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I can't tell you how excited I was to capture this set of pics! I came home last night to a new hatchling.

That's cool, but the cooler part: I was finally able to capture the mysterious "egg tooth" on camera!

I had asked about it before, had done many google searches, and nobody that I had found had come up with pics of a crested gecko egg tooth. So I had no idea what I was looking for. I was assuming a small horn-like projection on the upper lip or snout.

I was surprised to discover that the egg tooth was actually a set of egg TEETH. Two perfect little vampire teeth jut out from the baby crested gecko's upper jaw. They are sharp and hard, and look very much like regular teeth except that they project almost straight outward instead of down.

The egg teeth are used by the gecko to break the inside of the egg. I believe that the gecko makes one swift motion with its neck, dragging the egg teeth across the inside of the leathery shell, and it makes one perfect slit that the gecko can slide out of.

It is thought that these teeth (if they are true teeth - it's hard to tell with my minimal magnification where they protrude, from the upper lip or actual gums) are shed with the animal's first shed, which generally happens in the first 24-48 hours of hatching.

Ultimately, this is exciting for me because a) I have caught something on film that I had not seen previously, and b) I have discovered why crested geckos are nocturnal.

It is because they are VAMPIRES.

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Please do not redistribute my images!

Description
I can't tell you how excited I was to capture this set of pics! I came home last night to a new hatchling.

That's cool, but the cooler part: I was finally able to capture the mysterious "egg tooth" on camera!

I had asked about it before, had done many google searches, and nobody that I had found had come up with pics of a crested gecko egg tooth. So I had no idea what I was looking for. I was assuming a small horn-like projection on the upper lip or snout.

I was surprised to discover that the egg tooth was actually a set of egg TEETH. Two perfect little vampire teeth jut out from the baby crested gecko's upper jaw. They are sharp and hard, and look very much like regular teeth except that they project almost straight outward instead of down.

The egg teeth are used by the gecko to break the inside of the egg. I believe that the gecko makes one swift motion with its neck, dragging the egg teeth across the inside of the leathery shell, and it makes one perfect slit that the gecko can slide out of.

It is thought that these teeth (if they are true teeth - it's hard to tell with my minimal magnification where they protrude, from the upper lip or actual gums) are shed with the animal's first shed, which generally happens in the first 24-48 hours of hatching.

Ultimately, this is exciting for me because a) I have caught something on film that I had not seen previously, and b) I have discovered why crested geckos are nocturnal.

It is because they are VAMPIRES.

------

Please do not redistribute my images!