Wasteland Biome/Island

[Qwerty0000]

I'm going to start by saying that if someone already posted a similar idea to mine, please let me know. 

I suggest a Wasteland Biome/Island, which is a biome very difficult and deadly, but it can maybe introduce new genes. The main characteristics are:

• NO BERRY BUSH: the soil in the wasteland biome would be very infertile and would lack nutrients, so there can maybe be dead bushes where nest material or beetles can be harvested.
• BEETLES: this would be the main source of food. They could be found at dead bushes, tree stumps, or near some sort of meat. If meat is left untouched for 1 day, beetles may start eating it, and after 3 days, the meat and the beetles will be completely gone. Toxic beetles can also exist but has the probability of poisoning nichelings if harvested (toxic body nichelings won't get poisoned) Bettles can also be found when digging holes with the diggers body. 
• TREE STUMPS/HOLLOW LARGE TREE STUMPS: these would be the home of beetles, and nichelings can harvest them. It would be similar to the digging ability: everyone could gather them but nichelings with a special gene (that resembles the anteater mouth) can gather them more effectively. The large tree stumps are shelters for nichelings which would protect them when it rains acid. Each large tree stump can support 3 nichelings (2 babies counts as 1).
• ENEMIES: rattlesnakes and crocodiles (and radioactive fish) could be the main enemies. Rattlesnakes would be very very poisonous, but they would make a rattling (if that word exists but you understand what I mean) sound that serves as a warning for your nichelings. Nicheling with toxic body won't get poisoned. Crocodiles would replace bearyenas, but these would be found near rivers. Radioactive fish are fish that can be harvested by a nicheling with the fishing skill, but have the posibility to poison nichelings. Again, nichelings with toxic body won't get poisoned. 
• ACID RAIN AND TOXIC RIVER: Acid rain would replace normal rain, and if a nicheling is outside for a complete day, it will take damage (Toxic body, armored body and big body nichelings won't get posioned from acid rain). Nichelings, with an especific gene, can dig holes to protect themselves. The disadvantages of these holes is that they won't be permanent and only 1 nicheling (or 2 babies) can go inside. In rivers, when a nicheling is inside the river for a complete day, they will take damage. (Toxic body and armored body  nichelings will not suffer get poisoned in rivers). 

The new genes that I have in mind are:

• the beetle-eater tongue
• rattle tail (to warn enemies, maybe)
• diggers body (to dig holes (and maybe find some beetles along the way))

I tried to make it as simple as I could, but english isn't my first language, and while I was writting this, ideas kept coming and I just wrote them without any sort of planning. If someone has any ideas or recommendations (or if there's an idea similar to mine), please let me know. Btw, thanks for reading this extremely long suggestion and be sure to suggest as well. 

[MysticTopaz]

I don't think digging a hole would help when it rains- the water would just fill the hole.

I'm imagining this is a radioactive post-apocalyptic setting, similar to Chernobyl, and in that case, perhaps there could be both good and bad 'radioactive genes' that can be unlocked from staying on the island for a set amount of days the same way we have hot-climate and cold-climate genes, but instead of just showing up in the mutation menu after the right amount of days passes, the unlocked gene [or genes] would appear on the next baby to be born then be unlocked at the same time.

For example, these could happen as a result of the biome's radiation after a certain amount of days:
 

dwarfism: reduced size and speed

polycaudal: has 2 tails, both still have working effects

conjoined twins: all stats heavily reduced

A split-end tail for gathering.

Deformed body that reduces stats by 1.

Weak and Deaf Ears

Bioluminescent markings.

The Clever Jaw, because if insects can survive in this climate, perhaps the nichelings can evolve an antlike jack-of-all-trades face to make survival easier.

 

As well as the possibility of there being randomly mutated Derp Snouts, Deformed Paws, and Blind Eyes, maybe there could be an extra-paw trait that creates a copy of one or both of the currently existing paws. For example, a nicheling that would've been born with one runner leg and one deformed paw ends up having two runner legs and one or two deformed paws. Not sure that'd even work into the coding, but it's a cool thought anyway.

[pebbleheart]

Great idea, and this is giving me great visuals! I think that protecting nichelings from the acid rain and toxic rivers should be a little bit easier, like it can protect surrounding spaces like the Purr Snout, and that Armormed Body, just like the Toxic Body, should not be affected by the acid and river.

People have also suggesting burrowing creatures, but for different reasons, so those could help.

Good job on explaining it and get better at English!

[Fishyfishyfishy500]

why can't the BEAK EAT THE BEETLES, burrowing owlparrots would have a field day here also i made burrowing body, but it works differently,  perhaps a shoveling tail or a tunneling hind legs could be good?

[Qwerty0000]

16 hours ago, pebbleheart.the.med.cat said:

Great idea, and this is giving me great visuals! I think that protecting nichelings from the acid rain and toxic rivers should be a little bit easier, like it can protect surrounding spaces like the Purr Snout, and that Armormed Body, just like the Toxic Body, should not be affected by the acid and river.

People have also suggesting burrowing creatures, but for different reasons, so those could help.

Good job on explaining it and get better at English!

I think that armored body is a great way to protect from acid rain, but in my opinion, purr snout isn't the best way to protect the body from toxic chemicals. Thanks for the idea and I will definitely write it in the post.

[pebbleheart]

1 hour ago, Qwerty0000 said:

I think that armored body is a great way to protect from acid rain, but in my opinion, purr snout isn't the best way to protect the body from toxic chemicals. Thanks for the idea and I will definitely write it in the post.

I was stating that the nichelings that can dig can gid the space it's on and the surrounding spaces, like a purr snout heals the surrounding nichelings