Reptile & Amphibian Forums

i just wanted to post about what happened to me recently, some of you may already know, for others this is basically just a warning. a couple of weeks ago i purchased my first blue-tongue, he was an indonesian and i purchased him from a distributor here in Miami. i was so excited that i was finally getting my first blue tongued skink, i didn't ask whether or not he was captive bred or imported, and to be honest, i was nieve at the time, and i didn't really even know to ask. a couple of days later, he got really, really sick, and i called the people i bought him from and they said he would be fine. i posted about it on the forum, and everyone tried to help me out, they told me to get him to a vet, and it started to sink in how ill he actually was. despite my best efforts, he died only 4 days after i got him. afterwards, i found out how the importers will sell the sickly one's first on purpose, so they can get money from nieve, unsuspecting buyers. i was heartbroken, to find out i had been ripped off and more importantly to have to watch my first skink die after having him for only 4 days. a couple of days later, an extremely generous and kind person by the name of James Wilson informed me that he wanted to give me one of his skinks for free. having never met me, he wanted to give me a free one because he felt for my loss. now, i have a very active and healthy captive bred blue tongued skink, and a new friend as well. i have learned my lesson a thousand times over, and even if this post only prevents one person from getting burned the way i did, than it was well worth it. so i beg, to anyone thinking of buying a wild caught skink to save a couple bucks, or to anyone who doesn't know better, please make sure you buy a captive bred blue tongue from a reputable and honest breeder. you will save lots of money in the long run because you wont have to worry about buying parasite medicine or going to the vet, which can both be very costly. also, by buying a captive bred skink, you won't be supporting the illegal kidnapping and smuggling operations going on in the skink market, but more importantly, you won't be buying a sick skink. thanks again for what you did for me James, i will never forget it.

It's good to hear that you didn't get put of keeping reptiles from a bad experience, and it's also good to know there are people out there like James, who are willing to do something so kind like that.

I had a similar sort of experience (no casualties though)
I love schneider skinks. I don't know what my fascination with them is, but they are just really appealing to me. They were the first lizard i saw in a magazine that i thought 'wow, i'd love to own one of those'. Then, about 5 years later when i found a pet shop not far away, they had a proven breeding pair for sale. I talked it through with my parents and they agreed to let me have them.

I had read all sorts of articles on purchasing lizards, what to look out for, and so ask questions about feeding, temperatures, photoperiods etc
They were extremely helpful, and so i brouhg the skinks home, and since having them, they have been great. Contrasting personalities in the male and female (which i originally thought were the other way round until recently).

Recently, Schneider skinks are becoming a popular lizard. This is ultimatly their downfall. They are quite cheap (£30 each here, whcih is about $45 in US?) and are readily available from wild caught stocks. The problem is, they are notoriously hard to breed, and i've only heard of one person to acheive this (Well done Aino!) so wild stocks will be depleted before long.

I visited a pet shop not far from my new house, that used to be a well renowned shop for reptiles. It seems that the place has been taken over by someone, and it looks as though they had no idea what they were doing. I was looking at the few reptiles they had. There was a few baby corn snakes in boxes, some lizards i had never seen before, a very alert baby bibron's gecko and some water dragons.

I spotted an empty cage and asked the guy if there was anything in there. He told me there was a berber skink. I looked in the cage, and underneath the old substrate, the dead crickets and the lizard waste, i could make out a very thin Schneider skink. I asked the guy if i could have a look at her, and he said yeah, but be careful cause everytime he's picked her up she's bit him. So i open the vivarium door, clear the substrate from around her and picked her up. No biting. Funny how she bites him, but just sits on my arm?

Anyway, the vivarium was stone cold. There was no lighting on and the skink was freezing, and very sluggish when moving around. Then, she decided to relieve herself on me. It didn't bother me. I cleaned it up and there was no problem. What did concern me was the poop was liquidy, which it shouldn't be. This skink was obviously not looked after, so i decided i'd take her home.

Well, now she is resting in a nice warm vivarium, and is regenerating her tail (or rather his tail, but that's another story) It amazes me how, just because the animal isn't expensive, it recieves little care from anyone, and sickens me that people can act like that.

Here's a picture of him now (Note the Ball Python in the background)

n/p
-----
Edward
Carpe diem

I am glad I could help. I know that skink is in good hands, and that it could not get better care from me or anyone else. You deserve it. It is quite apparent how much you cared about Elvis, and how much you like Blue tongues. I am really glad you like the skink, Keep me posted.