Reptile & Amphibian Forums

I am considering getting a pair of monkey tailed skinks. Has anyone here had any experience here with them or heard anything about them? I'm familiar with all of the care and husbandry infromation, just wondering if anyone knows anything firsthand about them. I'd like to know a lot more about what owning them is like before I make the committment. Thanks. Oh and Diego LOVES the cage!!!

chris and diego

again, this question is for the "Skink Forum" not here. i would bet you'd get a lot more replies and better info there. as far as what i know from them is they become VERY tame. and used to be readily available thru importing. though now the border is shut and they cant be imported anymore. thats why the prices on them sky-rocketed. and with the CB they only lay 1-3 eggs at a time. so even if you have a breeding pair. you dont get a lot of them. so now they are MUCH harder to find. when i was at Berts (owner of Agama Intl) he had some and they seemed very neat. dont know if i would get one. doesnt seem like a lizard for me :/

Actually, PTS's don't lay eggs, their babies are liveborn. A mother will usually have one offspring every 2 years, twins just occasionally. These are nocturnal animals and you won't see them much at all during the day.
Some PTS's calm down nicely, others wont'. I have an adult female here that is just evil at times. They have wicked sharp claws and clipping them is cruel since it really inhibits their climbing ability. Their bite is surprisingly strong and painful.
Most PTS people keep them in small colonies. Both parents look after the young, often for a year after birth.
Three years ago you could get imported gravid females for as little as $70. After importation was ceased the price quickly rose to $600. I see just recently the price is dropping again, probably because people have realized that, because of their slow reproductive rate, that they just aren't a profitable project. Interesting creatures just the same.