Photo credit: Iuri Ribeiro Dias
Photo credit: Iuri Ribeiro Dias
"Hello, class. Today's animal guest very graciously agreed to come in this terrarium so she can help me show you how she takes care of her babies. I must ask that you please don't tap on the glass or try to touch her.
"Right now she's underneath this piece of wood, but if she feels ready, I will pick it up so you can get a good look at her. Are you ready, Cecily? Here we go...
"This is Cecily the ringed caecilian, and those seven smaller caecilians are her babies. She may look like a giant earthworm, but she is really a kind of amphibian, like a frog. But as you can see, she doesn't have any legs and feet.
"There are over 200 types of caecilians, and like other amphibians, they need to keep their skin wet to stay alive and healthy. Some of them live in the water. Others, like the ringed caecilian, live underground in damp soil.
"Because they spend most of their lives in the darkness, ringed caecilians don't need very good eyesight, and their eyes are very small. In front of each of their eyes, they have a small tentacle that can extend from their face to help them feel their way around. Some caecilians have tentacles that are so close to their eyes that they pop their eyes right out of their head when they extend their tentacles! They're the only creatures I know that can do that with their eyes... um, except for Discord and maybe Pinkie Pie.
"Caecilians move underground by pushing through the soil with their plow-like head, and this is also how they look for food. You can't see them on Cecily right now, but caecilians have very sharp teeth in their mouth, which they use to catch worms, insects, and snails.
"Oh dear, these babies are getting restless. Maybe it's time for Cecily to show us how she feeds them.
"That's right, Sandbar. The babies are scraping off pieces of her skin and eating them. They have spoon-shaped teeth for this purpose, different from the sharp teeth of adults. But don't worry, this is not hurting her. She has grown a thick layer of nutritious skin specially for them to eat. After a few days, she will regrow a new layer, and she will continue to do this until they have grown large enough to live on their own.
"Ringed caecilians lay eggs, but there are other caecilians that give birth to live young. Those caecilians also have an interesting way of feeding their young: the unborn babies eat the lining of their mother's womb while they're growing up inside her body.
"Thank you, Cecily, for helping me with this class. I'll put this piece of wood back now and let you have some peace and quiet. Because caecilians spend so much time hidden underground, not many other creatures get to see their fascinating behavior, and there is a lot that we ponies don't know about them. Have a lovely day, everycreature, and stay kind to each other."
