Litters usually consist of two to three cubs, though litters of 6 have

been recorded. At birth, cubs weigh 280450 g (0.620.99 lb),

and measure 20.5 cm (8.1 in) in length. They are born with fine,
gray, downlike hair, and their hind quarters are underdeveloped.
They typically open their eyes after 2840 days, and begin
walking after 5 weeks. Cubs are dependent on their mother's milk
for 30 weeks, and will reach independence at 1618 months. At
the age of six weeks, they attain 900 g (2.0 lb), by 8 weeks they
reach 2.5 kg (5.5 lb) and by the age of 6 months they weigh 18 to
27 kg (40 to 60 lb). They reach sexual maturity at the age of three
years, and attain their full growth at 5 years.

A puppy is a juvenile dog. Some puppies can weigh 13 lb (0.45

1.4 kg), while larger ones can weigh up to 1523 lb (6.810 kg).
All healthy puppies grow quickly after birth. A puppy's coat color
may change as the puppy grows older, as is commonly seen in
breeds such as the Yorkshire Terrier.

For its first three months, a calf relies entirely on milk from its
mother for nutrition after which it begins to forage for vegetation
and can use its trunk to collect water. At the same time,
improvements in lip and leg coordination occur. Calves continue
to suckle at the same rate as before until their sixth month, after
which they become more independent when feeding. By nine
months, mouth, trunk and foot coordination is perfected. After a
year, a calf's abilities to groom, drink, and feed itself are fully
developed. It still needs its mother for nutrition and protection
from predators for at least another year. Suckling bouts tend to
last 24 min/hr for a calf younger than a year and it continues to
suckle until it reaches three years of age or older. Suckling after
two years may serve to maintain growth rate, body condition and
reproductive ability. Play behaviour in calves differs between the
sexes; females run or chase each other, while males play-fight.

The hen will usually stay on the nest for about two days after the
first egg hatches, and during this time the newly hatched chicks
live off the egg yolk they absorb just before hatching. Any eggs
not fertilized by a rooster will not hatch, and the hen eventually
loses interest in these and leaves the nest. After hatching, the hen
fiercely guards the chicks, and will brood them when necessary to
keep them warm, at first often returning to the nest at night. She
leads them to food and water; she will call them to edible items,
but seldom feeds them directly. She continues to care for them

until they are several weeks old, when she will gradually lose
interest and eventually start to lay again.

At the end of the tadpole stage, a frog undergoes metamorphosis in which

its body makes a sudden transition into the adult form. This metamorphosis
typically lasts only 24 hours, and is initiated by production of
the hormone thyroxine. This causes different tissues to develop in different
ways. The principal changes that take place include the development of the
lungs and the disappearance of the gills and gill pouch, making the front
legs visible. The lower jaw transforms into the big mandible of the
carnivorous adult, and the long, spiral gut of the herbivorous tadpole is
replaced by the typical short gut of a predator. The nervous system
becomes adapted for hearing and stereoscopic vision, and for new
methods of locomotion and feeding. The eyes are repositioned higher up
on the head and the eyelids and associated glands are formed. The
eardrum, middle ear, and inner ear are developed. The skin becomes
thicker and tougher, the lateral line system is lost, and skin glands are
developed. The final stage is the disappearance of the tail, but this takes
place rather later, the tissue being used to produce a spurt of growth in the
limbs. Frogs are at their most vulnerable to predators when they are

undergoing metamorphosis. At this time, the tail is being lost and

locomotion by means of limbs is only just becoming established.

Baby Snake
Female snakes produce young about twice per year. In some
species babies are born alive. Other species lay eggs. In a
strange combination of the two, some snakes have eggs that stay
in their bodies until the eggs hatch and then the babies are born.
Snakes can have anywhere from one to 150 baby snakes at a
time.
Snake eggs are not hard like a chicken egg, but are leather-like
and can be torn open by the baby snake from the inside with a
special "egg tooth" that the snake will loose soon after hatching.
Snakes do not take care of their offspring, but a few species will
protect the eggs and then the new babies for a very short time

after they have hatched. Baby snakes are then left to fend for
themselves.