Blue Tongue Skink questions

trailblazer295 · 07-22-17, 03:11 PM

Well because TinyBoidae is such a terrible influence I've been thinking about a BTS. As some of you know I will be selling my kingsnake. So far I haven't decided on what I wanted to add to my collection to fill that spot. I really like medium sized lizards but caging and care is the big concern. Caresheets don't answers what I'm looking for.

For an adult cage I would do a 6x2x18"?. Still determining the height. Would a juvie or young bts be okay going into an adult cage?

Is providing ledges be a good idea? I've read they can't climb but I don't know if I provided a ramp with platforms they would fall off that.

If I provide UVB lighting would D powder still be needed?

Would a CHE or heat panel be a better heat source?

I haven't seen dubias up here so not sure if they are available. Would worms (wax,meal etc) be sufficient for an insect food source? I hate crickets lol

How often do they need to eat?

dannybgoode · 07-22-17, 03:29 PM

Not an expert on bts's so can't answer all your questions. Dave may be able to help more specifically.

Couple of things though - I'd go for more height if you can. 18" regardless of whether the animal being kept is arboreal of not, just looks low on a 6 footer. Also low long vivs tend to mean quite a limited warm end as the heater is so close to the ground. The higher up it is the better the spread.

That said it's hardly a secret that I like to oversize things so happy for someone more familiar with the species to correct me. I can ask a skink expert as well if you want (and by expert I mean the chap has at least 25 species of skink).

Re D3 - no it you provide UV at the right level you don't need to supplement. In fact it can be dangerous to do so. All animals that make use of D3 metabolise it from UV. Dietary D3 is essentially useless and very little gets metabolised into anything the body can actually absorb and use.

By providing UV you allow the animal to photoregulate in a similar way that it will thermoregulate and allow it to produce what D3 it needs and when.

trailblazer295 · 07-22-17, 03:37 PM

Thanks for the response. I can do increase the height that isn't a big problem.

If you wouldn't mind asking that chap, it would be good to have information from someone with real experience. I want to have all the necessary information before making a decision if I should get one or not.

dannybgoode · 07-22-17, 03:44 PM

Will ping him a message tomorrow - it's getting toward an unsociable time over here! He is the skink meister though so confident he'll give the correct info.

trailblazer295 · 07-22-17, 03:53 PM

Thanks a lot mate, I appreciate it. If I'm going to get one I want to know how to do it properly.

chairman · 07-22-17, 10:10 PM

I have two northern BTS. I guess that they are about 5 or 6 years old now.

I started my BTS in 3x2 cages. I bet that a baby would do just fine in a 6x2. Just give it lots of cover.

Also, I would provide a juvenile with UVB. I was advised to not provide UV and ended up with skinks with slightly misaligned jaws. I think that the issue developed because they grow rapidly when they're young and I just didn't supplement adequately (and I thought I was over-doing it). Providing UV will take the guess work out of it. The adults can make do with supplements, but not babies.

They're fully capable of climbing. They're clumsy but I wouldn't worry about a fall. My skink cages have sliding doors and one skink learned to open the door. I found it amusing because he'd leave the cage closed all day and then open it up to lean out and watch me when I entered the room... but then one day he decided to go on an adventure and made his way a couple feet down to the floor with no problems. The cages got locks at that point but they can clearly manage small tumbles. If you're really concerned about their durability then look for videos of wild ones fighting; those little guys can take a beating.

Another thing to keep in mind, they love burying themselves sand boa style. Not actual tunnels, they just like to sit about 1/4" to 1/2" under the surface.

For food, I use Blue Buffalo dog food (wet) that I mix with greens (mine don't like kale) and calcium +d3. I put the mixture in ice cube trays and thaw a cube for them to eat. If you use dog food (or cat food), check ingredients and avoid preservatives. The preservatives in cheap foods are said to be toxic for skinks. I also feed other fruits and vegetables, mazuri tortoise food, etc. They're omnivores, you have lots of options. If you want to go the natural route, they'll eat meal worms, superworms, locusts, nightcrawlers, snails, f/t mice... just about anything you put in front of them.

Juveniles need to eat every two or three days, adults should only get feed once a week. You can feed adults more often, but make sure that the additional meals are greens or low sugar vegetables. Obesity is a problem with these guys, they'll eat themselves to death.

I provide a basking light for my skinks so I'm sure that either a che or heat mat would work. They can probably reach about 8" high or so without climbing, so just make sure that a che is high enough.

trailblazer295 · 07-23-17, 06:30 AM

Thanks for the tips, I've decided I will do a UVB lighting if I get one regardless of age.

I use wellness brand cat for my cat. I used to use blue buffalo but a lot of stories of tainted dog food so switched brands.

I do have cages for a CHE if I went that route but the cage would be a minimum of 15" high more likely 18 at this point. I wasn't sure if I more centralized hot basking spot was better vs the more spread out nature of a radiant heat panel. I won't be using any UTH.

regi375 · 07-23-17, 09:17 AM

If you don't like crickets a species that I'd recommend looking into is a Uromastyx. They're completely herbivores.

dannybgoode · 07-23-17, 11:09 AM

As promised TB - straight from a chap called Ricky Johnson. A vastly experienced keeper and breeder who currently has and 40-50 in his collection (not all BTS though).

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For BTS the absolute minimum viv size is 4x2x2ft, however much larger is fantastic. My favourite current viv size for a single adult Tiliqua gigas evanescens is 5x3x2.5ft. Note some BTS sp are larger than others, Tiliqua scincoides chimaerea being the smallest available, T. g. evanescens the longest.

They will climb but take care in allowing the use of height, pile up substrate, use wide logs and such.

Viv height 2-3ft i recommend the use of a 12% T5 UV bulb, half the length of the enclosure fitted onto the warm side length wise or diagonally over it. I.e. I use 2ft T5 luminaires in 4-5ft vivs. Provide lots of cover, break the exposure apart. Best thing about these T5 is it will still have a fantastic output for AGES. Mine have been in use for about 19-20 months and still giving a good output for my Meraukes!

Please tell your friend, in case they don't know as it's a very very common mistake, that there are many species of BTS with different needs. Make sure to know what the species is first as an Indonesian sp kept like an Aussie sp can be deadly. Hope this helps.
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trailblazer295 · 07-23-17, 11:34 AM

Thanks mate that's really good information. My rough idea for a cage then wasn't far off, could do 6x2x2. I would have to look into light sourcing but at least I know what I'd need.

That is something I've never read about which species is that important. I haven't seen that detailed information locally so not sure if I'll be able to get that detail. If not I won't buy one after all.

dave himself · 07-29-17, 07:10 AM

Sorry mate I just had to take a pic

I have just uploaded these images:

trailblazer295 · 07-29-17, 01:27 PM

Thanks mate, it is a good looking lizard.