0
$\begingroup$

My aliens have an egg pouch and they can lay up to 15 eggs in a clutch. Those aliens inside the eggs eventually become newborn human sized, at least as far as length is concerned. I was wondering if skin shedding and growth would work for this.

See, what I think would happen in a female alien is that once her milk ducts start maturing and she starts ovulating, is that the skin of the pouch would shed more frequently than her body due to female hormones circulating. And since shedding often means growth(though of course, adults do shed as well), the pouch would be growing until it can hold 15 eggs and later 15 babies.

I had dry skin yesterday and the itch I had from it was driving me nuts. I am sure that my aliens will experience a similar, all over itch when they are about to shed their skin.

But would increasing the pouch skin shedding rate(and thus growth rate) in response to female hormones actually work for holding eggs and later babies in the pouch with less pain?

$\endgroup$
4
  • $\begingroup$ Reptiles don't feel pain in the way we do if at all $\endgroup$
    – Kilisi
    Mar 18, 2017 at 8:54
  • $\begingroup$ Well yeah, they try to hide it and so do most mammals but that doesn't mean that they don't feel pain. $\endgroup$
    – Caters
    Mar 18, 2017 at 9:01
  • $\begingroup$ no... they don't feel it as we do, ours is both reflex and what we normally call pain. Reptiles don't feel it the same way, it's been documented plenty... for example we can't be burnt because we'll reflexively pull away from something hot enough, a reptile won't. Nociception it's called. But even our normal pain is different to theirs. $\endgroup$
    – Kilisi
    Mar 18, 2017 at 9:22
  • $\begingroup$ Our dry skin is a sign something is wrong. If they naturally shed their skin it doesn't make sense to send a pain signal for that. So I'd say it's unlikely to cause them itching. $\endgroup$
    – Mormacil
    Mar 18, 2017 at 9:44

1 Answer 1

2
$\begingroup$

If the shedding is a natural process which the aliens are evolved to do, then they would not feel pain. For instance, humans replace their stomach lining every few days, but don't feel itchy or painful inside their stomach as this happens.

If you want an itch, make it a mild one, which is a signal to the female to lick out her pouch to clean it, or prepare it for eggs. Like a frog waxes its skin to water proof it. Or like when a mammal shedding its winter fur has a good scratch to loosen the hair.

$\endgroup$

You must log in to answer this question.

Not the answer you're looking for? Browse other questions tagged .