Reptile & Amphibian Forums

I just adpoted a full grown Indo. BTS. He is a beautiful lizard but he has been a display animal so he has not been handled too much. How would you suggest taming him? Is it still possible with an adult? He is about 2 years old. I just got him (two hours ago)so I am letting him acclimate to his new enclosure for the next couple of days. I have had beardies for years, but this is my first skink. I have read about four books and lots of internet sites on skinks (mostly your websites thank you!!)So i feel pretty confident about caring for him, but I would like a pet I can handle without stressing him out. I have read they are very sweet like beardies, but I do not know if it is too late.

Thank you in advance,
Stacey

Hi, Stacey:
Rules-of-thumb are by definition true only most of the time. The following are to be taken as such:
1. BTS are rather tame lizards.
2. Australian BTS are tamer than Indonesian BTS.
3. BTS that have not been regularly handled from birth are less tame than those that have been.
4. BTS are quite idiosyncratic, even within a subspecies.
5. BTS and bearded dragons are very different in many ways.
6. It is not "too late" to try to get a 2-year-old BTS used to handling. After an acclimation period, short and infrequent handling sessions MAY lead to a BTS that tolerates handling quite well. Or it may not.
Best of luck,
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Edward
Carpe diem

Thank you very much! I will try in a couple of days after he acclimates. I am having a hard time deciding which type he is. I am pretty sure he/she (I don't know) is Indonesian (which type I do not know), but I could be wrong there is such variation in the pictures I have seen. He is huge !! (compared to beardies of course ) He is currently in a 40 gallon, so I need to get a bigger enclosure. I am going to wait until he settles in and "likes" me more.

Thanks again,
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Stacey