BLUE TONGUE SKINKS

it seems that im getting more worried with Boris with his new condo.
i posted his new enclosure in the enclosure section and with my previous posts.
im having a hard time heating it up, it pretty hot/humid here in the Philippines except now where its been raining but since the enclosure is in my room it gets pretty warm in my room in the afternoon.

my set up is this, 60w basking lamp on top ( corner right side ) my enclosure measures 32" wide 21"depth 12" height
under the basing spot i have two flat slate that are on top of each other, it gets warm enough< BOris doesnt wana bask he just wants to hide...

on the other end i have paper shreds and pvc, he like to hide here most of the time

infront of the flat slate is my water bowl, on the other end is the food.

im using newspaper substrate as of the moment, he got a littel booboo with his old reptile bedding.

as of today,
i already have a moist towel on half of the screen top, and already have an inverted tupper ware with moist moss inside under the basking lamp and i put the slate on top of it.
i think boris is having a hard time shedding, he shed a little of his head scales yesterday and i dont know why isnt he basking.

he used to be in a sweaterbox and he didnt had a problem shedding before.

what could be wrong?
i dont have the temps now, still no thermometer or heat gun. sorry guys havent taken pics, i will post pics ASAP.

i hope my post is clear. thanks again





previous shed

i placed Boris inside the humidity box and seems liking it....

Being able to tell the temps would definetly help. Some times a blue just takes longer to shed then others. I don't ever put anything in my tanks except for a humid hide (and that's only for a few I know have problems shedding). How long has he been shedding? The process can take a few days. If I don't feel that the humid hide is working, I'll give my guys are warm bath. I have a tub that I just use for their baths. It's actually a small kitty litter pan.

Drew wrote:i placed Boris inside the humidity box and seems liking it....

With a few of my skinks I did actually have to show them what the hide was before they used it. They just weren't nosey enough to check it out themselves. Spike now uses his all the time to sleep in. I only wet it when he's shedding.

Jenn wrote:Being able to tell the temps would definetly help. Some times a blue just takes longer to shed then others. I don't ever put anything in my tanks except for a humid hide (and that's only for a few I know have problems shedding). How long has he been shedding? The process can take a few days. If I don't feel that the humid hide is working, I'll give my guys are warm bath. I have a tub that I just use for their baths. It's actually a small kitty litter pan.

il try to borrow a thermometer to measure the temps. this is his 4th day since i notice him being blue, cloudy and all.. if the hide dosnt work today i will give him a warm bath tom.thanks Jenn!!

Jenn wrote:

Drew wrote:i placed Boris inside the humidity box and seems liking it....

With a few of my skinks I did actually have to show them what the hide was before they used it. They just weren't nosey enough to check it out themselves. Spike now uses his all the time to sleep in. I only wet it when he's shedding.

is yours under the heat lamp?

No, they are normally in the middle somewhere. If you look at Spike's cage pictures it's under the smaller of the two platforms. When they are in shed, I'll normally wet it with warm water, once or twice a day.

Four days from when he turns blue isn't a big deal. My guys normally are in the blue for at least that long. They then go back to their regular colors for a few days and then shed. Depending on the bluey and the time of year, the actual shedding could take anywhere from 1-5 days. If it's getting closer to 5, I give a bath depending on the bluey.

In the summer, whenever one of my guys is starting to shed (scales actually coming off) I'll take them outside and let them wander around in the wet grass. This makes them shed everything in less then a 1/2 hour.

Jenn wrote:No, they are normally in the middle somewhere. If you look at Spike's cage pictures it's under the smaller of the two platforms. When they are in shed, I'll normally wet it with warm water, once or twice a day.

Four days from when he turns blue isn't a big deal. My guys normally are in the blue for at least that long. They then go back to their regular colors for a few days and then shed. Depending on the bluey and the time of year, the actual shedding could take anywhere from 1-5 days. If it's getting closer to 5, I give a bath depending on the bluey.

In the summer, whenever one of my guys is starting to shed (scales actually coming off) I'll take them outside and let them wander around in the wet grass. This makes them shed everything in less then a 1/2 hour.

would the hide be a problem if its under the heatlamp? i put the lsate on top of it though.
i guess i have to wait for a few more days

Keep an eye on how quickly it is drying out because it's right under the heat.

Jenn wrote:Keep an eye on how quickly it is drying out because it's right under the heat.

i dont think its drying out, he has been there ever since this morning.
nut good news, i took a peek a saw some skin inside the box. will check in the morning for the final results. hopefully he will eat tom too

thanks Jenn!!