Tadpoles!

The first of the tadpoles have hatched and greedily begun to munch the jelly, which entombed them for many weeks. About 30% of the spawn was infertile and is now providing nourishment for the shimmering haze of black. We ventured outside to check on their progress while mum was busy preparing party bags for Todd's birthday.

Slugs keep finding their way into the water, in spite of there being a sealed lid and seemingly no gaps for them to squeeze through. I suspected Leo may have contributed a few finds to our mini aquarium! But in all fairness he was always with me when we went out in recent days and there would have been no opportunity. 

Anyway, we have added a few sprigs of tadpole food to the pool and they seem to be doing well. Hopefully we can help a decent number to thrive and complete metamorphosis come summer time. 

Trip Down the Lanes

It has been a beautiful spring weekend and a trip to see Nanna and Grandad was very much in order. Todd's friend Alex accompanied us on the voyage down the lanes and, after some lunch and a few games on the computer, it was time to head outside.

First stop was the honey man, who unfortunately was not home. We peered over the back gate but all was quiet and, with their kids at Uni now, it is likely our sugary proprietor was away tending his private wood or fetching supplies for the ferrets. 

On we went to the duck pond and the wide open fields. On the way all three lads were collecting dandelions, which could be taken home and used as food for our new pet uromastyx. We didn't think to bring a bag, but Nanna's hooded top proved extremely useful!

We walked along the pond bank and paused to take in the glorious weather and allow the kids to let off some steam with a game of duck, duck, goose. 

We ran and played for a long time before venturing back to HQ for refreshments. Next stop a trip to the playing fields and a carrot or two for Jack the horse. All in all a lovely day.

So what of the dandelions that filled Nanna's hood to the brim? 

They were washed, divided into portions and frozen. We kept some fresh so they could be offered today and our new addition happily munched a couple of large leaves and an entire flower head plus stalk. The places we picked them were very wild and I can't imagine any pesticides had been used. 

He ended his day in typical uromastyx fashion - heading back to his burrow for a slumber and blocking the entrance with a fat, spiny tail. There will be more on this fella soon!

Early Morning

I was up at the crack of dawn with the kids, as usual, and the morning was incredibly peaceful. Misty accents hung thickly in the air and the earliest birds had already started their territorial songs.

Everywhere the garden is bursting into life - the cherry plum tree and forsythia standing out in a blaze of cream and yellow. Speaking of vivid yellows, we yesterday acquired a new lizard species - Uromastyx geyri. This species is a desert dweller from the Sahara and used to a tough life with little or no water.  Todd is old enough to get involved with the daily maintenance of our pets now and Oogwe, as we have named him, fits the bill. 

Whilst the pythons were reaching the end of their active, waking period, the lizards (Rex - V.storri and Oogwe - U.geyri) were still fast asleep in their burrow/cave. Both waiting for the rapid warming of their enclosure, which comes with the timer activated UV and spotlights. 

 Lizards very much follow a routine in captivity (both our lizards are captive bred) and are extremely interesting to watch. They dig, feed and explore in a manner far removed from the pythons, which like most boids are profoundly boring. The more active snakes like garters, grass snakes, ribbon snakes etc.....are much more fun to observe. 

We were lucky to acquire a proven male Uro, who is extremely friendly and beautiful. Not all Uromastyx have good temperaments, but Oogwe's is excellent. Quality adults of this species are rarely offered. The tanks are peaceful now, they match the ambience outside, but shortly the lights will burst into action and, when they see fit, a yawning pair of reptiles will advance from their quarters and begin the morning bask. 

Metamorphosis in Action

One of the nicest beacons of spring must be frog spawn. The snow drops arrive first and then comes daffodils, that most essential of spring flowers, and amphibian spawn.

Last year we designed a small barrel pond and managed to attract frogs, newts and a variety of water insects. Unfortunately, come summer time and beyond, it mainly consisted of mosquito larvae. This naturally led to a plethora of winged assassins hanging around the garden and sneaking in to get me while I was sleeping! It is always me who gets bitten first and clearly my blood is far sweeter than the wife's!

Unfortunately a decision had to be made and we opted to fill in the barrel with compost and grow wild flowers instead. This move, whilst eminently sensible, placed us in the uncomfortable position of  being without spawn as spring advanced swiftly upon us.

Now we could not have that and the solution is ever so simple. From my Uncle's pond, which was full to the brim with amphibian eggs, my mum extracted a couple of small clumps and transferred them to a bucket. It is essential to keep spawn in pond water, as you can guarantee tap water will finish it off in record time. 

Our interest in reptiles means we always have a plastic tank or two kicking around, so in went the spawn and pond water. The tank, a really decent size but not so large it will get in the way, is now residing under one of our mini wooden benches in the corner by our back gate. The boys are enjoying making weekly checks to watch the little black dots morph into slightly larger black dots with tails! We will kit it out with rocks and a couple of water plants, so they can watch the full wonder of metamorphosis. Once the process is complete we will drive down the lanes and drop off the little ones at their parent pond. 

Anyone who doesn't do this sort of thing with the kids is really missing a trick.