Noob- Some questions

[Reptigirl3]

Hi everyone,

I am new the whole skink environment although, I am not new to the whole reptile world. I am looking to add a new lizard to my collection and my choices were either a monitor or BTS. So I have decided to get a BTS at one of the local reptile expos coming to my town next month.

I am looking for a baby (when is a skink not considered a baby anymore about what length size, so I know what I am looking for??), but am so confused as to the diff species of skinks. Northern, eastern etc... which one do you guys recommend for a beginner or are they all the same??
I have read the care sheet provided on the site. Great help!
I have a 20 Gal to begin with ( increasing size as it gets older to a 4x2x2 enclosure), 100W zoo med basking light, Reptisun 10.0 UVB bulb, a water bowl the size of a pie dish or what size for a baby ( ash tray size?), along with a basking log which has to reach 100 degrees. The cool side should be around 80? I will be starting off with the shaved aspen bedding. Is all of that good??

Now for my question- With the food, what size dish do you guys use? Can a dish the size of a mayo jar cap be sufficient enough? I understand I cannot just cut up the veggies or rip them up as I do with my other lizards. So I would have to finely chop them up and blend them with cat food, or lean chicken pieces??
Or some veggies with cat food and a couple of silk/phoenix worms?
Do I just feed him once a day? I am so used to feeding my other lizards multiple times a day.
Of course I will be using Repcal vitamins and calcium supplements. How many times a week?

Sorry for all of these questions, just trying to get everything ready before I get a BTS. My main issue of concern is obviously the feedings.

Thanks for the help!!!

[Katrina]

Hi - welcome to the forums!

Most blueys are good for beginers - I understand that indos and tanimbars can be tougher to tame, but if you are getting a baby and working with it from a young age it will should be fairly easy to tame. Northerns and IJs are the most common in North America (not sure where you are from), and either of them are typically very easy to handle.

Most species are full grown around 20+ inches, so if you are looking for a baby it would likely be under 14, or even under 10 inches.

As for water dishes - we have a fairly little skink, and she does fine with the fill size water dish. I wouldn't worry about anything smaller for a baby unless it is really tiny. For food dishes, we just use tupperware lids. The smaller the lip the better, so that the skink can see the food, and probably step on the dish to eat.

Chopping of the veggies really fine depends on the skink - as long as they are eating enough veggies, you don't have to chop everything so fine. Most skinks prefer to eat the meat, so to get them to eat veggies people chop it all really fine. For a little baby you will want to chop it finely because they have such small throats. As long as they are eating the recommended amount of veggies / meat / fruit then it doesn't have to be blended together.

With skinks under a year it is recommended to feed daily. After that, every two of three days depending on the skink and its appetite. It will be less work than your other lizards if you are used to feeding multiple times a day!

Vitamins and supplements depend on the skinks diet. If it is getting lots of calcium from egg shell, snails or greens then a supplement isn't as necessary. I'm no expert, but with our little skink we just sprinkle some vitamins in the food every couple of weeks, as long as we are feeding her healthy foods. Calcium supplement I only use to dust superworms, because they are high in phosphorus but also her favorite food! Silkworms are a much better / healthier feeder choice, so if you are feeding silkworms and lean chicken with all the right veggies and some fruit you shouldn't need supplements very often.

Hope this helps - I'm sure others will have more to add!

[aggiegirl]

You will find almost any BTS to be more friendly than a monitor! That said, I recommend Northerns, Easterns, or IJs for newbies. Check the listing of types (to the left) and memorize pictures to make sure you are getting what you think. Any skink born in the summer of 07 is baby. Look for clear eyes, nostrils, nice shed, good weight, etc. when shopping.

Quarter paper plates for food dishes. Use a mini chopper to chop veggies/fruit. Copy the food list from the caresheet and take it to the grocery store with you. Feed blueys less than a year once daily. My adults get fed T-days (Tues, Thurs, Sat.) Use a small, shallow pie pan/casserole for an adult's water. I use a single serve casserole lid for my baby but he has about outgrown that. Some blueys are soakers but others just like to make a mess.

I would recommend a larger tank because this allows more margin for error with the temps. My tank has 100 or so for the hot end and mid 70's or so for the low end. I like my 75 gallon (think craigslist, garage sales, used tanks from herp store) but my babies start out in a 40G and that seems big! Aspen is great. Don't forget hides.

