Conjoined (Cephalopagus?) Twins that didn't make it *semi-graphic*

[PaulSage]

I noticed that an egg had pipped earlier today and went to check on it this evening, expecting to be putting some hatchlings away. However, after taking a closer look at one that did not hatch, I saw two tails near the opening in the egg. (sorry the first few photos aren't real bright, I forgot to turn the flash up on my camera)

(This picture was taken after I started opening up the egg a little so that it would be easier to see the two tails.)

I started opening the egg to help them out, and noticed that they weren't "fighting back."

This is how they were situated inside the egg:

After gently untangling them, I noticed that their heads were stuck together. Aside from that, it doesn't appear that they have any other abnormalities. I believe their spines look bent simply because of how they were folded in the egg.

This picture shows where their heads are connected (you can see the skin stretch between them). I can't tell whether their skulls are fused or not, and am debating whether I have it in me to delve into that tonight yet (I would kind of like to know).

Their clutchmate, on the other hand, seems to be perfectly healthy and normal. :main_thumbsup:

Anyway, I just thought I'd share the pictures.

 

[Sdaji]

Interesting pictures, thanks for sharing them. My honours supervisor worked with parthenogenetic Heteronotia geckoes when he was doing his own honours year. He had a couple of sets of "Siamese Twins". Since these were clones, the condition is clearly not genetic. He was deliberately running the eggs in some fairly extreme conditions, which might have been the cause. He put the twins (preserved in ethanol) on the shelf next to my lab area, which was quite a distraction while I was supposed to be studying grasshoppers! Our twins were joined by the bellies or flanks.

 

[BluGnat]

Wow. The Siamese aspect aside, it never occurred to me that in the gecko world it would be possible to have twins in one egg.

 

[Mel&Keith]

Paul, that's insane! I can't believe they fully developed and actually pipped the egg. Thanks for sharing the pictures.

 

[Jayyoung]

conjoined twins. very interesting.
has anyone else had this aberration?

 

[boutiquegecko]

That's nuts, thanks for sharing. I didn't think that was poss in a leopard gecko. Have you researched it to see if it's happened before? Maybe someone is documenting it somewhere?

 

[brandy101010]

Wow! That is something else! I'm sorry you lost them. Maybe if they would have lived and the skulls are not connected they may have been able to have surgery to seperate them?

 

[StinaKSU]

Awe the poor little things

The Siamese aspect aside, it never occurred to me that in the gecko world it would be possible to have twins in one egg.

fraternal twins couldn't happen in one egg...however identical twins are always a possibility in any species...it is not ever genetic; no one knows what causes it, but it is a splitting of one embryo into two. Any time you find 2 embryos in one egg its going to be identical twins, conjoined or not.

 

[eyelids]

Paul you got a thing for hatching twins! It's too bad they didn't make it.

 

[Jeremy Letkey]

Very unique Paul, thanks for sharing.

 

[Scott&Nikki]

Did they die before you got them out?

 

[BalloonzForU]

Paul, those are some very interesting pics. Would have been awesome had they lived and not been joined.

 

[Jeanne]

conjoined twins. very interesting.
has anyone else had this aberration?

I had this happen as well, about 2 1/2 years ago, I believe the ones I had were joined somewhere at the head as well. Mine didn't live either, I don't even think they pipped, I think I opened the egg myself because it started to mold.

Unfortunately I didn't take any pictures (I was going through a difficult time and wasn't even really interested in the Geckos at the time).

 

[Golden Gate Geckos]

WOW. Very interesting, Paul.

 

[GeckoMandi]

Awww bless their souls!!! I'm sorry paul, but thanks for sharing I had never heard or seen anything like this happeing with Leopard Geckos before.

 

[PaulSage]

That's nuts, thanks for sharing. I didn't think that was poss in a leopard gecko. Have you researched it to see if it's happened before? Maybe someone is documenting it somewhere?

I didn’t recall ever hearing of it happening with Leopard Geckos. Part of the reason I posted this was to see if anyone else had seen this happen before. So far, Jeanne’s mentioning of it is the only other case I've heard of.

Wow! That is something else! I'm sorry you lost them. Maybe if they would have lived and the skulls are not connected they may have been able to have surgery to seperate them?

Brandy, I was wondering that too. I looked up some information on types of conjoined twins and found that cephalopagus twins usually have fused skulls and often share brain tissue. I did go ahead and try to figure out just which tissues were connected because I wasn’t sure if it was just their skin, or if the skulls themselves were fused—which they indeed are. Given that, I don’t think there would have been any way to successfully separate them even if they survived hatching.

fraternal twins couldn't happen in one egg...however identical twins are always a possibility in any species...it is not ever genetic; no one knows what causes it, but it is a splitting of one embryo into two. Any time you find 2 embryos in one egg its going to be identical twins, conjoined or not.

Stina, I don’t know that I agree with you here, as the twins are not identical since their patterns are obviously different. The corn snake twins I hatched last year from the same egg (which did survive) weren’t identical either. I believe that is the case with human twins (vivipary) if one egg cell splits that the resulting offspring would be identical, but I think it’s different with reptiles (ovoviparity for leopard geckos & corn snakes).

Did they die before you got them out?

Yes, they were already dead when I started opening the egg.

 

[robin]

bah for some reason i remember someone else having some conjoined twin leos years back. marcia, kelli was it jon ho? (THINK)

paul it would be interesting to look and find out for yourself (i know i would want to) but you might want to call some of the reptile colleges around to see if they would like to study them

 

[moosassah]

Fascinating photos. Thanks for taking the time to show them. I am sorry that they couldn't make it though.

 

[GECKOFREAK]

Wow! Thanks for sharing, Paul!

 

[ByRandom]

Paul,

What project were these from? I noticed they were a little on the "normal" side. Either way, very weird!