 Most terrestrial caecilians that lay eggs do so in burrows or moist places on land near bodies of water . The development of the young of <unk> glutinosus , a species from Sri Lanka , has been much studied . The eel @-@ like larvae hatch out of the eggs and make their way to water . They have three pairs of external red feathery gills , a blunt head with two rudimentary eyes , a lateral line system and a short tail with fins . They swim by undulating their body from side to side . They are mostly active at night , soon lose their gills and make sorties onto land . Metamorphosis is gradual . By the age of about ten months they have developed a pointed head with sensory tentacles near the mouth and lost their eyes , lateral line systems and tails . The skin thickens , embedded scales develop and the body divides into segments . By this time , the caecilian has constructed a burrow and is living on land . 