Snails, egg shells (finely ground), rich leafy greens (collards) are great for calcium. A well-balanced diet is adequate but many of us use supplements from time to time.

I have a queso mini-crock pot that I keep on the kitchen counter. Whatever I'm cooking (chicken, ground meat, beef, turkey) gets thrown into that and boiled for my blueys. Again, the caresheet details this pretty well so re-read that section.

Hope I've answered all of your most pressing questions. Feel free to PM me if I can help. I'm a little too longwinded for most threads!

[Zach]

Hi everyone,

I am new the whole skink environment although, I am not new to the whole reptile world. I am looking to add a new lizard to my collection and my choices were either a monitor or BTS. So I have decided to get a BTS at one of the local reptile expos coming to my town next month.

I am looking for a baby (when is a skink not considered a baby anymore about what length size, so I know what I am looking for??), but am so confused as to the diff species of skinks. Northern, eastern etc... which one do you guys recommend for a beginner or are they all the same??
I have read the care sheet provided on the site. Great help!
I have a 20 Gal to begin with ( increasing size as it gets older to a 4x2x2 enclosure), 100W zoo med basking light, Reptisun 10.0 UVB bulb, a water bowl the size of a pie dish or what size for a baby ( ash tray size?), along with a basking log which has to reach 100 degrees. The cool side should be around 80? I will be starting off with the shaved aspen bedding. Is all of that good??

They will likely only have Indo's and IJ's at a reptile expo, and probably wild caught. If you're lucky, they might have some Northerns! If they do, go for those. Study the pictures on the site and take the quizzes so you're feeling confident.

Babies are as big as you feed them essentially. They grow a lot in their first year so a 6 month old bluey could be well over a foot if the owner were feeding him all the time. Older animals often have bigger heads. I don't know if that helps much if you don't have anything to compare it to. Indos also have thinner heads usually than IJ's. You will probably see a mix of all different types. Or, none at all. I've been to plenty of shows with no BTS at all...

Now for my question- With the food, what size dish do you guys use? Can a dish the size of a mayo jar cap be sufficient enough?

Perfect! For a baby, one spoonful is usually enough. Two is fine too.

I understand I cannot just cut up the veggies or rip them up as I do with my other lizards. So I would have to finely chop them up and blend them with cat food, or lean chicken pieces??
Or some veggies with cat food and a couple of silk/phoenix worms?

Hey, if he'll eat it, feed it however you want. Many BTS don't like leafy greens, so finely chopping them up and "hiding" it in other food is sometimes the only way people can get them to eat it...Silkworms are EXCELLENT. Phoenix worms won't hurt either, but silkworms are far superior in my book.

Do I just feed him once a day? I am so used to feeding my other lizards multiple times a day.

Definitely NOT more than once a day. In fact, I would go probably a couple times per week, especially in this cold whether. You could go for every other day; perhaps just one spoonful. Babies can get fat fast, especially feeding cat food, so keep a watchful eye. If you feed cat food, use a HIGH GRADE brand. Don't use the grocery store crap like whiskas. Caresheet has some great examples and shows ingredients details.

Of course I will be using Repcal vitamins and calcium supplements. How many times a week?

"of course" you will supplement? Why? If you include fresh collard greens in your meals, there's no reason to add a calcium supplement...remember that "supplements" are meant to replace an ingredient that is missing. Feed well-rounded meals and you don't have to add in stuff. Seriously, if you fed greens with calcium and THEN added powder on top of that?? Overkill! It's amazing how so many people think supplementation is some crucial key to pet reptiles survival. Probably stems from people not knowing correct diets so they just powder their crappy meals like crazy and that kept them alive.

Sorry for all of these questions, just trying to get everything ready before I get a BTS. My main issue of concern is obviously the feedings.

Thanks for the help!!!

Good luck!

[Reptigirl3]

Wow,

Thanks for all the help! I am finding out more and more as I am going through every thread here. Very interesting to find out they can eat eggs, and other things such as snails. Who would have thought.

I def will be looking for a captive bred if possible. I made the mistake once of getting a wild caught Uro and that took forever to tame, and the only reason I found out it was wild was after I bought it, I found a cacuts needle underneath his arm.

This time I will be asking if its captive, or wild and ask all those questions to the breeder as I have read on the caresheet.