Reptile & Amphibian Forums

I have a few questions about these skinks.

1.How big of a tank do they need?
2.What is a good subtrate?
3.Beside crickets,meals and supers what else do they eat?
4.How big do they grow?
5.Can you handle them.

1: I keep a pair in a 4ft x 2ft x 2ft wooden vivarium with a sliding glass door. A trio may be kept in this but that is an absolute minimum. Provide hiding places in the form of plant pots, cork bark hides and even rock crevices. Make sure they are fastened down as Schneiders burrow, and any unstable rockwork may crush them. Provide some plastic plants fastened to the side as climbing opportunities, as they enjoy climbing (albeit they aren't too skilled)

2: Basic playsand is the best substrate available. If the sand is moist in the bag, bake it in the oven to dry it out. This is excellent for the skinks to burrow through. Do not worry about compaction, as they are excellent shots and rarely miss food. I also provide a small area of sphagnum moss in the coolest end of the vivarium, kept moist by spraying every other day, and they seem to enjoy this. (place under the wall plants for a softer landing when the skink inevitably falls)

3: As well as crickets and super mealworms,try using a larger prey, such as locusts. Not full grown, but the stage before that if possible (no wings) It is best to gut load any food you give them so as to provide more nutrition. Waxworms are great for an occasional treat, but they are very fattening, so feed sparringly. They (like most skinks) enjoy snails. Make sure you find them in an area where no pesticides are used. Place the snails in a plastic vivarium on a base of sphagnum moss and feed them lettuce for 2-3 days, as this flushes out any nasty things inside them. If you can collect any insects from outside such non-furry caterpillars, spiders etc but nothing that can sting (bees, wasps, bombadier beetles etc) Again, find in an area where no pesticides are used.

4: A well cared for skink can grow to a maximum of around 18". This makes them very popular as they are well built, not too big to take care of but not too small to see.

5: Handling is all down to personality. My female skink enjoys being handled (from what i can tell) but the male that lives with her doesn't like to be picked up, but will come out on his own (opening the glass and letting him crawl onto my hand).
The other male i own is very calm despite his bad past (he was a rescue)
Handling is best kept to a minimum if you want to attempt breeding (which is very hard in captivity) as it can stress them easily if handled too much. Handle sparringly even if not breeding.

Other advice i can give, is to not disturb them when they sleep. This will not only annoy them, but can lead to confusion in their body clock, as they will not know when to sleep. They usually go back to sleep around midday (GMT) as this is when the sun is at its hottest in the wild. They do sometimes stay out through this, or come out after.

They make very rewarding lizards.

Any other info needed, just post here
They make very rewarding

For 2 skinks how many gallons of space do they need?

I'm not too good with gallons, but if you make the vivarium 4ft long (121cm) 2ft wide (front to back) (61cm) and 2ft high (61cm) this should give them adequate space

30 gal. long would be fine for two.IMHO

Tim
Southampton Herps

>>30 gal. long would be fine for two.IMHO

What are the measurements of 30 gallon long?
Sounds rather small for 2 schneider's on my opinion.

Measurements Deke gave are excellent. I house mine in terrariums sized 4*2*2.

However as for minum I consider 32x20x20 inches for one. The space adequate for a pair depends on a pair. Some dolcile pairs get along in smaller and for some no space seems to be adequate.

Aino
Aino's Skink Page

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