Tad: Now Not So Tad!

No pics today, but just a wee blurb to say that TAD IS HUGE. I went away for the weekend a while back, and when I returned I suspected someone had Tad-napped the real Tad, because the one swimming under my nose looked so big. However, as it turns out, Tad must have been experiencing a growth spurt as of late. His freaking gills are still there, but I think I spotted him going near the surface of the water in his bowl... which means Baby's breathing real air! Maybe!

Tad's legs now look more like true legs, and no longer so painfully weak and teensy. He swims like an gold-medal Olympian, and he is definitely on his way to newthood. I can't wait to see what Lucy and Hammerhead will do when they finally meet Tad face-to-face, without the damn glass in the way. (The three creatures spend an inordinate amount of time appearing to be interested in one another, but for all I know, they might be completely near-sighted.)

I just pray Tad can handle it when Mom or Dad try to nibble those tadpole limbs.

A Tad Bit More...

Tad is both longer and plumper now. I swear that he changes noticeably every day. His gills are there, to be sure, but he's definitely in transition. This is not a very good analogy, but I can't help but think of transsexuals experiencing their own version of transition. Aren't there similarities? I mean, amphibians and transsexuals, in effect, lose the body in which they were born. They become something other. What an amazing transformation!

Tad swims rapidly about his bowl whenever I walk into the room. His eyes are quite sharp now. He reacts to my presence with more panic than before, which I attribute to his ever-keener eyesight.

I find it challenging to adequately photograph Tad so that I can document his growth. But, believe me, Tad is definitely on his way to newt-hood!

The photo above shows Baby Tad with Lucy. Tad's parental units hang out constantly by his bowl (that is, when they are not hanging out next to the aquarium heater!). If you compare this picture with the first one I published in October, you should notice quite a difference in Tad's overall size. Tad is getting "rounder". He looks less and less like a teensy infant, and more and more like a surly teenager.

As The Tad Thickens...

I have noticed over these past weeks that Tad has plumped up quite a bit. I'm not entirely convinced that he's gotten any longer, but he certainly appears thicker about the middle. I am not currently in possession of any super-teensy-weensy tape-measures; therefore I am unable to provide you with any cold hard data to back up my claims.

Here you see Tad with one of his two ever-present-parental-units. He's not quite ready to kick their collective a**es, but he could be a contender someday.

His gills are, as of yet, extant. However, I understand that his gills will suddenly one day disappear, without warning. Ah! Gills, then no gills! What wondrous amphibious magic is this!

Correction! T or A?

RE: My "T or A ?" entry of October 30th: It appears that Lucy is the one who is a "breast man", and not Hammerhead. Tsk, tsk, my bad. I can now see that Lucy has a slightly stumpier tail than Hammerhead does. If I had been a TAD more observant (no pun intended), then I might have noted that important detail.

The newts enjoy a feast of ice-cubed bloodworms regularly. I have been instructed to knock thrice upon the newts' aquarium when it is feeding time, as they have been trained a la Skinner. H never fails to grasp the quickly-dissolving cube in his jaws, and is soon flailing about, shaking the quivering mass of worms the way certain mammalian predators might shake certain wee animals in order to break their respective wee necks.

I have been unable to get a clear shot of feeding time. Curse the lowly camera! Instead, use thy imagination, with these feeble images as your humble guide...

Can you spot the bloodworms hanging from H's mouth in the second photo?

Tad's Appendages

My housemate declares that Tad's limbs are merely "fibers" or some sort of flagella.
Overall, at this point in Tad's development, they appear to be only decorative in nature. They truly seem quite useless. It's amazing to think that Tad (if he survives his adolescence) will someday have limbs like L & H.

[See Tad just to the NW of the boy's head in photo? He's sooooo cuuuuuute!!!]

T or A ?

Hammerhead is a breast-man, for sure.

"You're My Obsession..."

The parental obsession with Bowl (or with Baby,... for who can really tell?) does not cease. Here are some "fresh" photos after a water-change. The newts loves them some fresh waters!!

Tails of a Family

You can see Tad in his bowl, with the tail-ends of Lucy and Hammerhead outside of it.

It's extremely difficult to get newts to sit still for any kind of decent portraiture. This was the best shot I could get after several attempts.

Tad grows plumper everyday. He alternates between resting in the algae, nearly motionless, like an amphibious Buddha, and zipping about madly over the rocks, wildly circling his bowl, as if he'd just done a line of coke.

Is Parental Love Rooted in Narcissistic or Infanticidal Desires?

Tad, Meet Dad!

It's Day 9 with my beloved's newts: Hammerhead, Lucy, and Tad-the-Baby. Tad resides within his own bowl, currently set inside of his parents' aquarium. Ever since Baby's bowl was introduced into L & H's environs, the two newts have been quite obsessed with this Foreign Object. When I wake up, they are hanging out next to Baby's bowl; when I come home from The Office, there they both are again (or still?), smack-dab next to Baby's bowl.

My beloved tells me that when L & H bred in the past that they eventually ate their offspring. I can see why! Such tender little shoots-of-legs, and such delightful gills! How truly tasty they must appear to One-Who-Is-Newtish. Therefore, Tiny Tad must be kept separate, until he is old enough --and big enough-- to bite back, I suppose.