Show & Tell
Extreme Reverse Okeetee Corn hatching. It’s believed that the depth of color in newly-hatching snakes appears exaggerated by the magnifying effect of the gelatinous albumin that surrounds the embryo through incubation, but also because the process of the 1st separating epidermal layer has barely begun. As soon as the albumin dries–hours after emergence from their eggs–pictures of snakes reveal that their colors are less spectacular. We often only see those early colors again after they slough their first post-partum skin approximately seven DAYs after emergence from their egg shells. Note the seemingly aggressive “slashing” of shells some of his siblings demonstrated when preparing to leave their eggs? You can even see dark lines where the one emerging had sliced without fully penetrating the shell with his egg tooth.