Top 5 Parents of the Herpetological World
Social structure is rarely looked at in herps, but they can be some of the most dedicated parents you’ll meet.
1. Caecilian
Caecilians are strange, worm-like amphibians with hooked teeth and a strong bite force. And that is not for nothing! Part of the parental care practice by these animals is dermophagy, or skin eating. After her offspring hatch, the mothers skin becomes engorged with lipids. Her offspring will proceed to consume her skin within 7 minutes. Her skin will regenerate and be eaten again every 64 hours. Here is a short video of a skin feeding
2. Poison Dart Frogs
Males of this species will wait for their tadpoles to hatch and carry them on their back to drop into bromeliads. The females will visit their young as they grow in the bromeliads to drop in infertile eggs for them to feed on.
3. Darwin’s Frog
Imagine a dad swallowing its baby to later vomit up a miniature, fully formed adult…you know you want a video of that
4. Mugger Crocodile
In all species of Crocodilia to date, females will attend nests during egg incubation, assist hatching, and guard their young. However, in this species, it has been observed that males will exhibit the same behavior. It is possible that this behavior is due to the fact that this species produces two nests of eggs, so the mother may be too occupied with the first batch of young to care for the second.
5. Rattlesnakes
All species of rattlesnakes, except for the Arubian rattlesnake, will guard their young until their first shed. While Arubian rattlesnakes will not tend to their young, the male will tend to the female through gestation.