On Gremlin Metabolism

The Gremlin appetite has given rise to more nonsense than almost any other feature of their physiology. Their stomachs are not bottomless; their metabolism is merely rapid. An adult Gremlin consumes a surprising amount of food relative to body mass, with especially strong demand for fats, salts, and easily metabolised carbohydrates. Their resting temperature runs somewhat higher than that of Humans, and their bodies appear to maintain a near-constant state of energetic readiness which probably contributes to their characteristic restlessness.

This becomes particularly dramatic after prolonged fasting, when a hungry Gremlin does not merely become uncomfortable. Fine motor coordination deteriorates. Irritability rises as judgement worsens, and behaviour may become aggressively acquisitive. Several supposed cases of “Gremlin madness” have been nothing more mysterious than hypoglycemia complicated by bad surroundings.

This also explains much about hatchling behaviour. A newly emerged clutch represents dozens of tiny organisms with immense immediate caloric demands and no reliable parental provisioning, so competition begins almost at once. The result appears horrifying to observers from species whose infants spend their first months incapable of locating their own feet. It is still horrifying; it is simply not mysterious.