WARNING-fetal photos, not gory

[Dr O]

checking on a batch of eggs from May, i was surprised to see this one opened and frank blood visible. i dissected it out, double stacked some macro lenses, and voilà! the miracle of birth!

i’m a little surprised he’s so developed for 5+ months, but there is one fascinating clue that reveals more to come—his closed eyelids are so transparent that underneath you are can make out the enormous size of his globe. it shows why chams win in the animal kingdom when measuring skull:eyeball ratios! his pupil and iris are eerily visible. unfortunately he was stillborn, but the rest of the eggs look much better.

 

[ChameleonRave]

Thank you for sharing such an incredible thread. It's interesting seeing the eye through the skin.

 

[Balizar]

Awesome... Very cool to see from that point of view.

 

[ridgebax1]

Having just received a juvenile panther, I was just pondering the fact that their little eyes are so large in relationship to the head. Are they in fact the same size they would be in an adult or do they still have some growing to do? It just shows how important vision is to the survival of the animal. I marvel at the little thing wandering around his cage and think about the ones born in the wild who have so much to do to survive. I think about their little feet and wondering how they manage to hold on in a stiff breeze! I noticed this little one's feet have not differentiated into separate toes yet. I was also very surprised at the length of incubation considering animals such as cats, dogs and similar mammals have a much shorter gestation.

 

[Ahtee]

I'm just curious as to why it didn't make it. If it managed to break the egg shell it meant he/she was ready if that's the case why did it die in the end? Did it run out of strength or smth? Maybe u could further educate me

 

[ridgebax1]

Well, I am not a vet or breeder but I noted in the early photos the cham fetus was still enclosed within the amniotic sac, so it did not do anything to break the egg shell or the sac would have broken as well. Something else must have caused the egg to break. You can also see that the cham was not fully developed as you could see the eyeball through its closed eyelids and the little hands and feet have not separated into the typical "oven mitt" type hands the chams are known for. Even if it had broken out of the sac and shell and was alive at birth it would not have survived because it is extremely premature.

 

[paulexp]

Thank you for the post

 

[Dr O]

all digits and even toenails are indeed there, just have some shmutz on them and not focused on the feet.

and yes, the eyes will certainly grow!! if you look his eyes are about ⅛"; adults will be around 1 cm.

 

[Dr O]

as for the burst egg, I agree that wasn't him. the egg was never as white as the others, so Mother Nature is doing her thing and weeding out the weaker strains. likely a defect in the shell itself.

 

[shaunaroxanne]

That is so cool how you can see all his veins and his eyeballs, and this gives great perspective at how they are positioned in the egg. Does his head look a little swollen to you, or is it just the photo? I feel like it looks more "domed" than usual.

 

[Dr O]

it was definitely domed, but firm.

 

[maxttu]

Great shots. Sorry for the loss of this guy...