BLUE TONGUE SKINKS

ok, so...

the aquarium that will be home to my future bluey is 48" wide x 18" deep x 20" tall (yeah, it's big). i have been unable to find a proper screen top for it, so i'll be using a glass door top with the doors open for air. they don't make a screen for it, so that's the way it is... unless there's a better idea.

other than that, my checklist is:

bedding
basking-lamp and rock
uv light kit
water bowl
food bowl
stuff to crawl around/on/under

here are my questions:

what is the best bedding to use?
can i use a nice flat sandstone rock for basking?
does the uv light need to run the length of the habitat?
how should i go about raisint the water bowl so that there is a hide under it?
what other furnishings do i need?
do the UV and basking lamps need to be on all the time or should i give the skink a few hours of "night time" (we keep our house a constant 65 degrees)?

i'm beginning the construction next week, so thanks in advance for the help!

Most of the answers you seek are on the caresheet of this site. (See link by the "welcome!") I highly recommend aspen shavings and the tile platform for water/feeding/hiding. Do some reading and I'm sure you'll have even more questions once you get your bluey! Good luck and you must share pictures! It is the forum law!

Welcome! Kudos for asking questions and setting up the habitat before getting the new skink!

You can easily make your own screen top that size. Use hardware mesh (from the local hardware supply store) - it's welded wire screen available between 1/8 and 1/2" in mesh and the larger mesh is plenty stiff to be a screen top. Get it about 2-4" (5-10cm) bigger than the aquarium in each dimension and bend the edges over the top of the aquarium. The cut edges can be sharp, but cloth tape will take care of that. If you're ambitious or want it pretty you can make a wood frame and staple it to the mesh. One nice thing about a wire top is you can put a heat lamp or a UV fixture directly on it. That won't work with a glass top.

You may want to put some plastic sheeting (plexi or something thinner/cheaper) to control humidity though. (depending on your locale)

A sandstone rock is excellent for basking, but I think it is good to have multiple levels so there are alternative basking options. I glued some legs on a couple pieces of slate tile and then set the water dish on one so that the substrate doesn't get kicked in the water and there was hiding space below and basking spots above. ( The water shouldn't be directly under the heat lamp though, as it will get too hot and evaporate really fast. )

You should read the caresheet on the site - it has answers to your questions, plus answers to questions you haven't thought to ask yet.

Colin

k - i read the care sheet (i had glanced at part of it before). cool. thanks.

Hi boonaen, there are peoples set ups in the gallery, so you can always blag an idea or two from there, from the dimensions you give, you'll be able to sort out a mint setup in that tank.

ok - i have my heat lamp and digital temp/humidity as well as a sandstone rock that is significantly inclined on one end. i am currently testing the temp and humidity in an empty tank with no water bowl.

from what i've read, there are several options for maintaining temparature, but i want the best, so...

1) do the members here prefer a ceramic heat source or under-tank heat mat?

2) would it be wise (if necessary to maintain humidity) to place a small portion of water under or around the heat lamp as well as having the large water source on the cool side?

3) would the incorporation of mirrors in a habitat cause the skink to become agitated?



i also see that a good 95+ degrees is suggested for the hot side and 80ish for the cool side. this seems like it might be hard to maintain... especially since my lamp doesn't even seem able to get the hot side of the tank above 80 at the moment (is it because it's empty?) and i may have missed the part where it suggested the surface temp of the rock. what would that be?


last (for now), how high would a skink like to go? i've had an idea of providing a series of steps and levels that would allow the skink to "climb" to the near top of the tank (away from the heat source, of course) with hides worked in throughout. is this a bad idea, even if i have a secure lid and place the contraption in a safe place? i guess my concern is that this would compromise the steady flat-bottom ground of the tank, requiring, maybe, a bit too much exercise to get from one place to another...

thanks for the help! i may be taking this too seriously, but that's my nature. i want everything perfect for the little guy!

