Reptile & Amphibian Forums

Help Please !!! Today i bought a crocodile skink. I immediately went home and researched. In my findings the lady at the pet store told me opposite of how this skink should have been kept. Not to mention every piece of info i find says something a little different. The only lighting this lizard has was a heat lamp. Some info says you must have a uv light and some say you don't. Then some say there is two different types of lights etc. My problem is i think the lizard is weak/sick. It does not respond to anything except when you pick it up and when you do that it only opens it eyes and then it falls right back asleep. I know they are shy and try and play dead but i can hold her for a long period of time and she doesn't move. She even got to hot and i had to move her to the cool side of the tank. If anyone can help me in getting this poor thing back to good health i would appreciate it.

I'm sure some Croc skink owners will be along shortly. It hasnt been proven it UV light is beneficial or not but its better to have it.

Can I ask, Whyd you buy a sick pet store animal without doin any research first?
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0.0.1 Tanimbar Island Blue Tongue Skink ( Spunky Sebastian)
1.0.1 Green Tree Pythons ( Male=Floyd, Baby= Verdi)
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1.1 African Greys (Timmy and sis)
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0.1 Goffin's Cockatoo ( Sydney)
3.1 Ferrets (Chase, Angel, Max, and King)
1.0 Greater Swiss Mountain Dog (Moose)

I didn't buy it without researching it. I saw it and told the owner i was going to go home read up on it and come back tomorrow if i wanted it. I did go home the night before and read up on it. It seemed pretty basic. I had checked all the toes and the lizard itself. It wasn't skinny nor missing any toes. As far as being alert, being that they are shy that's what i thought it was doing. I only stood and held it long enough to check it out, about five minutes tops, and then hand him back. It wasn't until i brought him home that i noticed the way it was acting. The only thing i can think of was it's sick. It didn't have uv light and almost every other article said they are supposed to. In fact a study done in dallas tx zoo where one had uv and the other didn't. The one without died. All in all, it didn't look sick and that's why i bought him. I got him home and it's a different story. Didn't mean to write a story to your question, lol.

They don't need UVB, I don't have any on mine and they are all alive and kicking.
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David Hiscock.

what about UVA?
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Dragonflygirl109

I'm fairly new to tribilonotus gracilis myself. I've had mine for about four or five months and my 'routine' is a combination of information from the herp store I bought her from and the research I did on my own. I definitely agree with the need for UV light and you'll want to make sure not to give too much heat (I use a 25watt lamp that's on a timer for about 3 hrs/day. I live in Florida, though so the ambient temp in my house stays close to 80, anyway)
I can tell you that after bringing her home for the first time, I didn't even see her for weeks. She only ate twice in that time and both times were crickets that I managed to throw into the hide box. Now, she's put on a lot of weight (although she has not shown any signs of shedding yet which has made me curious) and is much more active. The best thing I can say is to keep a close eye on yours and watch for signs of illness. If you really think that something might be wrong, talk to your vet about checking it out.
Hope this helps and let us know how things go.

thank you for your input. I think my main concern was i was confused from what i was researching and finding out and all the info being different each time you found something. I did find out that it can take 6 - 8 weeks for them to adjust to their new surroundsing. I did feel better today because he/she moved around and was in a differenet spot every time i checked up on them. It is reassuring to hear how yours reacted so i have some basis for comfort. Are they nocturnal? Some info says yes some no. Also do you know if i buy a fogger to keep the humidity level up during the day while i'm gone, does that mean i have to watch for a respitory infection?

In my experience they are nocturnal. They also might seem "lethargic" but thats their trick. They are found in rotting wood so their scary armor actually seems more like cammo to me. When i had these they would also stay super still to the point that i thought they were dead then when they thought the coast was clear they bolt away quickly. The same behaviour was also observed when iheld them. Granted im not a vet (yet!) but IME they arent very active lizards.

