Baby Blueys

[spidsy]

I've had a couple of blue tounges roaming the front yard since the beginning of summer.
i havent seen them around for a little while.
but.
today i came home, had a drink then went back out the front and there was a little blue tounge.
i had a close look and noticed 2 others.
these are the smallest blue tounges i have ever seen. They are so cute.
still havent seen any of the adults around though.

i read an average clutch is 6 - 12.
do they have them all at one time, or could i be expecting to see some more little guys in my front yard soon?

 

[wattso]

BLOOPER....LIVEBEARERS}. theres no maternal care for babys, so there on theirown soon as born. they may wander off, some get eaten, cats dogs etc. your lucky to see them. keep the garden cat/dog free if poss, dont use garden sprays or snailbait. they may stay. p.s if there is more than one pair of resident blueys you may see more.

............... its been a looong day! lol

 

[sobrien]

ah wattso, hate to brake it to you but blueys don't lay eggs!

 

[iluvsmyreptiles]

lol yeah, females give birth to live young.

 

[wattso]

lol thankyou peeps! :lol: wonder if spidsey would have picked it up? lol

There you go......dont go lookin for bluey eggs! lol "how embarressment"

 

[spidsy]

haha.

well since that post, the bigger of the adults has shown itself. ( i didnt see the other very often anyway)
one of the babies was running around nearby.

i am a little worried, seeing as how i have 3 cats.
the adult bluetounges i wasnt so worried about but the babies would make for some fun for the cats.

so they are all on their own now hey.
I hope they stick around for a little while.

no sprays or snailbait are getting used in my yard ever.


just on the birth of baby blueys, would they try and make a nesting area, say like underneath grass clippings or just a hollow log, or just wherever they want??

 

[wattso]

Glad to hear it Spidsey. Adults can be killed by cats too though, hope you got lots of dense shrubbery etc for them to hide. they love to come out in the sun early in the morning, best to keep pussys inside ! some were breeding under my neighbours house, so most likly in a sheltered spot away from danger.

 

[varanus]

Spidsy, our female gave birth to what we thought was the complete litter. Yet we found more in with her the next day.
I have heard of others who discovered babies over a 3 day period.

 

[adullthud]

Couple of things. Bluetongues dont really pair up. In "the wild" the male has a range over about half a kilometer. In this area he may have about 6 females that he mates with. If his arae overlaps another males it generally isnt a problem and they generally dont mate with the others females. The males move around and the females tend to stay in a smaller area. They can give birth ina short period of time or as someone said over a period of days. The latter could be because of problems like a blockage or as a mechanism to dislerse the young over a wider area. The female doesnt have a nesting site but she will have places that she shelters in frequently.
Let your grass grow around the edges of your garden and allow for lots of low shrubby and grassy type plants to maintain hiding spots. You can make tunnels for them by burying lengths of pvc pipe in the gardens. Keep an eye on the cats. This is best done inside the house with the doors closed of course. Get a cat run.

 

[spidsy]

thanks people for the replies.
burying the pvc pipes sounds like a good idea, instead of just having them on top of the ground. I probably should have thought of that seeing as how it has made a burrow into the grass clippings.

i have roof tiles leaning up against the fence and side of the house and also some bits of old terracota pipes lying around the garden.