Welcome to the Kei Islands!
Posted: Fri Nov 08, 2013 8:06 am
As some of you know, the first shipment of Kei Island blue tongues to come to the US in about 4 years or so arrived this past Wednesday night. I was fortunate to be able to be at the importer's the night of their (and many other Indonesian reptiles) arrival. The expectation was that about 20 Keis were coming in and they were said to be a mix of adults and juveniles. Imagine my surprise when the shipment contained 16 animals of which 9 were adults and the 7 "juveniles" were actually tiny newborn neonates that had been dropped in Indonesia by gravid females! They looked so new that I believe they might not have even fed yet except for their birth sacs and they ranged from a mere 15 g. to 20 g. in weight. The adults arrived in remarkably good condition for wild caughts - other than being somewhat skinny, one was missing about an inch of its tail tip but all of the others had full tails and all fingers and toes. They also seemed to be really beautiful for animals that were still in their "wild" skin. I can only imagine how awesome they'll look after a shed or two. The babies seemed a bit lethargic and dehydrated and they were immediately put in a tub of water for a drink and soak. After a bit, all but one seemed to perk up considerably.
As it turned out, only a couple of animals had been definitively pre-sold, so I got my pick of what I wanted. I decided to buy ALL the babies
and, initially, a pair (I do think they're 1.1) of "classic" beautiful Kei adults. There was one other adult male that I found interesting, not so much because it was particularly beautiful but more because it was just different from any of the others - seemingly lacking any defined pattern. So I decided to get that animal too. It'll be interesting to see if it remains largely patternless or if it looks more normal after it sheds.
Now some bad news, the one listless baby that never really perked up was dead the next morning. The other 6 have been set up individually (as have the adults) and got several soaks and chowed on a bit of cat food yesterday. Both adult males were also offered food and eagerly took it. The female has refused food and she also looks a bit lumpy towards the rear. She is also the only aggressive one of the bunch - all the others are fairly mellow. She might be gravid though she's also kind of small - the males are both pushing 400 g. while she's a mere 280 g. She does have some minor neck and back scarring so it does look like she's likely been with some males.
Well thanks for bearing with my long-windedness
and without further ado, here they are!
"Classic" Male:
"Classic" Female:
Weird "Different" Male:
Another of the "Different" Male:
And finally, the cuties having a bath:
As it turned out, only a couple of animals had been definitively pre-sold, so I got my pick of what I wanted. I decided to buy ALL the babies
and, initially, a pair (I do think they're 1.1) of "classic" beautiful Kei adults. There was one other adult male that I found interesting, not so much because it was particularly beautiful but more because it was just different from any of the others - seemingly lacking any defined pattern. So I decided to get that animal too. It'll be interesting to see if it remains largely patternless or if it looks more normal after it sheds. Now some bad news, the one listless baby that never really perked up was dead the next morning. The other 6 have been set up individually (as have the adults) and got several soaks and chowed on a bit of cat food yesterday. Both adult males were also offered food and eagerly took it. The female has refused food and she also looks a bit lumpy towards the rear. She is also the only aggressive one of the bunch - all the others are fairly mellow. She might be gravid though she's also kind of small - the males are both pushing 400 g. while she's a mere 280 g. She does have some minor neck and back scarring so it does look like she's likely been with some males.
Well thanks for bearing with my long-windedness
and without further ado, here they are!"Classic" Male:
"Classic" Female:
Weird "Different" Male:
Another of the "Different" Male:
And finally, the cuties having a bath:
