Corucia zebrata

[Tigergenesis]

Well here is my latest and final ( I seriously mean it this time ) herp. It's a 3 month old Monkey Tail Skink (aka Prehensile Tail Skink or Solomon Island Skink). Haven't come up with a name yet. An awesome lizard!
S/he is still small so the cage is temporary and I'm still adding to it. I'm having a custom cage built (3x2x4 or 4x2x4) to move him/her into in the next few months.

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v390/Tigergenesis/Monkey%20Tail%20Skink/DSC00621.jpg
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v390/Tigergenesis/Monkey%20Tail%20Skink/DSC00613.jpg
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v390/Tigergenesis/Monkey%20Tail%20Skink/DSC00611.jpg
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v390/Tigergenesis/Monkey%20Tail%20Skink/DSC00610.jpg
"Hey, what's on the other side of this log?"
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v390/Tigergenesis/Monkey%20Tail%20Skink/DSC00599.jpg

[lostwithin]

Beautiful animal, I love monkey tailed skinks, Do you mind if i ask where you picked it up, I have 1.2 of them and plan to pick up a few more in the future. 3 months is young, I only Know of a couple people that breed them in Canada. I would love to find out there is another.

At 3 months the little thing probably will be quite open to replacing the mother figure in its life, you should be sure to handle the little guy/girl allot. They are really very social animals.

Devon

[Tigergenesis]

I got her here in the states. The guy I got her from still has her mother and twin sibling. The mother was an import in 2000. He actually bought the trio from the actual breeder (but I can't recall their name at the moment). I'm slowly beginning to handle her more often each day (wanted to let her settle in a bit). My only concern w/ getting another right now is that I don't know the gender of my little one and don't want to end up with 2 males and any problems that might cause. I'm considering buying the mother (as he is keeping her twin), but then I'm concerned if my little one ends up a male that I'd have a breeding pair consisting of a mom and son - or is this a problem? I know with snakes it's generally not.

[lostwithin]

I didn’t even notice you weren’t from Canada sorry about that. As for mother son pairing I always avoid it , even with snakes, and you wouldn’t want to keep 2 males together as they become highly territorial. My 1.2 are LTC, they haven’t breed for me as of yet, but these things take time. Watch out not to get bit, they sure pack one hell of a bite.

Devon

[Tigergenesis]

When can you determine gender? I've heard they can be popped as early as 3 months. I'm kind of hoping mine is a girl so that I can get her mom as a cagemate. 2 females are okay? do you have any pics of your MTS? I'm having a custom cage built - either 36x24x48 or 48x24x48.

[lostwithin]

Sure I'll try and post a few pics, I keep my 1.2 together in a tall 6x4x2 cage, that is custom made. I cut down a couple small apple trees trimmed the small branches off and placed them in the cage for climbing. I did have 2 very large pothos plants in it as well, but I missed a feeding and they ate them both. You would have no problem with a mother daughter caging together, in the wild they live in groups.

As for sexing, as far as i know they are very difficult to sex. males develop a wider skull then females, but you would have to see allot of them to be able to tell the difference.

Devon

[lostwithin]

Here are a few pic’s for you to look over, first this is there cage, (before they ate the pothos plants lol) It also shows the 2 hide boxes screwed into the back, they often share one box and just all pile in together.

http://www.ssnakess.com/photopost/data/500/4038Pts_001-med.jpg

Next is the 3 of them eating, "yellow" female still has some shed on her neck and shoulders. The one next to her still half in the tree is my other female. The male is closest to the camera.

http://www.ssnakess.com/photopost/data/500/4038feeding-med.jpg

Here's a close up to show off the "yellow" females unique coloration she is very high in yellow and blue unlike the other 2 who are the usual dark greens.

http://www.ssnakess.com/photopost/data/500/4038ptsnew_004-med.jpg

And one of the 1.1 normal colored one’s. The bottom one is male top is female. You can see sort of the difference in head width in the male.

http://www.ssnakess.com/photopost/data/500/4038skink_034-med.jpg

And lastly here’s one of the male enjoying a container of moist sphagnum moss. I use containers full when I run short, I prefer keep the entire bottom of the enclosure covered with it.

http://www.ssnakess.com/photopost/data/500/4038skink_007-med.jpg


Let me know what you think.

Devon

[reptile boi]

Thats an impressive cage devon. What is it made out of? And if you wouldnt mind me asking, how much did it cost ya to build it?




Thanks,
Ben

[lostwithin]

The cost for it was next to nothing .the sides are doors off the fire equipment units in a hospital. (You know those things in the halls where the water house axe and fire extinguisher are kept) The hospital a guy I know worked at replaced them all and he took the doors. Then it’s just a base build of 2x4’s with a 4’ x 2’ sheet of plexi glass which I happened to have out of another old cage., and a top build out of plywood (painted silver to match the rest).

