Andalites

[SkyMorpher]

What I want to know is, how do they even carry the baby? It seems like it would be awkward to fold up like most unborn babies do to fit.

[OrcaMorph]

I've been trying to explain that they wouldn't carry their young.



Unless you mean 'carry' in the sense of gestation.  In which case, I dunno.

[Darth Revan]

Yeah, I doubt they would carry a baby. They may hug the kid, but I highly doubt they would carry it.

[Bladeh Mercury]

Maybe they have a very flexible spine when they aren't born yet and can fold easily amd hardens somtimes after birth. I wouldn't know.

And, well, Andalites don't really touch.

[goom]

I don't think they'd nurse. It seems impractical. If anything, as gross as this sounds, I think they might pre-chew grass for their young or something. Or just put it in a food processor and make baby food.

yeah. i don't think they'd nurse either.
maybe they could pre-trample the grass?

as for carrying the baby, i think they'd be too weak.
for all we know, they could have a marsupium..

[Darth Revan]

And as for delivering the baby, how much would it hurt to push out a kid with a tail blade? Do you think that forms later in life? When?

[anijen21]

it's probably like a rhino's horn or elephant tusks

though it would have to form pretty early, or else they'd be inseparable from their mother until it did, if there's a bunch of ****ing monsters running around eating people!!!!

[Darth Revan]

It's probably uber dull at birth, then at an older age, they sharpen it with use.

[Terenia]

I can't imagine a tail blade truly developing until after birth if, in fact, Andalites give live births (still unproven, btw).

As I (and others) have mentioned before, Andalites are NOT mammals! This is important to keep in mind! Mammal is an Earth classification of animals. Just b/c Andalites appear similar to mammals in many ways does not mean that they ARE mammals.

Another note, in regards to the carrying (post-partum) of young....I do not believe that this would be possible. Andalite infants, while likely small are still probably too large for weak Andalite arms to handle. Besides this, touching is generally avoided in the Andalite society. They are not intimate in the way that humans are. This could be a result of the lack of close physicality in infanthood.

[goom]

I can't imagine a tail blade truly developing until after birth if, in fact, Andalites give live births (still unproven, btw).

As I (and others) have mentioned before, Andalites are NOT mammals! This is important to keep in mind! Mammal is an Earth classification of animals. Just b/c Andalites appear similar to mammals in many ways does not mean that they ARE mammals.

Another note, in regards to the carrying (post-partum) of young....I do not believe that this would be possible. Andalite infants, while likely small are still probably too large for weak Andalite arms to handle. Besides this, touching is generally avoided in the Andalite society. They are not intimate in the way that humans are. This could be a result of the lack of close physicality in infanthood.

i agree. i don't think andalites mate/birth in any way similar to ours.
what's the chance of that happening, anyways? the whole universe isn't like us.
as to the tail problem, it's probably not developed at birth. either that or they could lay eggs.

[Alic]

I'm drunk. Sorry if there are typos. But. If I remember correctly andalites don't like tp have more than one child due to it being difficut. I thik an egg woukld be easier than giving actua birth. Maybe they do actually have tailblades. Even small it could be harmful?

[JFalcon]

In TAC it's said they don't have more than one child because their laws don't allow for it outside of war time, I don't recall it ever being mentioned that it's difficult, or more difficult than say a human mother giving birth.

As for the tail blades I can see them developing as the children grow, probably very fast but it makes a certain kind of sense. Nursing I just downright doubt however Andalites do have liquid grass for injured andalites to eat, so that implies that liquids are easier to process than solid grass so some form of nursing might indeed exist, or maybe parents just trample the grass with their hooves closed off so the nutriends are still there to be absorbed.

[SkyMorpher]

Yeah I meant gestate, sorry. Unless they like lay eggs or something.

[Yarin]

Is the tailblade made of bone or a karatin like material? also maybe they're all gestated artificially?
also im gonna try to classify andalites based on what i know of them and my fascination with taxonomy
also omg maybe they do lay eggs and they use the tailblades to break the egg shell and get out since they dont have mouthes and eye teeth

[Terenia]

Whatever the tail blade is made out of is stronger than human bones, at least. Ax has been known to slice through both plexiglass and metal, and I doubt that plain old bone would have that result. Whatever makes up the tail blade is no-doubt stronger than bone. Also I never hear about Andalites "sharpening" their tail blades, so they have to be strong enough to endure battles and whatnot without dulling their blades too much.