Be careful! Science shows that disturbed eggs may hatch faster than undisturbed eggs!

Apparently the ability of embryos to accelerate development in response to vibrations from predators is becoming more and more recognized and in a variety of amphibians and reptiles. For those of you who compulsively check your eggs, you may want to minimize contact with the eggs to avoid premature hatches, particularly for lizards and frogs.

To read the full article, go here: http://news.sciencemag.org/scienceno...baby-liza.html

Originally Posted by Science Now

Talk about hatching an escape plan. Unborn lizards can erupt from their eggs days early if vibrations hint at a threat from a hungry predator, new research shows. The premature hatchlings literally "hit the ground running—they hatch and launch into a sprint at the same time," says behavioral ecologist J. Sean Doody, who is now at the University of Tennessee, Knoxville.

Researchers have long known that an array of factors can affect when eggs laid by all kinds of creatures finally hatch. Some fish eggs, for instance, hatch only at certain light or temperature levels, while fungal infections can prompt lizard eggs to crack open early. Chemical or physical signals sent by predators can prompt some frog embryos to speed up their breakouts, while others delay hatching in a bid to stay safe. In lizards and other reptiles, however, such "environmentally cued hatching" strategies aren't well understood....