Egg-laying Documentary

madFrankie

madFrankie

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Frank
Hi Guys,

The family just got bigger, so I got out the camera!
I've managed to get some shots of the whole process. It's the first time I've actually been able to watch, the only other time we've had eggs the job was all done when I found out.

10.jpg


2.jpg



You can actually see the egg coming out in the shot below...

3.jpg



Dad's got the universal "Oh no, what have I done!?" look that new fathers of every species get... :D


7.jpg


15.jpg


6.jpg


8.jpg


9.jpg



She gets into the stangest positions while laying the eggs! the one below doesn't look particularly comfortable!

13.jpg


14.jpg


Here's hoping they develop so that I can continue this thread as they progress.

Enjoy :)
 
That is absolutely amazing! What lovely looking axolotls!!!

Are you planning on removing the eggs? The axies will start to eat them if not!

Keep us updated, great pics!
 
Thanks for the thoughts Mike :)

flan123 said:
Are you planning on removing the eggs? The axies will start to eat them if not!
Click to expand...

Yep, most of the eggs have come out into a separate hatching tank now that she's finished laying. There's still about 40 or so in the main tank that I'm going to leave to nature... you never know some of them might make it! :)
 
Hi Madfrankie,

What excellent timing! This photo-doco is invaluable. I shall highlight this post to Jennewt. I think she would love to have them included in caudata culture.

Cheers.
 
Hey Ray,

Fantastic, I'd love to be in on that!
 
Ask Mark AT. He might be willing to withdraw your previous entries.
 
Have done, we'll see what he has to say :)
 
axolotlgangster said:
Cool i hope that some come out like the dad. If so can i buy one
Click to expand...

Haha, somehow I don't think they'd survive the trip from Melbourne to Denver and there may be some men in suits from quarantine asking us a few questions if I tried... lol
 
WOW!!! Those are some absolutely amazing pics you have there!!! I dont think alot of people actually catch their female in the act of laying so these are some pretty rare shots.

I Hope Mark lets you withdraw your last ones cause these ones would be excellent pics for the calender!!

Well done and hope to see more of the babies growing up!

Claire
 
HOW DO YOU MANAGE IT FRANK?!?!?

Picture number 4 is my favourite, he totally looks like he's just made the connection that lots of eggs might mean lots of babies...:D

Zoe x
 
Thanks Claire, I feel pretty honoured to have been able to watch the event. Possibly slightly pervy...but honoured nonetheless! ;)


big a little a said:
Picture number 4 is my favourite, he totally looks like he's just made the connection that lots of eggs might mean lots of babies...:D

Zoe x
Click to expand...

He does, doesn't he? lol I'm guessing that he hasn't got as far as realising that 'Responsible Fatherhood' translates to 'Tasty Snack' for an Axie...
 
Last edited:
Next update....

The two photos below show the first stages of the egg development.

This one is of the freshly laid eggs, day one after laying:
stage1.jpg


This one is on day four, you can see the embryos starting to develop, and turning into little Jelly Bean shapes.
'Neurulation', I believe, is the correct term for it:
stage2.jpg


John's already made an excellent series of photos on the day-by-day development of axie eggs here: http://www.axolotl.org/embryo_series.htm so there's no need to do the same thing again. I'll post anything particulary interesting that I come across during the process though.

Stay tuned! :D
 
Oh Frank!! That is amazing!! More please! Good luck with them and I hope they inherit their parents' good looks. :happy:
 
Here we are on (I think) day 11 and I thought I'd get as close-up as possible for a shot of the little dudes.

Sorry about the hefty download for this image but I wanted to make it as big as possible so y'all can really see what's going on in there.

You can see the definite axie shapes now and the interesting colour-morphs that wildtype dad and albino mum are producing.

More close-ups as the next few days progress.

:happy:


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close3.jpg
 
Wonderful photos Frank, can't wait to see the development of these little ones. Are you going to try to rear them all? Looks like you're going to have your hands (as well as your house) full!
 
And here they come....!

Will endeavour to get some better photos this weekend.

baby.jpg
 
Slightly better picture of the new babies, they're so tiny! I need a proper macro lens :(

You get a sense of scale by looking at the daphnia - the biggest ones are about 1mm long...

babies.jpg
 
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