Thursday, August 4, 2011

Severums!

So, just as the last lot of severum babies are getting almost big enough to go to new homes, Chomp and Shorty have decided to have more babies! I thought I would share some pictures of them =D. 

Firstly, here are some pictures of the last lot of babies (most of them have been given away already, but these were the smallest babies):
They are super fast, which makes them hard to photograph!

The latest lot of babies were laid on a smooth rock that had been thoroughly cleaned by their parents (Chomp and Shorty). 
Once the eggs started to hatch, the hatchlings were moved into a shallow burrow that the parents had dug in the substrate behind the rock. There, they wiggled and grew for around two days. Then, the parents moved the wriggly babies onto the inside wall of the pipe statue, where they were guarded by the parents (who had to keep moving the babies back inside the pipe when they wriggled too close to the edge). It was very cute to watch! 

In the last two days, the babies have started to swim! Chomp and Shorty try to keep them together as a group - but this mostly proves impossible, no matter how much they try! 
In the last day or two, the babies have started to eat, too - which is really cute! They are eating pre-mixed fry food at the moment, but will soon move on to eating live hatchling brine shrimp, and other foods that have been pre-chewed and shredded by their parents. 


~Adrielle =)