Baby skink or juvenile?

[Ktcrow10]

Hello everyone, this is my first time posting. I will be getting a Halmahera blue tongue skink soon and I'm debating between getting a baby (approximately 5 inches) or a juvenile (around 13 inches). This would be my third reptile but my first experience with a blue tongue skink.
What would you say are the pros and cons of getting a juvenile vs. a baby? I like the idea of it already being kinda large but I'm worried it's temperament won't be as good if I don't buy it as a baby. And are the babies much more sensitive? This is a big purchase for me so I'm kind of overthinking everything lol. Any advice/personal stories of what age you got your skink would be great!

[Yeshika]

When I got my skink, he was about a month old, and fit into the palm of my hand.
It's been an extremely easy taming process, as he has basically known nothing but me and my routine. Of course, every skink is different, and age shouldn't put you off if you know the skink's temperament. Mine was very shy and a little hissy, but got over it fast once he figured out I was the one feeding him.

[kingofnobbys]

Go for the baby bluetongue who has been CAPTIVE BRED from CAPTIVE BRED PARENTS BY A REPUTABLE BREEDER (a local hobbyist who happens to have a breeding pair is MUCH BETTER than petshop or a commercial skink farmer er breeder, PROVIDED it's active, and a very good feeder.

The risk with buying an older (juvenile) bluetongue skink is it can already have serious health issues due to substandard husbandry and poor quality food and inadequate UV and calcium supplementation , and there is higher risk it's a wild caught trafficked skink (even if the seller tells you it's captive bred).

Best policies are :
> buy locally
> insist on seeing the parents
> insist on seeing how the skink and it's siblings are kept
> insist on ONLY CAPTIVE BRED FROM CAPTIVE BRED PARENTS
> if in USA insist on proof it's clear of AD virus
if any of these criteria are not satisfied - walk away , it's a deal buster.

I bought my two Easterns (George & Mildred as 2 month olds) and they were super tame and fit in my polo-shirt pocket and loved to curl up in my open hand. I bought from a local hobbyist who happened to have a breeding pair.

[splashy07]

Captive bred Halmaheras are virtually non existent in this country. With that being said, you're better off with a baby, as it will adapt much better than a juvenile. Whereas either will make a good pet in time, You're still better off with the younger one. You'll know the care it is getting right off. Imports often come in with parasites so a vet check would be a good idea. (No matter what the seller is telling you, this animal is 99.9 percent imported.)

[mb606587]

As splashy mentioned, any Halmahera you find is going to be an import. If they tell you it was captive bred, see my first sentence. In a perfect world, we as skink owners would only buy CBB animals. Unfortunately this isn't a perfect world and the demand for BTS far exceeds the supply of CBB skinks so imported animals are a very real option for many. As to the choice between the two, my answer to you is pick the healthier animal. The importation process is not kind to these animals, many die, many get sick. Research and become familiar with how to identify common ailments that plague imported skinks (stomatitis or mouth rot, mites, respiratory infections, scale rot, extreme thinness caused by internal parasites, etc.) If any of these two show signs of these, then pick the other and if they both do, then look for another. That is by far more important than which one will tame easier because honestly it will be easy to work with either one at those ages.

[kingofnobbys]

Captive bred Halmaheras are virtually non existent in this country. With that being said, you're better off with a baby, as it will adapt much better than a juvenile. Whereas either will make a good pet in time, You're still better off with the younger one. You'll know the care it is getting right off. Imports often come in with parasites so a vet check would be a good idea. (No matter what the seller is telling you, this animal is 99.9 percent imported.)

The situation is if the importer seller's lips are moving, he's lying . None of them will tell you the truth (because it implicates them in the illegal international poaching and trafficking of wild reptiles trade).
Figures I've seen show over 3/4 of the reptiles taken from the wild to be trafficked internationally die before being made available to be sold by petshops.

[splashy07]

There is no doubt there are illegal imports. In every country. But please be advised that EVERY imported reptile in the US is not here illegally. I am perfectly aware that Australia does not export and hasn't since the 70's but other countries still export to the US legally.

[mb606587]

Yes it is important to distinguish between legal and illegal exportation. Exporting reptiles has been a lucrative industry in Indonesia for decades. So called reptile farms are common and many US reptile dealers regularly travel to Indonesia to select stock from these farms. You can watch videos on YouTube of reptile dealers touring farms and picking up large shipments, usually at LAX airport, from US Customs officials, whom I can assure you do not tolerate the exportation of illegal wildlife. The reptile exportatation process is tightly regulated by Indonesian officials as well, and there are caps on the quantity and species that can be legally exported annually. Now of course there are people who bypass the regulations in place and or smuggle endangered reptiles illegally as well. Whether or not you find this practice ethical would be a good topic for another thread. Keep in mind, the survival of several species of reptile, with the Prehensile Tailed Skink and Haitian Galliwasp immediately coming to mind, is predicated on captive breeding efforts due to the logging industry and loss of habitat.