One of my Corucia zebrata zebrata (Prehensile-Tailed Skink, southern subspecies) gave birth to TWINS yesterday!!!
Mom and babies:
Baby 1:
Baby 2:
Twins are fairly uncommon -- a single baby is the norm. I have had 10 babies born at my house over the past three years, and this is the first (surviving) set of twins. However, Baby 2 had some stuff attached to her navel last night, and I won't know until tonight at the earliest if that was unbilicus/placenta or intestines... If it was umbilicus/placenta, it should drop off by tonight. If it is intestines, she probably wont survive more than a few days. (From posts by others on my yahoo group, intestines outside the abdomen are a common complication in twins, and always fatal...) Other than that, they are both extremely large for twins and extremely strong and healthy.
F.Y.I. -- these are one of a handful of lizards in the world (all southern hemisphere skink species, I think) who form a primitive placenta. (They are NOT ovoviviparous, as many sites erroneously report). Their form of reproduction is called "viviparous matrotrophy". They are also the only lizard I know of that forms social groups (although garials -- a species of crocodilian -- are reported to as well). *And* they can vocalize if really provoked, which is also uncommon among lizards!
They are classified as CITES Category II, and are no longer exported from the Solomon Islands. So I have been breeding them and trying to build up a good breeding population for 3 years now.
-- Celeste
What
Awesome! Congrats on the babies, I hope the one with the tissue attached at the naval makes it.
WBurke17
Wow, Congrats Celeste.
Very interesting skinks indeed. Good luck on the second baby....W
cacoseraph
chrome... from the pics of teh babies on a person and the babies next to the mom... she is a pretty good size!
i hope both twins make it. i really like seeing someone digging in and trying to keep a species in hobby. you set a good example for us all
Celeste
Unfortunately, Baby #2 died last night... For future reference, stuff hanging off the navel: not good. :-(
As for size, mom is a normal size for the southern subspecies -- I haven't weighed her recently because she's a real *grouch*, but she's probably about 600 grams (slightly less at the moment, until she bulks back up). I didn't weigh the babies either, but they were probably about 80 - 90 grams each. Baby #1 is doing fine.
-- Celeste
WBurke17
Sorry to hear that.....
Celeste
Thanks.
This has happened to several other Corucia owners on my yahoo group, with the same result every time. It seems to happen fairly often in the case of twins. So we gotta come up with a treatment.
I'm going to try to do a necropsy on her this weekend (unless I am home sick from work again tomorrow) and see if there were any structural abnormalities (i.e., intestines pushed out of the opening). If not, then I'm going to assume septicemia, and go for some more aggressive treatment (IMMEDIATE removal of the attached tissue, suturing of the opening, and massive doses of antibiotics) next time...
-- C
Celeste
Second twin (Twin #1) died today as well. No apparent reason. (No obvious sign of abnormality). Its abdomen *did* look possibly a little bit bloated.
I am heartbroken. Had three other babies born in December, and all of those are healthy and thriving. (Knock on wood).
Two more females possibly pregnant. I just hope they don't give birth to twins... Twins are just too much heartbreak...
-- Celeste
cacoseraph
damn dude
sorry to hear
WBurke17
Ohh that double sucks, so sorry to hear that
ogershok
That's rotten about the twin dying but I'm very envious of your skinks. I had a pair quite a long time ago and just loved them. Mine were very personable and could be handled really easily. I know that if I ever get involved in any herps again they will be my #1 choice.
