new "rescue" need advice badly

[super stooge]

hello.

i am right now in what i would describe as a far from ideal situation (for me and the bluey)

a friend of mine has had a wild caught blue tongue as a pet for over a year now. ive had more than a few arguments with him over the care of it now but i am by no means an expert and have never owned a reptile before and hes always insisted that he knows what hes doing and that it seems happy the way it is. well it has now outgrown its tank and my friend is unwilling to upgrade so he was planning on just releasing it back into the wild. after all this time i didnt like its chances of survival so i volunteered to take in the little guy. he is currently in a 60cm long tank that i have which i know is inadequate. he is about 15 inches (38 centimetres nose to tail tip). i have been franticly reading all i can about him over the past two or 3 days. i have read the entire caresheet on this site (very helpful) he seems very friendly and his never bitten anyone. i try to keep him out of his cage when i can (he is crawling across my keyboard as i type this).

i am right now looking for a bigger tank/reptarium for him. i have a found a 1.2'm x 48cm x 50cm plain glass "turtle tank" would this be ok to house him in? or another option is a 90cmx45x45 exo-terra reptarium. im more inclined to go with the larger tank tho.

i also need advice on substrates. i personaly love the look of the red desert sand. is this dangerous to use with (what id consider to be) an adult blue tongue?
example:http://www.exo-terra.com/en/products/desert_sand.php

his nails are also very long and i would apreciate some advice on clipping them aswell. should i try wrapping him in a towel then clipping them?

last question for now. for a 50 cm tall tank would a 100 watt heating lamp be sufficient or would i have to go bigger?

sorry for all the questions i just want to give him a better quality of life than he had before. and thank you for any replies to my questions and im sure i will have many more for you soon.

[Blotch]

ok Tank - get a 4ft tank - about 1.5ft high and if you can make sure it's over 1ft deep. A 100watt heating lamp should be sufficient - i use 60watt globes and they are fine. Red dirt is ok - many people on here will say no - but as long as when you feed it it's off the dirt it should be ok. you need to remember that they live on dirt in the wild so in captivity it's ok - however - the general rule of thumb is Aspen bedding, carefresh et...

The carefresh is probably the cleanest and less smelly. Clipping of nails - debatable about how you should go about this - but i just hold my guys still and clip away. soaking them in water for a little bit after the clipping will also soothe the feet if they start to bleed from you clipping the quick.

Hope I've been helpful!

[sheslikeheroin]

like blotch said get a 4 foot tank, i reccomend a 75E, usually you can pick em up new for around $18O you can also buy reptile screen lids foraround $30. 75E's dimensions are 4feet X 20" X 18" , by the way where are you located?

[NomadOfTheHills]

Don't release him, its not good ecologically, and is most likely illegal.

[super stooge]

im in sydney, and releasing him was never an option. the tank im looking at is just under 4 foot long, 19 inches wide and 20 tall so this looks like the way ill go.

can you tell me a lil more about the reptile screen lids please?

[sheslikeheroin]

there are several brands, exxoterra makes one produced from wire bars, they over top of the edge of tanks and are made to fit snug and hold themselfs in place IMO these are way over priced going for $70 for one that fits a 55gal(largest available size) but veryhigh quality they also have an openable door on the top for feeding.. another brand would be zilla wire mesh tops they range in size from2.5 gal up to 150gal plus, i have seen some which are 6 feet long. these i like. very tough, the mesh is coated in thick latex type paint so that is has not sharp edges and won't rust (which makes it suitable for climbing geckos) i will get some pics for you if ya want. the zilla ones are high quality and cheap. a 75E sized top (approx size of the tank your looking at) is around $40. a similar product is produced by ESU reptiles which has been recently aquired by zilla or something like that. there are also clips available to keep the lid clamped down if you have an animal strong enough to lift it. i hope that helped. anything else you want to know?

[Fatal_S]

Welcome to the forum! Good luck with your new rescue. The tank you're looking at seems like a great size. If you have some DIY skills (or a friend does) you can make a simple lid from wood and wire mesh. It's less expensive, though the store-brought ones tend to look better.

