Reptile & Amphibian Forums

Hi guys

I've been contemplating getting a pair of prehensile tailed skinks. Is there any reason not go keep them? I know that the Soloman Islands have been in chaos lately, so there has been some imports. I've been looking for a long time and have not seen captive bred individuals. I know that they have a very long gestation period with usually one baby so I understand that. Is there a good number of people out there who are successfully breeding them?

I plan on housing a pair in a bookcase. I'd just have to do some modifications and add doors to them. I don't see any other housing options. Reptariums don't retain the humidity needed. I'm not handy enough to build my own melamine enclosure.

Is there anything I should be aware of? How many times do they go to the bedroom a day. I plan on having one shelf and a large ficus tree for climbing. Is there a better alternative? As for food, I prepare food for my bearded dragons, so that will not be an issue. In my spare time, I breed bearded dragons, seahorses, and chinchillas, so I'm aware of the time commitment.

Is there anything extremely difficult about them? I know they have claws, so are they animals that you can handle? Or are they better off as a display? What does one do to keep the humidity up? Also, if I were to buy a pair of imports, what diseases and/or parasites should they be checked for?

Lastly could anyone recommend some good books and/or caresheets for them? Thanks for your guys' time..

I forgot to ask, since they are nocturnal, will uvb lighting be required? I assume it would be good to supplement with calcium and vitamin d3 regardless. How is an enclosure lighted and ideally heated?

n/p
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Edward
Carpe diem

I don't think anyone really knows the answer to the UVB question- but mine do bask occasionally under the UVB, and usually there is a tail, nose or leg sticking out of a hide into the light. My opinion is based on the KNOWN need of some of our more commonly kept herbivorous reptiles (Iguanas, torts) who definitely need UVB. Igs can be fed huge amounts of Calcium and vit D3, but are physically incapable of absorbing it from the GI tract without UV light.
If you are going to keep PTS, do everything you can to promote good health- even the things we aren't sure are really needed- quaranteed it won't hurt (unless you get it to hot and dry with a mercury vapor lamp too close...)
I use a single mercury vapor lamp "t-rex active UV heat" at the top of each enclosure. These have to be 12" or more from the animal or the will COOK your animal, and should not be accessible by the animal. Mine are on the outside, on the other side of a wire grate. The UVB bulb provides 85-90 degree bask zone (light, heat and Uv). I have supplemental heat zones in other spots inside the cage, for finicky females (provided by UTH or ceramic lamp).
Cheers, Jess b

I held one once... the claws aren't sharp! At least nothing wearing long sleeves coudln't fix. So if there is a reason not to handle them, that's not it.
This concludes the sum of my knowledge about PTS.

Ok- I will try to answer your many questions:
Q: I've been contemplating getting a pair of prehensile tailed skinks. Is there any reason not go keep them?
A: If you can afford the animals, reasearch their needs and set up their home before you buy, build adequate enclosures, time and $ commitment to keep them healthy, and realize that these are becoming increasingly rare in the wild due to habitat destruction and pet trade- go for it. We need more dedicated people keeping and breeding these unique animals.

Q:I know that the Soloman Islands have been in chaos lately, so there has been some imports. I've been looking for a long time and have not seen captive bred individuals. I know that they have a very long gestation period with usually one baby so I understand that. Is there a good number of people out there who are successfully breeding them?
A: If you are patient and keep looking, you will find the captive bred animals- but yes they are few and far between. If you have a healthy and compatible pair that are actually getting the right cues to breed (? and controversy on what these are) you can expect to get one baby, maybe two if really lucky and you have twins- a year. The gestation is around 7 or 8 months. I know of a few people with breeding groups or pairs, but there is no mass production happening like with beardeds.

Q:I plan on housing a pair in a bookcase. I'd just have to do some modifications and add doors to them. I don't see any other housing options. Reptariums don't retain the humidity needed. I'm not handy enough to build my own melamine enclosure.
A: Can't comment on the bookcase idea, other than the average bookcase is not deep enough. Bigger cages are better, mine are about 5' tall. 3' wide and 2' deep. You need to balance humidity and ventilation. Remember these are fairly big/heavy animals (large for a skink) an adult male will weigh around 400gm, females are usually larger. My big female varies from 750 to 1000gm depending on her gravid state.

