- Joined
- Jul 29, 2009
- Messages
- 68
I've been incubating a sac in a makeshift mechanical mom for the last twenty days, and I finally found the courage to open up the sac and peek in tonight. They were eggs with legs, and I was very pleased, because I wasn't sure that they would end up fertile. :clap:
I made such a small hole that I was able to use a very small amount of tape to close up the hole and put the sac back in the mechanical mom's cylinder.
But I'm finding myself wondering, having read quite a bit on the boards about this, what is the point of not separating the T's at, at the very latest, 1st instar?
I can see that maybe postembryos need to stay together and keep rotating (though I'm reading research on this board saying that's not true, they only need to rotate until the fluid dries), but why 1st instars?
I.E., why wait until the babies are eating at 2nd instar to separate? Why not do so earlier, to prevent cannibalization and to better keep an eye on them?
Or, could the cannibalization be important in some cases, providing extra nutrients to the living slings?
Any ideas?
I made such a small hole that I was able to use a very small amount of tape to close up the hole and put the sac back in the mechanical mom's cylinder.
But I'm finding myself wondering, having read quite a bit on the boards about this, what is the point of not separating the T's at, at the very latest, 1st instar?
I can see that maybe postembryos need to stay together and keep rotating (though I'm reading research on this board saying that's not true, they only need to rotate until the fluid dries), but why 1st instars?
I.E., why wait until the babies are eating at 2nd instar to separate? Why not do so earlier, to prevent cannibalization and to better keep an eye on them?
Or, could the cannibalization be important in some cases, providing extra nutrients to the living slings?
Any ideas?