I don't buy into the school of thought that these skinks are nocturnal. I think (my opinion) that many people believe this because they don't often see them when they look into the cage. Mine does not come out of her hide until late morning. She usually starts by soaking briefly in the pool and then climbs up to the highest branches of the artificial tree/foliage in her tank. She'll stay there for several hours, sometimes asleep/sometimes awake and alert. She also does A LOT of digging during the daytime, causing me to have to religiously remove bits of orchid bark from her pool. At night time she is always either in her hide or tunnelled under the pool. Her eyes are closed and she is sleeping until the next day.
I feel like the shy nature of these skinks causes many folks to think they are nocturnal. That's just my 2 cents. It's taken me months of sneaking around to be able to see my girl in all of these stages and I'm fairly certain that this is her everyday routine.
As far as the mister goes..... how long are you away from home? I mist my tank 3 times a day and keep the 10" bowl of water and my humidity stays up around 85-95%. The automatic misters are cool if you'r gonna be out of town or something, in which case I just have someone look after my skink for me and do the misting. I'm not really educated ENOUGH to say if you're gonna run the risk of respitory(sp?) infections or not.

thank you so much for your input. I can compare to a lot of the way your "girl" acts to how mine has acted. I don't belive mine is nocturnal either. He doesn't seem to be as alert during the night verses as much as he is during the day. I do not see him moving around but then again i have only had mine for a couple of days now and they are shy. I did go out and buy a fogger. I tried misting and even doing it once every hour or two i just couldn't get the humidity to stay at at least 80. With the fogger going constantly i can keep the humidity to 85. I had to put the fogger on the outside of the tank and let the moist air fall into the tank. It didn't say on the box whether you could put it in the cage but the thought of my little one getting into the water with it didn't excite me. I spoke to a lady today who wasn't familar with our species but breeds and has raised many other species for years. She said more than likely if they are used to that much humidity they are not as likely to get a respitory infection. Which made sense to me. I also went and bought a UV light just in case being that i didn't think she was nocturnal. My next stupid question is i heard somewhere to use a red light. I have a black light is that the same? or different?

what do you feed yours? i am having a hard time finding anything to feed mine. so far the only thing i have been able to offer my trib is small meal worms and very very small crickets. What else can i offer?

I started out offering pinhead crickets and a few mealworms. After a while I noticed that there was less and less interest in the crickets so I've started using giant mealworms as the staple of the diet. I've offered fruit (pureed/baby food) and some veggies but haven't seen her eat any of that stuff so I stopped. These days I'm keeping the giant mealworms in a bowl of cricket gut-load overnight before putting the bowl in the tank. I've not tried to offer anything other than that.
As for the 'red' light, do you mean for night time? Mine doesn't get any light at all at night. Just the Repti-sun 8.0 uv during the day and the 25watt spot that comes on mid-day (for like 2-3hrs) to peak out the daytime heat around 83-85.

A very big thank you for your help. That is what i got was pin head crickets and small meal worms. The only thing i didn't do what put the crickets in a dish. i have the meal worms in a dish but i had let the crickets roam. I think i have finally figured out the sex being that it's easy to tell from pictures. I'm pretty sure i have a male. He still hasn't eaten but then again it's all still new to him. Again thank you so much for your help.
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Dragonflygirl109

As others have pointed out, Croc Skinks are very, very shy - and yours may not be sick, just shy. Having said that...

"The only lighting this lizard has was a heat lamp. Some info says you must have a uv light and some say you don't."

Right. Lighting seems to be necessary when young, not so necessary when older (though a D3 supplement should be used if you don't have the light).

"Then some say there is two different types of lights etc."

UVA and UVB. You want a light that provides both. I leave my light on 6 hours a day and have no problems (I don't use a D3 supplement, either).

"My problem is i think the lizard is weak/sick. It does not respond to anything except when you pick it up and when you do that it only opens it eyes and then it falls right back asleep."

Sounds familiar. I have a male and two females. The male gets AGGRESSIVE, and even bit me once (for all the good that did him - their bite just isn't that strong). The females generally freeze up, then go into their defensive roll/thrash, then freeze again when handled. Hold them too long, and they'll tend to go to the bathroom on you.

Here's a checklist you can go down that might help you determine if you're pet is sick:

1) Is there stool? If there is white fecal matter in the cage (or brown "cocoons" in the water dish), that's a good sign (though you should clean it up).

2) What is the temperature? I know some people keep their entire cage/terrarium at 80 degrees, but that's a bit too high. During the day, mine goes left to right 68-80. In the evening, I'd say it is closer to 65-75 (the majority being around 70 the entire time).

