Reptile & Amphibian Forums

Hey all,
I was just at the classifieds when I saw for the first time red eyed crocs. They are awsome looking!
Im a monitor person, and have absoltely NO experience with ANY skinks. I would liike LOTS of info on this species. Are they commonly CB? How well do they fare in captivity? Whats their temperment like? Basic requirements as far as husbandry...etc

Thank you sooo mcuh,

Michelle

I bought my girl last March and she is doing great. I keep her in a plastic cage about 12 inches wide by 20 inches long, with a lid.The lid is necessary because she likes to climb and can easliy escape. I feed her mealworms.Gut loaded mealworms. In his cage i put a LARGE bowl of water with a esponge inside and it is in that place she spends most of her time.Croc Skinks do love water!The temp in her terrarium varies from 78 until 82F.Croc Skinks dont tolerate much higher temperatures.
Although some people state that Croc Skinks dont need UVB lights because they are crepuscular i put my girl in the sun for half and hour everyday.I choose the early mornings (before 9AM) or late afternoons(after 6PM) to do that and i can state you she loves being in the sun!
About the temperament she is very shy and likes to hide. Her cage has a hiding place too. A dry hiding place.When she is VERY frightened she vocalizes (squeak!) or plays frozen. Some people say Croc Skinks can play dead too but my girl never did that!She never tryied to bite me and she is very sweet. As i handle her everyday to put her in the sun she is becoming more confident and doesnt try to hide anymore when she sees me.

I wish my monitors could do better than hissing. I wish they could make noises like the veloceraptors depicted on Jurrasic Park! That would be soo cool!
I think thats why I like the croc skinks, because they remind me of dinosaurs. That ridge on the back of their heads looks cool.
I wonder if they are even more vocal when you have pairs and trios?

Thanks fo taking the time to answer my questions. I really appreciate it!

Michelle

Males fighting will vocalize and females that have just layed eggs are protective and will also vocalize. I have mine under flourescent lighting 12 hours a day. They actually venture out of their hiding spots to swim during the day. I keep mine in a 30 gallon tank that is half water and half land. They swim quite a bit, and often i walk in on one of them lying in the water. They are amazingly hardy animals, ive had their cage get to 100 when my a/c went out and they just relaxed in the water. Very few are cb at the moment but the prices for wc ones are very competitive ranging from 50-120 dollars. The only babies i have seen were wc or captive hatched. Also one species T. schmidti gives birth to live young, but I don't think any have ever been imported. Also one zoo in texas i think it was the houstan zoo found through trial and error they need UV lighting, they're babies developed metabolic bone disease without lighting, but once under a flourescent strip the MBD was cured.
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Devlin Gandy
I keep many rare and unusual lizards

What is that you are holding in your hand? It looks different from a trib!I wonder whether it is the T. Schimidt you mentioned in your other message.If it is can you post a clearer photo? Im pretty interested in them!Thank you very much!

the thing im holding in my hand is part of my online signature not the actual tribs. IT is a malaysian flying dragon, Draco maculatus.
Devlin
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Devlin Gandy
I keep many rare and unusual lizards

Although im living in Malaysia i never saw one of them in the local petshops.Its really cute!How did you get it?

Theyr are rather common supposedly in malaysia, but they aren't often kept because they are ant specialists, I have seen pictures of them for sale at malaysian markets being sold for medicinal uses.
Devlin
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Devlin Gandy
I keep many rare and unusual lizards

If they are sold still alive i can easily go there and buy some!Im used to rescue reptiles like that here.Do you know the market address? Im living in the capital, Kuala Lumpur.

Sorry but all the ppicture ive seen are of dead dried ones.. I do know they are supposed to be common in western malaysia, also their wings aren't always out. Normally they are folded onto their sides so they look like a normal lizard.
Devlin
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Devlin Gandy
I keep many rare and unusual lizards

Do you know of any CB sources?? I am contemplating trying my hand at this species, now that I see how simple they are to care for. My monitors take so much time and money that I can only consider getting something else if its care isnt too demanding. These little guys sound perfect!
Have you had luck breeding them? What else do you keep? Ive noticed you posting at the monitor forum too from time to time. Is your name decriptive of your collection?

Thanks for the info! Much appreciated!

Best Regards,
Michelle

I don't know of any but you should check Underground reptiles, glades herp, or mark lucas reptiles to see if they have any babies that are cb, ch, or small wc. I have yet to breed them but i only recently aquired a male. I keep many lizards including ctenosaura, varanus, anolis, chamaeleolis, draco, triblonotus, xenosaurus, polychrus, and others.
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Devlin Gandy
I keep many rare and unusual lizards

Hi Michelle,

Just thought I'd add to this post since my husband and I have been keeping a pair of these lizards for several months now.

We got ours at a reptile show last April from Regal Reptiles. They were wild-caught, though. It is indeed seemingly difficult to find captive bred lizards of this species!

I wholeheartedly agree with you that these lizards look really cool and are easy to keep. We thoroughly researched these lizards before getting them and can attest to it! However, they do spend at least 95% of their time hiding under substrate. Flavia is very lucky with hers in that she sees hers often, but the typical behavior of this lizard is *hiding*. Something to keep in mind...

They are VERY cool and fascinating lizards to keep, nevertheless. If you are keeping monitors and are just looking to have an additional lizard that is unusual and easy to keep, then the crocodile skink might very well fit the bill. If you need help setting up their environment, don't hesitate to send me an e-mail. This species does require very high humidity and substrate to dig in, and this can be very challenging to manage.

My e-mail is julie@naturalwebs.com. Looking forward to hearing from you!

Julie, Loki and Sigyn *squawk*

Perhaps thats why i always see my girl! I didnt put any substrate in her cage! I put a few hiding places, lots of fake plants under where she likes to " hide" but no substrate at all!Her cage looks like a gecko's cage only with a huge (50% of the size of the cage)bowl of water where she spends most of her time!

I bought her during an exposition held here in Kuala Lumpur last March and until now she is doing great! Since i started puting her in the sun for at least 30 minutes every day she gained weight and muscles!

The fews zoos in the US that have them and breed them also dont use substrate. They have a few hideboxes inside of a big plastic tub and the hideboxes have soil in them, they also keep the big tub at a tilt so one end has water at all times.
Devlin
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Devlin Gandy
I keep many rare and unusual lizards

I could find CB, or else very long term. I really hate to support the importers. Ive been guilty in the past of doing so, but it doesnt work with my beleifs, so I dont wish to do it in the future.
I really appreciate you offering advise! Thats very nice of you. If I can find a source for them, I will definitely be in contact with you for husbandy advise!

I could find CB, or else very long term. I really hate to support the importers. Ive been guilty in the past of doing so, but it doesnt work with my beleifs, so I dont wish to do it in the future.
I really appreciate you offering advise! Thats very nice of you. If I can find a source for them, I will definitely be in contact with you for husbandy advise!

I understand you not supporting importers of wc herps, but you don't get cb without the original wild-caught stock. So for species which are not established as being captive bred, then I understand buying them from importers.
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Yes, they do vocalize but only when they are under severe stress.Its like a cry for help.I dont like when my baby vocalizes!
Although they look very Jurassic they are VERY sweet, any aggressivity at all!My baby Leopard Gecko is much more aggressive than my Croc Skink girl!Id like to have more but here where i live its very difficult to find them.I think i'm the only person that have one in the whole country!(Malaysia)