Reptile & Amphibian Forums

How many crickets do I give a baby BTS a day? She is about 6in. I do feed her baby sweet potatoes and fruit melody.

I don't have any heat for her under her hide; it goes down to 70 degrees at night in the cage. I'm concerned though. Don't they need belly warmth? the other side of the tank has the heat withe a UTH and basking bulb which is between 85 and 90 degrees.

Also do I have to keep her hide moist with the spragumm moss?

Barbara

Feed babies pretty much as much as they will eat. By the way, I would discourage you from feeding crickets as the only source of meat in its diet. There are other insects and worms that can be fed, as well as cooked lean meats.
It is a good idea to have a temperature gradient in the enclosure, so the 70-90 range is good. If it "needs" belly warmth, it will go to where it can get it. I would say they need body warmth, not localized just in the belly area.
Don't keep the hide too moist, but a little is fine.
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Edward
Carpe diem

The person who sold him to me said I could feed him catfood.
I have been feeding cat food mixed with bearded dragon food and greens mixed in too.
Is this ok.
How about canned monitor food?

BTS are truly omnivores and so they require a wide range of foods to thrive in captivity. That being said, they do not need a lot of fat in their diet. Thus, cat food is not recommended as it is generally high in fat. Senior dog food is at least better as the fat content is usually lower. But why mess around with canned crap when you can provide much healthier and fresher foods?
I don't know what the contents are in canned monitor food, so I can't comment on it. Look at the ingredients and dietary breakdown if it's on the can.
Cooked and chopped chicken has always worked very well for me. Mix in some veggies and fruits and you have a well-balanced and tasty dish for your BTS.
But above all, do not feed the same things week after week. As omnivores, BTS can be fed an almost-endless variety of foods: chicken, roaches, crickets, apples, snails, greens, tomatoes, grapes, berries, worms, melons, liver, etc. They may not like all of these but most will. And most will prefer meats so it is important to cut up the meat and mix in the non-meat foods.
And before anybody boo-hoos about mixing in grapes and chopped liver -- these are skinks we're talking about, not finicky humans.
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Edward
Carpe diem

I hate the catfood smell anyway. My cats are pretty pissed off too! LOL
Someone told me raw meat but the cooked chicken I can deal with.
What about the snails?
What kind of snails (apple snails?) and do you feed them the entire snail shell and all?
Also do you mix in calcium with D3 with their food and if so how often?
What about herptivite vitamin powder?
Does my skink need a UVB light?
If you know of a good care sheet let me know, most of the ones I found were pretty limited and the seller did not provide one.

I see no reason to take on the risks associated with raw meats, so I always cook (usually boiling) all meats.
I feed mine apple snails. I crush the shell to make it easier for them, especially when the snail is a bit large. The BTS seem to be really good at getting the meat and pretty much avoiding most of the shell. Remember that in the wild, they consume snails that no one crushes for them, so a little shell will not harm them and may even be a significant source of calcium for them (just my intuition on that last one).
I do not use any supplements. By making sure you are feeding a truly balanced mix of foods, there should be no need to supplement. Again, I'm a big believer in "Nature knows best" and so I just try to duplicate their natural diet as closely as practical. They don't have supplements in the Australian Outback but do have lots of different food items, so that's what I aim for.
UV lighting cannot hurt so I would recommend it. Of course, natural sunlight would be best.
Here's a good caresheet with regard to diet

http://members.shaw.ca/cloose/diet.htm

and a good one on general BTS husbandry

http://bluetongueskinks.net/blue.htm
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Edward
Carpe diem

Hi Edward,

Thank you for reading my post. Is it ok to feed Slytherin(thats what I named her)live mealworms? Today she didn't eat much, just a little baby food sweet potatoes. She seemed to sleep alot today partly hanging out of her cave. Is she too young to eat dog food yet?

Barbara

Hi, Barbara:
Harry Potter fan, are you? Or your kids? Mine just can't get enough of the little wizard boy!

Slytherin will, in all likelihood, LOVE mealworms. I believe superworms are actually more nutritious, so I'd try both, if nothing else for variety's sake.
They may not eat the same every day, especially now that it's cooler. And no, she is not too young to eat dog food. (What made you think age might have something to do with it? Just wondering if you're thinking of something I haven't.)
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Edward
Carpe diem

Hi Edward,

You are right I'm a Harry Potter fan. I was hoping someone would pick up on that. That name seemed to fit her perfectly.

I have read so many care sheets that it gets confusing sometimes as to what the right thing is to do. Imean one place said to feed them fish and another says it's not part of their diet so don't feed it too them.

I'm glad I have you and the other people on this forum to help me with that.

Barbara

Just a quick note -- it IS confusing with the great amount of misinformation out there. So, when not sure, try this. Think of what the animal would eat in its natural habitat. I know yours is not an Australian, so the diet may be slightly different than mine. Still, is it likely that they would ever come across fish, for example? Maybe in Indonesia, but probably not in the middle of the Australian continent. So, maybe a little fish here and there won't hurt. But that is true of almost anything you can think of. Just don't feed too much of any one thing and you'll be fine.
For what it's worth, I have offered seafood in the past to mine and some were mildly interested while others were not.
Edward's second rule to healthy BTS (after "variety is best": Go as natural as is practical.
Maybe you could post a picture of yours sometime.
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Edward
Carpe diem