Stunting a bluey's growth?

[sheslikeheroin]

Fatal were talking about our (technically her) newly aqquired skink. i just took his svl and his full body lengths. svl = 9 inches and fully body is 14.5. as we are trying to work out his age figuring it to close to her others (almost a year), But I was wondering is it possible to stunt bluey's like other reptiles. I am wondering this because skids was fed foods with poor nutrition levels plus alot of mice and kept in a relativley small cage could he be a two year old skink and only 14.5 inches long? this is likely a stupid question, but thanks for any help.


(Note) in case any member misinterprets this post, No I am not planning to attempt stunting a bluey. this is purely a hypothetical question.

[Leigh]

It is possible, but you generally get other health issues as well.

[ssr]

I'm glad you asked this question. I have been wondering the same thing. The skink I just aquired is 14 1/2" long and is at least 3 years old. She also was in a too small enclosure with poor nutrition. At what age is a skink at its mature size?
Serena

[Fatal_S]

Ssr, what kind of skink do you have?

[ssr]

We (you, me and another forum member) decided that she was probably an IJ. You may remember her pictures under the "I brought her home" thread. I emailed you on how to post the pictures and edit the thread. You were nice (I know you claim not to be!!!!!!) and emailed me back with instructions.
Serena

[Fatal_S]

Shh! Tell no one about my odd-moments! It wasn't me, I swear!

IJs tend to have a bit slower growth rate than northerns. Apparently they're more like easterns. However a 3+ year old IJ should probably be larger than 14.5in. If it was brumated and fed less, I can understand not being full size at 3. Has it been growing with you?

I can think about some of this stuff, but a good answer will need someone else.

[NomadOfTheHills]

Tank size doesn't affect growth, improper husbandry does.

Reptiles never stop growing (their rate just decreases, so it is possible to get some nice growth with proper husbandry and lots of food.

[sheslikeheroin]

[quote="NomadOfTheHills"]
Reptiles never stop growing (their rate just decreases) [quote]

that I knew.

I was just wondering if a blueys growth was similar to snakes, for instance my red rat cross is a very small at 3.25 feet, he was kept in a small enclosure and fed not very much, so he is small but not growing at a noticeable rate, even though he's getting 2-3 mice every week and a half too two weeks. or my snow corn 4.5 feet only 3 months younger than my anerythristic who is 5'9" the only differance is that she had a larger enclosure earlier.

though my anery was a foot bigger when i got her my snow caught up quickly. they were more or less even sized till i gave my big girl the larger cage, at which point she grew an enormous amount (almost 3 feet) where as my snow only grew one foot. i have always from personal experience thought that enclosure size played a great role in their growth.

[Katrina]

Thats really interesting... How large do corns tend to be in the wild? Obviously food is not as reliable in the wild.

I'm really interested to know how much enclosure size plays a role in size. Good luck with getting the little one growing!

[sheslikeheroin]

katrina: corns tend to max out at 4 1/2 feet in the wild though i have heard accounts of the odd one reaching 5. captive corns tend to be anywhere from 4 1/2 to 5 1/2 feet, anything above that is abnormal (don't tell Athena my big girl i said that) the record for largest captive corn snake is 6'6"

[NomadOfTheHills]

Nope, cage size does not directly affect growth. It may INdirectly, via improper thermogradients.

Corns are very variable in size, ome grow large, some grow small. The fact that they are not from the same clutch means (and even then) you really can't compare their growth and base that on cage size.

[ssr]

Fatal_S--Your secret is safe with me! I have only had her a couple of weeks so too soon to tell about growth. Nomad says that reptiles never stop growing so sounds like with proper husbandry and nutrition I can look forward to her growing more.

[Katrina]

Thanks for all the answers everyone!

Nomad - even in a very small enclosure, their growth would not be limited by the size of it, but just by the food and their ability to find the correct thermogradient?

How much does family and genes play into the size factor? Are siblings usually similar in size or does it vary?

Thanks again everyone!!