Baby Blue Tongue

[RocketRocks]

Hi, my name is Rebel and I just bought my first BTS today! My brother has had one for a year, so I know how to take care of an adult. But the one I got is just a baby, maybe about seven inches long. I'm not sure how that translates to age in an Indonesian since I have no idea when he was born and since he's my first baby skink. About how old do you think he is?
I just have a couple of questions about how to care for him. Since he's a Baby I have paper towels over the bottom of his 15 gallon reptile tank, that's OK right? When is he old enough for regular bedding? We got my brother's at twice the size mine is, and he went strait to the normal bedding. He also seems to be nibbling and/or eating little bits of the paper towel. What should I do if his chewing habbit gets out of hand and he starts eating allot of it?
Oh and don't worry, when he gets a bit bigger I'm going to buy a much larger tank and use the 15 gallon one he's currently in for a tank to put him in while I clean out the big one.
Also how often and how much do I feed him? I know in winter my brother's skink doesn't eat as much, is this true for a baby too?

Well that's all I need to know. His name is Rocket by the way, and my brother's is named Astro. I'll post pictures of them soon.

Thanks,
Rebel

[Blotch]

well, First off, welcome to the forums!!! You'll find many enthusiasts willing to help where we can!

In regards to the feeding thing, everyday for a baby is good. In regards to the amount, well it's hard to describe but I'd say about as much as they want to eat. Just see how much your little guy is eating and go from there.

I personally would worry too much about the paper towel for bedding. I'm sure a few people on here would argue this, and i'm sure they'd bring up good points, but blueys aren't raised on paper towel in the wild, so they can surely handle something like carefresh.

Now in regards to what to do over winter, *I* would maintain heat temps and keep him up and active just cuz he's young, but once again you may find other people on here will disagree. It will not hurt him to keep the heat on. same thing applies to the feeding, feed him as much as he's eating. Just keep an eye on it so you can judge the amounts.

Hope I've helped!

Luke

[Tattoo]

to the forum and congrats on your new baby. I agree with Blotch ... feed daily and keep the heat up to try to skip brunation. I would also go right to substrate (I use aspen). Don't forget . Good luck with your little one.

[RocketRocks]

I'm going to get the camera out sometime this week for baby pictures.

I'll look into some substrate. I just wanted to make sure it was OK for him since he's so young.
So far he's keeping active on his own, so I'm not going to worry about that too much.

[NomadOfTheHills]

I like paper towels for babies. Makes it easy to see if they are pooping, and if they have worms or bloody stool.


As long as you maintain proper heat gradients, about 100 on one end, room temp~80ish on the cool end, you can offer food every day as a baby.

This gradient may be difficult in a 15g, so make sure you KNOW the surface temps, and don't guess or use one of those dumb stick on ones

[RocketRocks]

Well Rocket did pretty good today. He pooped for the first time (it looked normal), and he had his first meal here. He tended to hide earlier in the day, but this afternoon we took him out and held him for awhile. It seemed to calm him down. Instead of hissing and backing away from me, now he lets me touch him without taking a snap at my fingers. He also got out of his hide and explored the tank after he was handled.
The hot half of the tank is about 90-95 degrees with the rock (it's just a rock, not a heat rock) and the cool half is about 75-80 (with the hide). The water bowl is in the middle. I'd like the cool end to be a bit cooler and the hot end to be a bit hotter, but I don't think I can get that a 15 gallon tank. Humidity is at 50-60%, should it be dryer?
I think I'm going to keep him on the paper towels for this week, so I can be sure he's doing alright. Then I'll see about adding some substrate.
Oh yeah, and he isn't trying to eat the paper anymore. In fact he didn't actually eat any, he was just tugging on it. He's showing no interest in it now. Maybe he was just scared or hungry when he tried eating it last night.

[Fatal_S]

Sounds like a good basic setup to me. I wouldn't leave him in it indefinitely, it can be improved upon, but for a beginning, you're doing better than some. Good job so far, we want pictures, and welcome to the forum ^.^

[RocketRocks]

Thanks. Rocket's going to move into his big house in about a month or two depending on how fast he grows. Now he fits in the palm of my hand, and even the 15 gallon tank is like a castle to him! Camera was out of batteries today, and tomorrow I'll be busy. But I'm sure I can get some good baby pictures after that. Maybe some of my brother's skink Astro too.

[Leigh]

Follow everyones advice so far and you wont go wrong, skinks are known to do a lot of house removals and will move the whole enclosure around until it suits them( mine does), so no worries there. Have you had chance to read the caresheet here(a few times to digest it),and looked at the food chart? there are some good ideas to think about for meals. We all love photo's (i think you've been prompted) ITS THE LAW. dont panic too much if he doesnt replicate the same behavour every day,they like to keep you on your toes, he may or may not hide,he may or may not eat,he may or may not be pleased to see you,you get the idea mate. From this site you'll be able to see if bruv is doing the right things as well.

[RocketRocks]

I've read the care sheet. It was really helpful, allot of things I didn't know. I'm going to print my Mom a food chart out for when she goes to the store so she knows what to get them.
Still trying to find the camera... LOL

I've been picking up and holding Rocket everyday since I got him and he seems much more at ease now. He still tries to run and hide but he doesn't struggle anymore once I've picked him up.

[RocketRocks]

I took pictures today! I don't have time to post them tonight, but I will as soon as I get the chance.