looking closely at the picture and videos???? How many amelanistic babies have you counted?
Remember the word amelanistic “dissected” works like this…. a = not, melanistic = melanin. Therefore, not or no melanin in these corn babies. Melanin is a pigment found in animal skin and hair that provides black/brown coloration. Without melanin corn snakes will be red, yellow and white only. Their eyes of course will be red instead of black because of the absence of melanin.
It’s not too late to take the poll below! We are waiting on two more eggs….
Mr. Caldwell and I spent a fair amount of time researching optimal viewing sites for this total solar eclipse and landed on Madras, Oregon due to its higher probability of clear skies, airfare, lodging economics/comfort, and NASA’s endorsement. We waffled back and forth between several locations in Oregon, Idaho and Wyoming but are ultimately happy with our choice and now are hopeful for cooperating weather conditions.
We were first introduced to this topic last year when our classmate, Rafa, developed a power point presentation that he shared with the LC on the problem of the Great Pacific Garbage Patch. His presentation introduced us to a young man, Boyan Slat, determined to solve the problem of this marine debris. Here is the link to Boyan’s 2013 TedX talk that we watched last school year..
WAAAAAY cooler than a bird or a plane …. a meteor shower!! This summer’s Perseid meteor shower is expected to be more prolific than most. The Perseids occur regularly in August as Earth’s revolution passes through the dust and debris left behind by 1992’s Comet Swift-Tuttle (This comet with its elongated elliptical orbit won’t pass by Earth again until 2126!) Most Augusts you can be expected to see around 50 meteors per hour. This year, astronomy experts are predicting 150-200 meteors per hour!
Never Stop Questioning! 