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| Born Christmas Day 2001 |
| These two baby Eastern Bluetongue Skinks (Tiliqua scinoides) were born early Christmas morning. Their mother died after been run over on the road. Only these two survived out of a litter of 4 which she was carrying at the time. Had they not been found shortly afterwards, they could well have been also run over, or perhaps attacked by Kookaburras or Magpies. |
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| In about one year from now they should be about 11 inches long. An adult Eastern Bluetongue (photo left) can reach a length of about 23.5 inches (60cm), and have a litter of 20 or more, though only few ever survive. |
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| January 24th - just 4 weeks old: Both are now doing very well and growing fast. One week ago, they shed their old skin for new. Their diet consists of basic baby food, such as Heinz Sweetcorn & Chicken, Banana Custard, etc. and even Sardines, which they seem to really enjoy! They also eat shell-grit, which is a rich source of calcium. At this stage I have also let them rummage in the garden for more natural foods. |
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| Their natural diet would consist of mainly slugs, snails, beetles,plants, etc. but at present, they still face danger from birds, such as the Kookaburra, and also from snakes, ...common at this time of the year. This is a 1.2 meter Green Tree Snake which visited the garden recently. |
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| A Tail of Two Blue Tongues... |
| The Common Eastern Blue-Tongue Skink is found throughout coastal New South Wales. It frequents semi-desert to agricultural regions, and feeds on small animals, snails, slugs and plants.. Often seen in suburban gardens, they have a life-span of at least 20 years. |
| More updates soon.... |
| Bush Diary |
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| March 26th ..... Bush Tick infestation. Weather has been hot and humid, and the bush garden need to be cut back due to the rapid growth. While cutting back some Lantana trees and other weeds, I was infested with Bush Ticks... over 170 bites. I am familiar with the larger Paralysis Tick (Ioxodes holocyclus) which is often seen on Possums and other native animals, but these were the smaller Bush Tick (Haemaphysalia longicornis) which was introduced from Northern Japan in the early 1900's. It is found in the coastal region of Eastern Australia, from Queensland to the Central Coast in New South Wales. Spotted Fevers, including Tick Typhus, are the main diseases transmitted by ticks, so it is important to remove them as soon as possible, using a long nosed tweezers to grip the head without putting any pressure on the body. With the Bush Tick, this is difficult because of its size and often the head remains, but it usually comes out of the skin when healing. The main thing is to remove the body and treat the area with either Teatree Oil, Dettol or an antiseptic cream, such as Savlon. With an infestation of Bush Tick bites, it is best to remove them and see your doctor as soon as possible. It is also very likely that tick nymphs, which are almost impossible to see, will remain on the body and cause more irritation and bites later. As a precaution, it would be wise to use a cream such as Lyclear on the whole body except the head and face. This is left on for at least 8 hours, and should kill any remaining ticks or tick nymphs. |
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| Bush Tick |
| Eschars |
| May 10th Many Flying Foxes or Fruit Bats visiting the garden. One spent the night on nearby electric wiring and died instantly of electrocution.... |
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| July 9th During the last two months the young bluetongues have been in semi-hibernation, but today, the cold weather eased with the temperature reaching 20C which brought them out to bask in the Winter sunshine. |
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