Devon

[Tigergenesis]

Thank you very much for your help and the pics. Looks like a happy little MTS group you have there.

[lostwithin]

They are amazing creatures, feel free to e-mail me if you ever have any questions about them, I would do my best to offer any help I could. My 3 seem to be doing pretty well. I would really suggest keeping a few pothos plants, they are the main food source of wild populations, there is a toxin that they have evolved to digest. Weather it is necessary for them to have it or not is debatable, but I look at it as they have spent who knows how long evolving with it in their diet so I like to feed it to them.


Devo

[Tigergenesis]

So it is safe for them to eat it....most info I've read says it is except I did stumble on one site that said it was toxic (but I think they just must have assumed so since I hear it is for other lizards). I've seen mostly Golden Pothos in stores - is this okay? do they just snack on it or will I be replacing them often?

I could use a little advice on the ventilation for my cage I'm having built. Some have said go for an all screen top or have one of the sides or door all screen. Someone else suggested (and I think it might work out better for humidity) to place a smaller vent on one side near the bottom and a larger one on the opposite side near the top - however, if I go with this method I'm at a loss as to what size to make each vent.

I'm also not sure what to do about humidity. I've seen some people install automatic misting systems, some just mist by hand (I'd prefer something more automatic) and some use ultrasonic humidifiers. The humidity in my room is naturally about 30% so I will need all the help I can get to keep it up.

Also, I've seen people build shelves in their cages and I was wondering if they can walk on the smooth surfaces or if something needs to be added to the shelves for traction, etc?

Any info you can give would be greatly appreciated. :)

Are you familiar with the C/A biometric ratio method of determining gender? Others have mentioned it on Kingsnake.

[lostwithin]

Hey, as for ventilation I prefer use lots of ventilation with animals, especially lizards as they defecate much more often the snakes do. My cage has a grated panel down one half of the back wall, and a ¼” wire screen section in the top that measures 16” x 24” the I have had no problems with the grate in the back, but occasionally I will find a skink stuck hanging upside down from the top of the cage, they get up but cant get down, they have very pointy claws so the wire screen is a pain to use, and I would say they would rip right through mesh screens. I would suggest a couple good-sized grated panels on the back of the cage. I would use sphagnum moss a couple inches deep as a substrate and keep it moist they will go into it if they feel the need for more humidity, other then that I just mist whenever I’m in the herp room and have 2 water dishes big enough to soak in. By the way they LOVE being misted.

They will have trouble climbing smooth surfaces. My hide boxes have melamine coating and they have trouble moving around on it. I wouldn’t bother with shelves at all just branches.

Pothos is a toxic plants it would cause harm to any other animals, PTS have evolved to eat it, the toxin does not harm them it makes up a large portion of there diet in the wild. They have adapted to eating it. Golden pothos will work fine the “golden” is just the result of selective breeding. Mine were just munching on it a bit until I missed a meal then they ate it all, both the plants in the photo were devoured in a very short time by 2 skinks, and I mean all of it, right down to the dirt. (Which by the way you would have to replace because they might eat it as well when eating down to the roots) Now I only have one plant left which I keep out of the cage and toss a bit into there salads when I’m feeding.


Devon

[Tigergenesis]

My little one hates to be misted - if I accidentally get a little on her she freaks out (it's a fine mist). She also seems very careful not to fall in the water bowl.

Once again - thank you for all your help. :)

[lostwithin]

Really the little one hates it?? Mine all love it, they all just lay there and raise their heads into the spray. Even my more aggressive female tames right down to allow herself to be misted.

Do you mind if I ask what you feed the little guy, ? I am always curious to know what others feed them. Mine have a staple diet consisting of green beans and dandelion greens and then whenever possible I substitute it with pothos, mango, papaya, various melons, or squash. They all have a favorite treat, the male loves bananas, the normal female loved apples, and the yellow female loves strawberries. So I feed these as treats to them. not as part of the regular diet. This helps when they refuse to come out of a hide box, or if they are feeling a bit “territorial” when I need to clean. they are intelligent animals if they smell that I have treats they never lunge or bite at me.


Devon

[RepTylE]

I have always liked monkeytails. I hope to get one some day. There was one in a shop that I frequent and he/she seemed so responsive. All in all they are fascinating animals.

Nice setup pics too, guys :)

[Tigergenesis]

Well, I've only had him/her since Sunday so I'm slowly trying new foods. So far s/he has eaten (with much gusto): collard greens, mustard greens, turnip greens, kale, green beans (shredded), watermelon, raspberries, strawberries, blueberries, cantaloupe, honeydew melon and shredded carrots (didn't seem to care for the carrots). I'll be feeding him/her on a similar diet as my blue tongue skink (minus the meat of course). I've got several other veggies to try over the next few days.

