Babies!

The first halfmoon conure chick hatched out on March 8th! It's doing great, full crop, active, and looking very healthy. The second chick should be hatching tonight or tomorrow. Parents, Ivy & Ki, are doing wonderfully.
*pictures coming soon

We've been watching Quigley and Babette, the Brush-Tailed Bettongs very closely these last few weeks. Over the last few months they have been exhibiting some interesting behaviors. They were busy making nests, then sleeping together, then courting, then we actually observed Quigley taking care of business, then things slowed way down. Babette was usually in the corner alone and then she started grooming her tail more than usual. They have been sleeping apart off and on and Babette has been grooming her belly and under tail area more.

A few nights ago we saw her grooming and licking her belly, thighs, and then actually inside her pouch! It also looks like there may be a very small bulge in the lower part of her pouch! We're not getting TOO excited yet. But the behavior really only points in one direction. We will just wait and see what happens over the next few weeks. Babette never enjoyed being touched, let alone picked up and handled. We started training a pouch check behavior early on, but stopped when it seemed to stress her out and cause friction in the relationship with Quigley. We would have rather the two get along than be able to look in her pouch. And now that there's a possibility that a joey is inside, we don't want risk her rejecting it from stress. So, we will just let nature take her course and wait patiently until we can confirm one way or the other!

Keep your fingers crossed for another member of this critically endangered species to grace us with it's presence.