Q: Is there anything I should be aware of? How many times do they go to the bedroom a day. I plan on having one shelf and a
large ficus tree for climbing. Is there a better alternative? As for food, I prepare food for my bearded dragons, so that will not
be an issue. In my spare time, I breed bearded dragons, seahorses, and chinchillas, so I'm aware of the time commitment.
A: Do you mean the bathroom? Each of my individuals defecates about every other to every third day. Urination really seems to vary. I would nix the ficus as the primary climbing item- again the adults are heavy bodied and will shred the thin trunk and branches of a ficus. They will also eat the ficus- which is not bad for them, but the ficus will die and be ugly. Use THICK climbing branches- you can get sand blasted grape vine trunk, cork rounds and flats, very heavy gauge rope, artificial vine, thick dried mulberry or apple branches. Multiple shelves with hides should be available, so they can pick the one with the temperature they prefer. Food prep will take longer than the average bearded greens meal- these guys are basically entirely herbivorous, so you have to pay alot more attention to variety, balance and quality. N

Q:Is there anything extremely difficult about them? I know they have claws, so are they animals that you can handle? Or are
they better off as a display?
A: Yes, they have sharp claws (the same as your bearded, but larger), but the big difference is they have a VERY strong grip- they are tree dwellers- and have evolved very strong gripping legs/feet/curved claws. Mine are handled periodically, but for long periods of time. I have them to propogate them, and enjoy watching them- but I have made little effort to 'tame' them, as I want baby PTS, not cuddly pets.

Q:What does one do to keep the humidity up? Also, if I were to buy a pair of imports, what diseases and/or parasites should they be checked for?
A: Humidity should be 60% or higher- basically as high as you can get it without having major mould issues. You can do this with live plants, large soaking bowls, multiple mistings, live in a humid place, have automatic misters or humidifiers. I like an ultrasonic humidifier hooked to a humidistat. Bring your new imports to a qualified vet along with a fresh fecal sample from each- they will check for internal protozoal and worm type parasites. You and the vet can check for external parasites (ticks/mites). Check for wounds/bites incurred during overcrowded shipping and storage. Dehydration and emaciation may also be a problem in a recent import (as well as improperly kept longer term captives).

Q:Lastly could anyone recommend some good books and/or caresheets for them? Thanks for your guys' time..
A: Two books you can get are "the general care and maintenance of Prehensile-tailed skinks" by P Vosjoli
and "prehensile-tailed skinks' by coborn. The coborn book has nice photos, but is the lesser of the two books for reference.

Jess B

Thanks Jess

I appreciate the answers. I'm pretty sure I'll be going forward with obtaining the pair of PTS. I've been eyeing Top Shelf Exotics and LLLReptiles. I've bought from Top Shelf before and received excellent animals. LLLReptiles has a good reputation. Once I receive them, how do I tell if they're a pair? I guess what I'm asking is, is there a way to sex them?

Also, it's hard enough finding a vet knowledgable in herps, it'd be harder still to find one with any experience with PTS. So I'm wondering if there's anything I should be aware of when I bring them in. Usually common ailments. Drugs that are safe, whether or not probiotics are needed. Also, would Parazap be a good product to use when it comes to purging smaller amounts of parasites out of a PTS' system? Are mites something that is common?

Back to a couple more basic question, do tehy need to be watered? How do they stay hydrated?

Thanks again.

Hello again- If at all possible, I would recommend buying local so you can see the animals in person before purchase- or at least getting good photos of the actual animals. See if you can find out if they are wild caught vs captive bred (probably they are wild caught with the large shipments that have come in recently) and inquire about Cites permits for legal import.

I can't personally comment on animals from either of these retailers. I have bought items from LLL.

Sexing PTS is not easy. If your animals are adults, males tend to have thinner, more tubular bodies and larger more triangular heads. Females tend to be more pear shaped through the abdomen, with slightly more petite heads. Probing and trying to evert hemipenes is supposedly dangerous for the male. Brian who posts here has a ratio of head width to body width that seems to be very helpful- search the forum for this or post top view photos and he can probably measure from them.

Finding a vet may be a chore, but one comfortable with reptiles in general should be fine. PTS are really not that different in medicine needs from other reptiles. You may go in knowing more about PTS husbandry, but the vet will know how to take care of common internal and external parasites, bites, ect. The only common drug that comes to mind that has reports of bad reactions in PTS is Ivermectin (used sometimes to treat external mites or internal nematodes). Common ailments in PTS? Internal parasites, shedding problems, chronic dehydration, dry gangrene in toes, stomatitis.

