· Otters make debut

What was meant to be a media call for seven blotched blue-tongue babies has pulled in tourists and animal lovers at Wild Life Sydney Zoo.

After a stint in a behind-the-scenes nursery, the three-week-olds will now join their mother on display in the zoo’s Daintree Rainforest exhibition.

The blotched blue-tongue, so named for the bright orange-pink colouring on its back, is considered more attractive than its eastern cousins, which are regulars in Australian backyards.

Keeper Kylie Hackshall, who shares a birthday with the youngsters, said blue-tongues were one of the few reptiles to give birth to live young.

“She (mother) was very big when she was gravid (a term for reptile pregnancy),” she said.

She said looking after the little reptiles takes “a lot of love and care” and the species could live into their 20s.

Blotched blue-tongues are found in cool or highland areas of southeast Australia.

Ms Hackshall say they “definitely would have been affected by recent (bush)fires” but are not classified as endangered.

In the wild, mother blotched blue-tongues leave their young shortly after birth.