My Northern Bluetongue had eight young on Monday.
I've bred Bluetongue skinks before, but in the past the young have simply been present after the event, this was the first time I witnessed the births. I was fascinated to watch each youngster eat its own afterbirth/umbilical chord within a minute of its birth. I hadn't realsed they did that.
Each youngster was completely mobile and looking for food within a few minutes of being born and ate meal worms and mashed tinned peaches.
The mother has always been very placid, but she made several four to six foot dashes across her enclosure when I picked up offspring she appeared not to be interested in. She bit me on three occasions and even yesterday, when I picked up her food and water bowl to clean them she came rushing over, reaching up to try to bite me. Although her young were all relocated to their own enclosure two days ago she still seems determined to protect the area from me.
She completely ignored two other adult Northern Bluetongues in her enclosure.
I seperated the young as soon as they were born because it seemed safer. They ate tomato yesterday and a puree of cooked pumpkin and raw egg thickened with bread crumbs today and all appear to be thriving.
I've bred Bluetongue skinks before, but in the past the young have simply been present after the event, this was the first time I witnessed the births. I was fascinated to watch each youngster eat its own afterbirth/umbilical chord within a minute of its birth. I hadn't realsed they did that.
Each youngster was completely mobile and looking for food within a few minutes of being born and ate meal worms and mashed tinned peaches.
The mother has always been very placid, but she made several four to six foot dashes across her enclosure when I picked up offspring she appeared not to be interested in. She bit me on three occasions and even yesterday, when I picked up her food and water bowl to clean them she came rushing over, reaching up to try to bite me. Although her young were all relocated to their own enclosure two days ago she still seems determined to protect the area from me.
She completely ignored two other adult Northern Bluetongues in her enclosure.
I seperated the young as soon as they were born because it seemed safer. They ate tomato yesterday and a puree of cooked pumpkin and raw egg thickened with bread crumbs today and all appear to be thriving.
