Snappy's
story began on a hot summers day of January 2007, when me and my faith
companion, Cooper the jack Russell terrier, were looking for our rabbit around
the yard. I heard Cooper barking at something, and immediately thought it was
my rabbit, so I rushed to after him to see what he had found. It turned
out not to be my rabbit, but a baby blue tongue skink. The poor thing was
bleeding badly, as Cooper had already managed to get a hold around
his neck, pierced the skin. At this point the excitement was rushing through my
body, I grabbed a shovel a scooped him up (I know I was a pussy back then) and
carried him into the house. Mum pulled out the first aid kit, and some
anti-septic cream. Whilst I holded him firm, mum bandaged up his bleeding neck,
and treated it with the cream. This is when he got the name Snappy, I’d never
seen a blue tongue with such a vicious temperament, and I was scared yet
curious of what he was going to do next. I went into the old iron shed and
pulled out the 20 L fish tank we had stored away from emergency's like this
one. Filling the tank with dirt and dried leaves, I settled it up on my desk,
turning my lamp into a heat lamp. Then I popped the little guy in and watched.
He did nothing at first, just stared at the leaves. Then without any warning at
all he scurried underneath the small piece of bark I gave him, and I didn't see
him for at least 2 days. Finally one afternoon, I saw his little head poke out
from under the bark, I could see he was hungry. I read up on the internet as
much as I could about caring for blue tongues, but there seemed to be no steady
information. So I took him to The Gully reptile center at Salisbury. They fixed
me up with one of those fancy URS billabong bowls and a pack of mealworms. I
found out later that mealworms aren’t the best meal from a growing bluey.
As
Snappy got older, I began to understand him more. I found that he loved to
sleep, and liked fresh chicken over mealworms. Couldn't get him to eat his
veggies though!!!
As
it was coming up to June, I was running out of time to release Snappy. He'd
grown so used to being feed by humans, that I knew he wouldn't stand a chance
out in the wild. We were also going away from 3 months to Europe, Canada
and America.
Finally
it was a week till we were going away, and I decided to give him to a wild life
career. I thought that this was the last time I was ever going to see him, I
was wrong....
3 months later, after we returned from our trip, me and my family had to
make a very important decision, whether we were going to get Snappy back. I was
all into getting him home, so was dad but mum wasn't so keen. In the end it was
too against one and Snappy got to come home. To this day he lives in happiness
and content in his vivarium, and I wonder what would have happen to this
special little blue tongue if I wouldn't have found him...
