SURPRISE BABY

[mooeysbluey]

okay so I got my blue tongue a little over a month ago and I thought everything was fine but I came home from work today and guess what surprise there's babies! except three of them are dead and one is struggling to get out of this sack thing and I panicked so I just ripped it off of her and took her out of the cage. I have her on paper towels and she's under a 100 watt basking light. is that too high for her? she's in a 10 gallon. oh my god I have no idea what to do. i don't think she'll make it through the night? i only have cat food and superworms so i spooned some cat food out and left it in there with her but she just sniffed it and turned away. she can't be more than a few hours old. what should i do? the stores open i can run down and get her some mealworms or crickets or should i get her a smaller light or anything?? it's at 103F rn.

and what should i do for the momma? she seems completely fine. in fact i think she ate one of the babies while i was nursing the alive one. i gave her some food too and she's basking right now. is there anything special i should be doing?

please help, i don't want to lose either of these two right now.

[mooeysbluey]

here are some pictures

[mooeysbluey]

She'll open her eyes and then just lay down and huff at me. she's acting very lethargic. in all the videos they're all moving around. is there anything i can do??

[Dakota]

Sometimes babies are born as weaklings. Really there is nothing to do, other than just wait it out. Treat the babies as you would your adult, same temps, humidity, and food. Just make sure you offer food everyday. Ibhear scambled eggs are good to feed freshly born babies, might try to give that a go. Good luck! Any pictures of Momma? The baby looks like a little classic Indo.

[mooeysbluey]

It makes me so sad. I wish I could have been there to help or something? I wish I had known she was pregnant so I could have been fattening her up more and stressing her out less? I guess I'll just have to wait it out.

He definitely seems to get his color from whoever his dad was.

[mooeysbluey]

This is Bethari, the mom, a few days before and now. (she was in shed in the first one)

She's happily munching away on her cat food rn, and what I suspect to be the left over afterbirth from some of the babies.

[Dakota]

Woah momma! Now THAT is a stunning little classic Indonesian.

She still might have more. Sometimes it can take a couple days before they are finished birthing.

[mooeysbluey]

Super gorgeous right??
I'll definitely keep a closer eye on her after tonight. I want to look all through the substrate too because I know how some babies can burrow, but she's really stressed out right now and I just want to make sure she gets some food in her and relaxes. I heard babies can be with adults for 48 hours after birth?

Thank you so much for replying, you've really helped calm me down.

[Susann]

Remove the babies from the mother's tank.
Take the catfood (is it pate style or chunks?) and mix some water in with it, put it on a shallow plate and stick the baby with its nose right in the liquid (make sure it doesn't cover his nostrils though) and keep him there trying to get him to lick it. It can help if you put a drop of the food on his lips. I would do my utmost to try to get some sustenance and liquid into the baby.
If he won't lick on his own, suck some up in a medicine dropper and first put a drop at a time on his lips; if that doesn't work, open his mouth and put a drop inside his mouth.

[Susann]

Do not leave him on the 105 degree spot; if he hasn't moved away on his own you must find a spot that's about 85 degrees and slightly moist/damp, NOT wet, just not all the way dry, and leave him there for the night. Make it really easy for him to move from there to a warmer or cooler area though, just not anything that's below 75 degrees.
Try to get at least a few drops of the watered down food into him; don't force it in any way, just place one small drop at a time on his lips and keep doing it for as long as he keeps licking, or, place one small drop inside his lips, and if he swallows it, do a few more. It may be all he needs to entice him to lick the food off the plate on his own, but if you have to place the drops in his mouth, only do a few and call it good for the night.

[Dakota]

Reading back at the post, I realize there was no mention of a water source. You have a water bowl in there right? I assumed you tried to hydrate and feed it with my "wait it out" comment.

The way I get my skinks to drink the easiest is sticking their face near a running water faucet (not under it). When they flick their tongue out, it hits the running water, and they pick up interest. I hope this helps.

[mooeysbluey]

I did have a tiny paper plate of water in there for him on the cool side. I know you can't get much of a temp gradient in a ten gal but he was moving away from the basking light fine, i actually found him on the cool end this morning which was like 89F. he hadn't eaten his afterbirth yet and while I was asleep someone decided it would be a good idea to cut it off of him, so I doubt he'll be okay now. He's still moving around, I'll try the feeding method you talked about Susan!

[mooeysbluey]

He didn't make it. Thank you so much Dakota and Susann for your help. I'll keep you updated if I see any more babies in the coming days.

[Susann]

This is the tough side of having babies... So sorry.

[mooeysbluey]

OKAY it happened again! Just like you said it would This time she only dropped two babies. One was still born again, but the second was up and about! I found him running around her tank while she just stared at him in an annoyed manner. I have him set up in the 10 gal with a plate of water and a small bit of watered down cat food. He drank a bit of water and seems disinterested in the cat food, but he seems to be doing well so I'm happy about that! He still has his afterbirth attached. Do you know when he might eat it? I want to make sure he gets all of his nutrients. I've let everyone in my house know to NOT cut it off this time. I'm hoping he makes it through the night well Anything else I should be doing for him?

As of now Bethari has laid six babies. She is mowing down some waxworms as I type and her belly is so tiny now that I doubt she has anymore in her, but I'll continue to keep a close eye on her just in case.

[mooeysbluey]

I have repta boost. Should I give him some?

[mooeysbluey]

HE'S EATING THE AFTERBIRTH!!! I'm so excited right now. This is amazing. Life is truly beautiful. *EDIT* never mind, he's just butting it with his nose.

[Dakota]

Congrats! I figured she would have more; she looked rather large in your attached picture. I'm glad this one is perked up. It is a shame the others were stillborn, though. But look on the bright side: you have a confirmed female! A gorgeous one, at it. Finding a male is the easy part if you wish to breed her in the future. I'll let Susann answer your umbilical cord question, she has more experience with that.

[mooeysbluey]

Thanks! Yeah, she's looking a lot more thin now. She's sleeping in a burrow of hers and I'll be sure to get a picture of her tomorrow. I think she was just under too much stress, and maybe that had affected the babies? I was pretty sure she was a female when I got her, based on the shape of her head, but it's nice to have it confirmed. I'm mostly surprised that NONE of the babies looked like her! They all had that same darker gray color. She has SUCH a gorgeous salmon belly too.

[mooeysbluey]

more pictures of the baby