Parazap is a herbal type over the counter remedy for random GI ailments. I have not used it in any of my animals. I am leery of most of the over the counter appetite stimulants and dewormers, but I haven't heard of any specific problems with this one. I doubt anyone has done any controlled studies with this product and PTS.
Mites are common in reptiles bought from wholesalers, retailers and reptile shows. They are just so darn contagious.

Watered? YES- these are tropical animals. They should have 100% of the time access to a large shallow soaking dish, large enough that they can lay in the water- and they will. They need high humidity and easy access to their large soak bowl. They will also appreciate a weekly warm shower in the human shower stall.
Cheers, Jess b

Jess

Thanks again for taking the time to answer all my question. It is greatly appreciated. There are none available locally and I will be getting them online. Chris from Top Shelf sent me pictures of the two exact animals I was getting. He was honest about the amount of animals he had imported into his facilities and also about their treatments. They have been with him for three weeks and I will be getting the pair on the fourth week. They have received their initial fenbendazole and metronidazole treatments and he's recommending that I continue through with the treatments and get fecals done on the animals.

They are wild caught, but knowing that he has been willing to offer me the information I've asked for, I have decided to take the risk.

As for parazap, bearded dragons owners and breeders use them very frequently and many swear by the product. I realized that you responded about my enclosure, I'll make changes accordingly. If I was more handy I'd make my own cage.

Thanks again for answering my questions. They've probably been asked many times.

Glad you are getting good info on your PTS before they arrive- hope they ship and arrive safely!
I have heard about Parazap from Bearded keepers and breeders, and know it has a good reputation with them- I just tend to be leery of things I haven't heard talked about much in the medical community. Interesting stuff though.
Please keep us updated on your enclosure progress and PTS when they arrive!
cheers, Jess b

Thanks Jess. I think it's irresponsible for people to purchase animals and not know anything about them.

Well, i am basically an iguana person so when i bought my MTS, Leonardo, i looked at him as a small iguana that needed to have his nails cut, to be tamed, de-wormed and bathed before he could free roam the house!lol! I did that and i can tell you that MTS can be a cuddly pet! When he wakes up (every day in a different hour!) he goes to his cage's door and waits for me to open it!Then he goes out and explores the house! Then when he is tired he goes to the couch and hides under the couch pillows!Or, if im reading on my daughter's bed he enters under my blouse and sleeps on my back!He loves to sleep under my hair or on my back!Leonardo is the sweetest iguana i ve had!(lol!).

Besides that i made him a tropical cage with lots of Pothos plant (thats what he likes to eat what is very convenient because POTHOS are a very resiliant plant that thrives everywhere!).Although i put some greens and veggies in his cage EVERYDAY he almost only eats Pothos and Kang Kong ( a local green that doesnt exist in the USA i think).He accepts Kang Kong but he ADORES POTHOS. He likes to soak in the water bowl and he is always finding new hiding places in his cage!

MTS do need sun!Although my MTS hates open blue sky + very hot days ( more than 86F)he is always exposing some part of his body to the sun ( i keep mine next to an opened window where he can get lots of direct sunlight everyday!)and he likes to observe the nature, the trees, the sky, etc..just like my iguanas do!lol!
A friend of mine that successfully raises MTS told me that everyday he takes his MTSs to get some sun during the early morning and that they really enjoy basking in the sun!But he puts the MTSs indoors when the sun becomes too hot!I dont think MTS are always crepuscular! They can be crepuscular or diurnal or even nocturnal depending on the day!If the day is very cloudy they can be diurnal, if the day is warm but not very cloudy they are crepuscular, if the day is VERY hot he will sleep (nocturnal)until the weather becomes " better"!What they hate is very hot days without any shadow for him to hide!

On the beggining dont try to take your MTS by the back/ front because he can bite you mainly if he is in HIS cage. MTS are very territorial and become more wild inside his cage. Until the MTS becomes more confident and starts to recognize your smell try to take him with a towel.

i think the most safe and acurate way is to do a blood test!Most vets are already doing that!They took a drop of your baby's blood and will be able to sex it for you!I think to know its gender is important if you want to breed it!