Reptile & Amphibian Forums

Need help / suggestions on how to keep the humidity levels up in my enclosure for my PTS / Monkey-Tail skink. I'll post a pic of the enclosure here asap but the general dimensions are - 6.3 ft tall, 2.5 ft wide and 2.5 ft deep and its made of plywood sealed on the inside with a water based polycrylic and has 2 vents on the side - 1 each in the lower and upper halves. I am using the shredded Coco-soft bedding as a substrate, have 1 large water dish and 1 smaller one, a large wooden climbing branch, several wooden ledges and a cork bark log as his hiding/sleeping area. I haven't put any real or artificial plants in there thinking real ones wouldnt get enough natural sunlight ( I do have a UV light inside but dont know enough about plants to know if that would suffice ) and not sure artificial would really help the humidity lvls much.
My main humidity guage is located near the top of the enclosure ( I'm going to get another for the lower half soon ) and it usually reads anywhere from 25 to 35% - wintertime reading and about 10 % more in the summer. Obviously he spends a lot of time in the upper half so the guage I have reading now is what hes exposed to most of the time. I do mist his cage about every 2-3 days but even then the upper level only reaches about 50%. I do need to increase the misting to every day I think but I'm looking for other things/ideas of what to do to maintain the humidity level using other means.
Thanks for your ideas.
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Pete
1.0 Solomon Island / PTS Skink
0.1 Boa Constrictor
1.0 Patternless Green Burm
0.1 Pueblan Milksnake - Apricot phase
1.1 Honduran Milksnake - Tangerine phase
0.1 Honduran Milksnake - normal phase
1.0 Ball Python
0.1 Rainbow Boa
2.0 Cornsnake
1.1 Leopard Gecko's
1.1 Fat Tail Gecko's

Pete- All I can say is Mist, Mist, Mist! Once every 2-3 days is no where near enough, especially in winter. I mist 2-3 times a day and I have a house sized humidifier that runs 24-7 in my skinks room and still I just reach 75%. These guys need humidity of 70-90% to avoid skin shedding and mouth problems. Sometimes a water bowl big enough for him/her to soak in will help. It takes a while for the effects to show up, so if he/she has been fine up till now that does not mean there has been no effect. You need to watch toes and "lips" for the effects of dryness ( the "lips" will apear to pull back from the teeth), even if you bring humidity up, for some time. I have seen some devestating effects of low humidity, its not pleasant. Also I encourage you to try to determine the sex of your skink and aquire a mate, as they are very social creatures and should not be kept alone. I think most of the people on this board can help with that, too.

Kisha

Thanks for the info Kisha. None of the books I've read ... there are very few on Solomon Island skinks .. have mentioned the effects of low humidity. Hes not showing any of those signs you mentioned tho so thats good. And I only have a humidity gauge in the top of the enclosure atm .. I'll be getting another one for the lower half this week cause I'm sure the humidity is higher there since I have 1 large dog water dish and 1 medium water dish down there.
I'm also going to check into getting an automatic misting system, anyone have any suggestions on which ones are good ?

As for the sex .. its a male and hes about 2 yrs old. I'll be looking at getting him a mate soon.

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Pete
1.0 Solomon Island / PTS Skink
0.1 Boa Constrictor
1.0 Patternless Green Burm
0.1 Pueblan Milksnake - Apricot phase
1.1 Honduran Milksnake - Tangerine phase
0.1 Honduran Milksnake - normal phase
1.0 Ball Python
0.1 Rainbow Boa
2.0 Cornsnake
1.1 Leopard Gecko's
1.1 Fat Tail Gecko's

Hi Pete- You are right, there isn't much written because there isn't much known officialy about this species in captivity. I assume your guy is captive born, I have noticed that my CB animals are much more tolerant of lower humidity levels than my WC animals. That may be one of the things they adapt to in captivity. Also at 2yrs old, it is still difficult to determine sex, you could post some over head photos and solicit opinions from some of the experienced people here and maybe hook up with someone who has been sucessful breeding. I'm sure we would all love to meet him. As for misting systems, Big Apple Herps makes a pretty good kit, and I think the Bean Farm has one too. Keep watching that humidity, it's usually a lot lower than those little meters say. My humidifier ran out of water last night and by the time I noticed it had dropped to 35%, but my dial meter said 50%. I have another that always reads 20% even when it's like a rain forest in the basement Go with your gut, if it feels humid it is humid. Take care.

Kisha

Thanks Kisha .. its always nice to get another persons perspective on stuff.

My PTS is CB and the breeder told me he was a male. Her pair has bred sucessfully at least 2 times in the past that I know of and she has experience with several types of herps.

I have some pictures on my other PC so I'll be posting some of him and his enclosure soon.
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Pete
1.0 Solomon Island / PTS Skink
0.1 Boa Constrictor
1.0 Patternless Green Burm
0.1 Pueblan Milksnake - Apricot phase
1.1 Honduran Milksnake - Tangerine phase
0.1 Honduran Milksnake - normal phase
1.0 Ball Python
0.1 Rainbow Boa
2.0 Cornsnake
1.1 Leopard Gecko's
1.1 Fat Tail Gecko's