Most people here warn against both under-tank heat mats and electric heat rocks. These have been known to overheat or heat unevenly, causing burns to your pet. This is more common on the rocks than the mats. Also, blueys generally don't need much humidy, except maybe during a shed. The basking rock should be nice and warm to the touch, but not so hot that you cant keep your hand on it. Lastly, skinks do seem to enjoy exploring and climbing, so having a few different levels for them to move around on is a pretty good idea. Your different level idea sounds great, just make sure it cannot be tipped and it cannot be burrowed under (your bluey might get crushed). You're doing great on your bluey quest so far! Good on ya!

thanks for the response, that helps alot.

i'm a little worried. the guide says i can get as low as about 65 at night (which i'll get close to every night), but need to stay around 95 to 100 during the day. i ran that heat lamp all day and even covered a portion of the tank to try to keep heat in... it never got over 79 degrees.

it's a 75 watt bulb and the tank is not terribly tall... not sure what to do... i mean, other than buy a 100 or 150 watt set-up. the only thing i can think is to point a ceramic heater at the tank as well as the light and position them to make it 95 or so degrees.

now, i don't yet have a UV or UVB going... will that make a heat difference?

boonaen, do you use a reflective spot lamp or just a normal filament light bulb, the first is what you need, the tank temp doesnt need to be up around the 100's just the basking spot, can you raise the baskig spot up or lower the lamp down to get a good hot spot?, if you're concerned with over night temps give your bluey a deep layer of substrate to burrow in, they are hardy little gits, and I dont think that that is a very low night temp, do you use a heat gun to tell the temp as the stick ons will not be totally accurate, I'm sure the pro's will add if we're off the mark with our info, good luck anyway, oh, the UV lamp will add a little heat, if the whole light fitting is in the set up it'll add quite a bit.

i don't have a laser yet, but i'll get one before the skink moves in. i guess i misunderstood the care sheet and thought that one entire side of the cage needed to be 95 or 100. since i'll end up with a thermostat for each side, i had placed this one near the hot side, but still a good foot from the hot spot rock.

i'll get a laser on the 10th as well as most of everything else i need and be able to more accurately measure the temp at the hot spot and stuff.

again, thanks!

Hey Boonaen,

Here's the screen top that I've got for my 18 x 48. It's well made and only 35 bucks.

http://www.glasscages.com/?sAction=ViewCat&lCatID=22

ok - anyone who has been following this thread (thanks!)...

here's where i am with temp. i laser checked my basking spot all day today. i had been kinda paranoid about the fact that that side of that tank would only get around 80 degrees.

well, my hot-spot maxed out right at 94.6 degrees, which, if i read right, is still about 5 or 6 degrees under what is recommended. so.... .... now what? will 95 at the hot spot, 80 daily average over all, and 67 to 70 at night be ok?

if not, what do i do?

I just bought my adult Northern a tank the same size as yours. It also was missing a lid so I had to make one (OK, so I actually talked my husband into making it!) We used a coarse grade screen with a wooden frame. I have a wide diameter lamp and it sits in the middle but the wood is less desirable to me than metal due to fire hazard concerns. I have a large river stone beneath the basking light. I am using a 75 watt bulb---but like Leigh mentioned, I had to use a reflective one to give me the higher basking temperature. (I was sitting right where you are with the regular bulb!) You can try tempgun.com (I think) for a temp gun. I really like mine and it is great for this purpose. Post pictures when you get your set up done and when you get your little guy. You are doing great to have the set up done before you get your skink. Can't wait to see the finished product!

ok... ok... so...

now my story is going to change... again.

after placing the lamp directly above the rock, i was worried, because i couldn't get the temp to go above 95.

so, i left it there all day... and nght.

i get home around 10:00 (when my house is actually cooling off) and the temp is 102.3 (checked with a temp laser thingy i got for $25 at radioshack). also, before i went to work, i placed one of my digital humidity/temp thind ON the rock (cleared the memory frst, of course).

i checked the hi lo and, while i was at work, the temp on the surface of the rock apparently got as low as 89.4 and as high as 104.1 (all the while, my house thermostat is unchanged at 68.