My bluey eats (and I'll try to also feed to my MTS): all of the above plus turnips, sweet potato, yam, tomato, zucchini squash, spaghetti squash, yellow squash, grapes, radish, endive, escarole, papaya, mango, kiwi and bananas. There are also several other types of food I have yet to try with my bluey, but plan to try with both of these guys.

My MTS did hiss at me once and lunged a bit. It was like the first or second morning I had her and the way she was sleeping scared me (new herp owner syndrome where you freak out about everything) and I went to touch her to make sure she was okay and I startled her awake.

[lostwithin]

Ya they can be testy, My dark female is ok, very tame never bites or threatens me in any way. The yellow female can be very testy she will come after me most of the time whenever she gets the chance. And the male he is fine unless I’m not looking he has a tendency to lunge at me when I turn my back on him. Not sure why I think he likes to keep me on my toes and show me who’s boss. They all are fine when I’m handling them.
My guys didn’t seem to fond of carrots at all. They eat around them when I shred them into the mixture, they also didn’t like kiwi for some reason. They eat it a bit but often leave it behind. They really love green beans, I use frozen “French cut” green beans they seem work great.

Devon

[Tigergenesis]

LOL - your male sounds funny.

[lostwithin]

It’s funny for now, but the day he clamps down on the side of my face wont be so funny, he has gotten close but hasn’t hit me yet, last time he missed my face by less then a 1/4 of an inch, talk about close call.

Devon

[alive]

cool looking skink~ skink sure is a good choice when it comes to lizard~

[Tigergenesis]

I need to know if I'm being an overreactive new herp owner. I've heard my MTS sneeze a couple of times since I've had her. Last night when I was holding her she was just hanging out of my arm while I typed on the pc and I noticed one eye closed and the other open. If I started talking to her she opened the eye. Every now and then I hear what might be wheezing (I think) - it's not constant, just every now and then mostly when she's excited. Sometimes I've wondered if I was really hearing a low hiss - she has hissed loudly at me a few times. Overall no discharge from the eye, doesn't look swollen, irritated, etc. No discharge from the nose or mouth. I read in one book if you push slightly on the throat and mucus comes out of the mouth/nose that was a sign of RI. But none of that happened. Temps stay in the 80-86 range (mostly 84).

Cause for concern or need to relax?

[lostwithin]

I would relax, those temps are fine, and you can offer a hot spot or basking area of 90 if you would like, but mine don’t often use it. The low hissing noise doesn’t necessarily mean anything’s wrong, my tame female used to do it, and she also sneezed, I worried but nothing ever was wrong. Keep an eye on her but try not to "look for problems". I always get worried and see more into noises then I should when I’m actually looking for them. As for one eye closed she is probably just resting it. If they can see you with one eye they just laze around with the other closed, sort of "half asleep". That’s nothing worry about at all. If I open the cage while mine are basking or sleeping they will often open only one eye, unless I go to pick them up or give them reason to pay more attention to me.

Devon

[Tigergenesis]

I figured I was just overreacting. I tend to do that with each new herp until I get to really know their little quirks and behaviors - especially with a new species. Something interesting, I just remembered that the last couple of days while I'm at work her temp as gotten to 90 and when I come home I find her out on her branch under the heat.

It took me awhile to realize that it was normal for my bluey to sneeze (cleaning out the nostrils since they like to burrow) - I used to freak out about it.

Thanks!

[lostwithin]

Ya they do bask when it gets warmer my male tends to bask more then the other. It is fine to give them daytime highs of 90, mine recently have been in cooler end of there temp range, because I have my reptile room a bit lower for cycling snakes. And it does not seem to affect them. my cage is huge , they normally stay in areas that are in the high 80’s when basking, occasionally getting right into the hot spots.

Devon

[Tigergenesis]

Is s/he too young to try and guess gender based on head shape, etc?

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v390/Tigergenesis/Monkey%20Tail%20Skink/DSC00646.jpg

[lostwithin]

Well, if I were to guess from that pic, and from the first one, it looks to be female as it is lacking the enlarged scull of a male. BUT I don’t know if the males are born with the larger skull or if it develops when they mature. So all in all I can’t really say. I have only ever seen adult animals. Even in adult animals it’s a difficult thing to judge.

Devon

[Tigergenesis]

Now all of a sudden my MTS loves to be misted! I added a ladder and a fake plant vine to her tank today and she's been 'playing' for hours. I went to mist and was trying not to get her since she usually freaks out, but she's been all over the tank licking water off of all the leaves. So I thought I'd see what she would do if I misted her and she raised her head trying to catch the droplets. So cute!

[lostwithin]

That sounds more like how mine react to it. They love the water.
As for fake plants, I don’t use them I am always worried they might ingest them some time. Mine just love food so much I don’t risk it lol.

Devon