BLUE TONGUE SKINKS

i would liek to pick the brain of anyone who owns shingles expecially those that have successfully bred them. or if anyone knows where i can get some good specific info on shingle breeding.


by info i mean housing, temp, humidity when you cool when you introduce. do you keep inside or outside, what area you are in if you keep outside that sorta thing. this will be my first attempt at breeding them this season coming up.


cheers in advance
H.

You want pm Ian,he's busy, but knows a thing or three

Hey! Share with us if you find any good info!

-- Celeste

just been looking at my shingles today,im pretty certain my pair are gunna produce bubs for there 5th straight year,must be some sort of record,i keep getting told dont push them,i reply im not,as i keep mine as a group and cool them each winter for 6 to 8 weeks with no heating,they kinda keep doing it them selves.
not sure what area u are from,but im in melb,so keep mine indoors,there in a garage out the back so it gets warm in there on hot days,and cool in winter,i just turn all there heating off at the start of june and back on anywhere from mid july to end of july,and the rest they do them selves,i keep them in an open top 7 foot by 2 and a bit by 2 and a bit foot open top enclosure and heat them with a 150 watt spot/flood light,no night heating,i only water them once or twice a fortnight,as u dont want standing water in with them,u can give them water more often,but take it out once they have had a drink,your aim is to keep there environment dry

oh if u can get a copy of the blue tongue skink bible,its got excellent tips to husbandry and breeding of stumpys and blueys,i highly recommend it,its 130 odd dollars a copy in australia,but worth every cent, mikeswanherpbooks.com.au
carry it if u are interested

ooh Richard you just keep breaking the rules don't you! First it's feeding Dog food - now its keeping Blueys in groups.

Richard, can you give an example of some typical monthly temperatures...highs and lows if possible...for your area? Just general guesses from memory are fine, though any actual data you have would be wonderful.

What about rainfall? What kind of rainfall, or even "clouding" (how many overcast days) do you get?

Do you think barometric changes have any effect on your shingles breeding?

Anything else you can think of by observations in the past?

Excellent! I have the bible coming sometime in the next few days I hope!

jasjmm,theres even great info on breeding rottnest shingles in the bible,u will see why i think there my fave looking shingle,as u can probably see in your ripper,its a great read,full of exellent tips and info,i dont measure there temps,i know there basking spot is at least 40 degrees celcius,it gets cloudy often in melb,we are in a drought but it can rain any time of the year,our weather is highly variable,in the shed over winter the temp at night ,room temp can drop as low as 6,usually around 9 or 10 though,and during the day its usually 16 to 20 degrees,but really cold days can be around 12,hope thats of some use to you,shingles arent native to where i am living,2 hour drive inland is closest shingle territory to me

Well, can't argue with 5 straight years of proven breeding! They must like your climate there, otherwise they wouldn't be feeling that special feeling! Thanks for the information/temps, it is of great help! What kind of Shingles are you keeping currently, R.Rugosa, correct?

Thanks again!

im keeping rugosa asper,the eastern shingle back,im in the south east corner of australia,way to humid for shingles outdoors here,unless u set them up under cover to keep them dryer,so yeah mine are kept indoors all year,im quite certain the female is going to have her 5th straight year of bubs as well which im chuffed about,the male mates another girl in there as well but no bubs from her yet,so hopefully next season,not confident she will this season

WOW, That is very good news for those of us that, pretty much, have to keep our animals indoors most of the time! I am sure I could get away with quite a bit of time outside, but not sure it would work all the well...probably better for Chuckwallas and Uromastyx out here in the valley of the sun! Plus, we get some crazy monsoon rain here a few days a year...gets the humidity really high!

Anyway, thanks again for your input Richard! So, if you keep your animals inside...what temperatures would they normally be seeing...is it "normal human living temps" with the exception of the heat lamp? Do you run Airconditioning?

Thanks!