Do you have a yard? Since you're in Aus, building an outdoor pit for the bluey is also an option. That way you wouldn't need to worry about heat/light. Up to you.

I recommend against any sand substrates. They tend to look good, but they're heavy, hard to clean & messy. They also have a risk of impaction if your BTS eats the sand. Carefresh (Dr. Harry's), aspen or reptile bark (chunks, not shredded, pointy=bad) are good substrates.

For nails, you can let him run around on rough surfaces to keep the nail length down. To cut them, soak him first (nails get softer) and use nail clippers (cat ones work best, human are okay) to trim the nails. If you're new at it, just trim off the tip every few days until they're down to a manageable size. If the problem is they're pointy, not long, you can file them down (or use the rough surfaces).

Thanks for looking out for the little guy. I'm sure you'll do great with him. Oh, and when you're ready, pictures are a must. Otherwise Leigh may hunt you down, and be careful, he's heading to Aus soon. O.O'

[super stooge]

yea i though wed have to make it ourselves had no idea they were produced commercially. id have no idea where to find one tho, is there a website or somthing i can look up or order from?.

id never rest easy having him outside. id always worry about him picking up some tick or parasite, not to mention cats birds and anything else that may want to take a swipe at him.

[Blotch]

Buy a 4 ft fish tank from your local pet store. That's what i did. Then i built a 4ft enclosure, and recently I built an 8ft X 4ft X 2ft outdoor enclosure.

[super stooge]

yea theres a 4 foot tank that i can go and buy tomorow if i wanted, but the problem is that it has no lid or hood and i have a cat which worries me.

[Leigh]

That tank size sounds fine, as said, it isn't that hard to make a wood frame and staple mesh sheets to it, you could always make an enclosure entirely from wood (I and others have) The lamp size will depend on your local temps, as long as it gets around 100F at the basking site and 70'sF in the cooler end it'll all be good. You've read the caresheet,did you read the diet section its great for making balanced,tastey meals, did the caresheet give you all the info you wanted? ask away if not. As said the picture law must be upheld,so get some snaps and post 'em ASAP, stick around its a lovely place to while away time

[Scotts1au]

There are always heaps of 4ft tanks ie. trading post that come up cheaply.

By the way Hi

[super stooge]

yea its sort of a modern looking tank (black with silver corner) http://petone.com.au/reptileone/images/56330.jpg so i dont think a wooden hood frame will really fit

oh yea thank you. youve reminded me of somthing else i wanted to ask. it wasnt really care clear if i could feed live crickets to him as an occasional treat for intrest (not as a staple in the diet)

thanks i think i will. i have a "bad" habit of spending too much time on animal forums (marine fish and sugar gliders, perhaps soon to add blue tongues to that list)

i dont really want to wait 4 weeks for a tank to become available to save a few dollars, i feel horrible for him in his little tank with no lamp or anything, just his log and water

by the way hi to you too

[Leigh]

Crickets aren't the best, they can be fine as entertainment /occasional snacks, I would sooner and do offer, locusts, snails, woodlice,earthworms, or superworms, a lot have been giving roaches too.

[Tattoo]

Welcome to the forum. Good luck with your new best friend.

[Blotch]

why don't you just make a hood? You could make a wooden hood with metal mesh over the top. this would allow air flow and also allow you to fix a light to it one way or another

[super stooge]

just thought he might enjoy the occasional "hunt". i also still need ideas for a lid for the tank, i looked up the zilla lids and why they look fantastic i couldnt find one that would fit my tank. i will keep looking at the other brands listed but other ideas and aditional brands would be much apreciated

[super stooge]

because a wooden hood would not match the look of the tank,

[Blotch]

hmm - so the look of the tank is a major importance right now?

Well you could always make a metal one like a window fly wire - just use metal mesh.

[super stooge]

to be honest yes. this tank is very much a compromise between me and my mum, she doesnt want a huge lizard tank crowding her hallway, the least i can do is try and make it match.

yea i thought about that, would it be unsafe to use any kinds of paint on the metal?

thank you for the replies btw blotch