3) Are you using a vitamin supplement? You should be dusting the food with a vitamin supplement - sometimes calcium, usually something with a bit more variety. I will tend to dust my crickets until they look like little ghost-insects that stand out against the bark/soil of the terrarium. These crickets then go into a small ceramic sauce dish I bought at Meijers for 99 cents (most of the crickets can not get out of it but the skinks easily get in).

4) Is there water? By water, I mean a big enough water source that the skink can submerge in it. I went out and purchased a "pool" with little stairs on it, but I also have ceramic "pet water" dishes that they jump into and curl up in. Having these water dishes is more important than keeping your humidity high.

5) What is the humidity? Humidity is not as important as one might think if there's a pool of water. If you can get it to 85, that's great! If you can only get it to 60, I wouldn't worry too much - just make sure to use a vitamin/shed spray on them every two weeks.

6) Are there multiple food sources? Don't just give them one type of food, give them a variety. My primary food source are 3/5 week old crickets (purchased under contract and occasionally by PetsMart). As well, I put earthworms (red wigglers) into the terrarium that they can dig up when they feel like it. In between cricket feedings I fill a bowl with 30% honey / 70% water and leave it in their - they seem to like that a lot. Finely chopped fruits are also placed inside on occasion.

Worst case scenario - take your pet to the vet. It may have parasites or an infection, especially if it is wild-caught.

Good luck with your new skink!

Thank you for that very very helpful information. I have seen no stools yet but i also don't think he's eaten anything yet. I only have him on bark. Should there be a different substrate? I do have a pool and a fogger. I can keep the humidity at 80 - 85 and run it all day. I turn if off at bed time. It seems to be ok till i turn it back on in the morning. A bait store offered me wigglers but suggested i cut them up. So i have to or can he eat them whole? I keep his tank on warm side in very low 80's but i have his water on warm side. Only cause water was so cool almost cold i didn't think he would get into it. He seems to like to hide in his moss more than anything. In the reptile magazine last month or this month where they had an article in there about red eye crocodile skinks it said no leaves or branches needed i think is what i remember. I have some for mine, but question is do you and if so does yours use theirs. If not i'm going to remove them and give him more moss. He has a hiding spot on cool and warm side but usually stays in middle of tank in moss buried. I have an under the tank heater cause i was afraid he'd be to cool being he's not really exploring. I think for the most part being i just got him i need to allow him some time to adjust and just take it day by day but i am going to get some wigglers like you suggested. Again, thank you for your helpful information.
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Dragonflygirl109

"I only have him on bark. Should there be a different substrate?"

They like to dig - a lot. I use cypress mulch on top of lizard litter, with patches of backed sph. moss which they dig into. I'll probably stop using lizard litter because they can't really dig into it very well (it is like sand in that respect), but I haven't found a substitute I'm comfortable with using yet (the soil at the local home improvement store won't work).

"A bait store offered me wigglers but suggested i cut them up. So i have to or can he eat them whole?"

Mine eat them whole, though the worms don't go down completely at first. Cutting them slightly might be a safe bet if the worms are larger (getting close to nightcrawler size) or your skink is on the small side.

"He seems to like to hide in his moss more than anything."

They like to hide - especially in cool, wet places.

"In the reptile magazine last month or this month where they had an article in there about red eye crocodile skinks it said no leaves or branches needed i think is what i remember. I have some for mine, but question is do you and if so does yours use theirs."

I have a thick artificial vine and a suction-cup hammock filled with artificial leaves (there are some "open" areas in the hammock for sunning, too). Crocodile skinks can and often do climb, and I can find one of my skinks in the hammock once or twice a week.

"I think for the most part being i just got him i need to allow him some time to adjust and just take it day by day but i am going to get some wigglers like you suggested."

They do take a while to adjust. Just follow the standard operating procedure and don't handle him / adjust his new home too much during this phase. Interesting side note: I completely change out my terrarium every three weeks, so my skinks have to go into a 5 gallon terrarium for about an hour. It usually takes three to four days for the females to recover from this trauma, during which time they stay hidden.

I'm so glad you mentioned not to hold them. I don't remember reading that anywhere so i am glad you said that. Also i'm glad you said to use lizard litter because i was going to go and buy some soil. I didn't know if you could get a "safe" soil. For now i'm going to head your advice and use lizard litter. Thank you so much for your help.
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Dragonflygirl109