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Platypuses are one of two types of mammals which lay eggs. Unlike the echidna, the other egg-laying mammal (or monotreme), the platypus does not develop a temporary pouch to incubate the eggs.
The mother platypus prepares a chamber at the end of a burrow especially for the purpose of protecting the young. After she lays one to three eggs, which have already developed within her body for 28 days, she curls her body around the eggs to incubate them for another ten days.
After hatching, the mother platypus feeds her young on milk secreted from glands, rather than from teats. The young are blind, hairless and completely vulnerable. They are suckled by the mother for 3-4 months, during which time she only leaves them to forage for food. As she leaves the burrow, the mother platypus makes several thin plugs made of soil along the length of burrow; this helps to protect the young from predators which would enter the burrow during the mother's absence. When she returns, she pushes past these plugs, thereby forcing water from her fur and helping to keep the chamber dry.
The male platypus does not take any part in raising the young platypuses.
Platypuses will take care of their young until they are old enough to be left on their own.
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What do mother platypuses feed their young?
Platypuses are mammals: therefore, mother platypuses, like all mammals, feed their young on mothers' milk.
Do adults platypus leave or stay with babies?
Adult platypuses do not stay with their young after they are born. Female platypuses care for their eggs by incubating them in a burrow and nursing the hatchlings for a short period. Once the young are weaned, they become independent and leave the burrow to fend for themselves. Male platypuses do not participate in parenting duties at all.
What do platypuses feed their young?
Platypuses are mammals; therefore, like all other mammals, the mother feeds her young on mothers' milk. As the young platypuses grow, she introduces them to worms and larvae that she brings back from her creek or river dives.
When do platypuses have their young?
Platypuses have their young during the breeding season, which is Australia's spring and summer, from about September through to February, sometimes extending to March.
Why do male platypuses have babies?
Male platypuses do not have babies.Only the female can have young, and she does so by laying eggs. Platypuses are monotremes, or egg-laying mammals.
When the platypus is born do its parents take care of it?
Platypuses are not born; they are hatched, as the platypus is one of just two types of egg-laying mammals. The female platypus takes very good care of its young for several months until they are weaned. The young sometimes stay with the mother as a family group until the next breeding season.
How long do platypuses look after their young?
Young platypuses stay with their mother for about four months (115-125 days). They are nursed for the first three months.
Do baby platypuses drink their mother's milk?
Yes. Platypuses are mammals, and all female mammals - platypuses included - suckle their young on mother's milk. The only difference is that female platypuses do not have teats. The young must scoop up the milk which exudes into grooves in the mother's abdomen.
How does a platypus produce its young?
Platypuses are special mammals known as monotremes. This means they produce their young - or reproduce - by laying eggs, which hatch into young platypuses that initially feed off mothers' milk. Female platypuses lay eggs in a chamber at the end of a burrow dug into a riverbank or next to a creek.
When do platypuses mature?
Platypuses are fully mature at age two, which is when they reach reproductive age. However, young platypuses leave their mother between 14 and 18 months of age.
Do platypuses and spiny anteaters give birth to young alive?
No. Platypuses and spiny anteaters, more correctly known as echidnas, are monotremes, or egg-laying mammals. The young are hatched, not born.
What do joeys koalas and platypuses have in common?
Joeys are the young of koalas and any other marsupial. Their only commonality with platypuses is that they are mammals, and they live in Australia.