so, now i'm more confused than ever. it's like that side of the room has it's own atmosphere. but, all said and done, i suppose it's more realistic than a constant/perfect 100 degrees... i mean, after all, in the wild there are clouds passing overhead and wind and such that creates an ever-changing temp.

i guess as long as it doesn't go over 105, i'm safe... right?





oh, oh... and i went to the hardware store and found a big 6" diameter curved "T" pipe thing. here's my idea: i glue a bunch of (not sharp) rocks (or pieces of tile) all over it and let the skink have it. that creates a huge and interesting hide as well as something she can dig her claws into and climb all over. yes? no?


do skinks hiss with their mouthes closed? or, can someone describe normal breathing for a skink? like, in slow, out fast or in fast out slow? or paus between inhale/exhale? (now i'll really see how smart you can make me!)

Hello, I wouldn't want it to go over 105 no, make sure your cool side is around 80 though or possibly a little cooler so he can cool down if it's too hot for him.

They do hiss with their mouths closed. My babies do that A LOT, even my adult IJ still does it. They hiss and make their body get rather large then small. Other than that you can't generally hear them breath. My IJ has a little squeak sound when he breaths but that's fine as long as they don't have mucus or have their mouths gaping and having problems breathing. If I'm wrong I'm sure someone will correct me.

You can do the rock thing if you like or you can leave it plain. Mine climb but not much, they normally stay on the ground.

boonaen, its sounds like a good temp range, dont worry about perfection all day long , as you said its better to be more natural with differing temps throughout the day.

Depends on what and how long there staying there. Are they going outdoors in the summer.? I use whats proven and avalable gravel , ive snakes on sand. Keep em hot check the FAQ on the matter.
good luck . not hard to find safe stuff
cheers

ok - have tank almost finished.

i've decided to buy a skink from one of the breeders here - just don't know which yet. i got to looking at my friends skink and noticed that the left pupil is constricted and the skink moves his head alot, always favoring looking at suff from the right, so... don't wanna have to worry about a half-blind skink. i am buying a skink NEXT WEEK! (YAY!)

so, i have all my stuff and it's all put together, but (once again) i'm paranoid about temp and humidity.

i live in arkansas, so the humidity goes from nothing to 100 over night... and you never know what it will do next. one day, the tank is 27% the next, it's 56%... one day, the high temp on the hotspot is 92, the next it's 84... i can't figure out how to stabalize it!

i have a 18" UVB bulb in it's own covered housing. i checked the temp right up against the light and it's only 96 degrees. i was under the impression that they got hotter than that... guess i don't have to worry bout the skink getting hurt by a UVB bulb. i thought adding this bulb would help to stabalize things a bit, but i guess not.

so - if anyone can solve this or tell me beyond a doubt that it's ok, i'll feel better.

and, lastly... night time. i keep reading different opinions. how cool can it get? 65? 75? should i have a ceramic heater to turn on when the bulbs turn off? these are the last 2 things i need to know... then i'll feel ok getting my skink!

*excited*
*will post pictures of home when i find my camera*

Hmm...can you keep in a room that is air-conditioned? Drastic quick temperature changes can be dangerous as you could jump well over 100 and cook your skink. The best thing to do if it's fluctuating that much is lessen the heat. You want it jumping around in the 80's and maybe low 90's instead of messing with 100 deg. temperatures until you figure it out.

Back to the air conditioner, if you can stabilize the temperature in the room, that will stabilize the basking spot temperature. Avoid keeping him by windows as that sun that comes in will raise temps. If you have air cond., this isn't as big of a deal.

Night temps can drop to 60 no problem. You don't need night heat at all. It's actually better to let them have that natural cool down sleep. Read about it in detail on the caresheet.

Good luck!

that's what's so strange. the temp in our house is steady.

we set the thermostat at 65 at night and 70 during the day. no deviation. nothing. it's always the same.

but, the temp in the tank keeps changing... blows my mind.