Reptile & Amphibian Forums

I have 3 Western Skinks that have been constantly trying to escape from their cage lately. They occasionally jump into the glass and dig in the corners. They settle down at nighttime, but try to escape during the day.

I posted a thread about a month ago about several problems the Skinks were having. I seem to have fixed those problems but the skinks are still trying to escape, as if they are stressed! They look fat and healthy, and I cannot think of anything they don't have.

The cage they are in is 30 inches long, 13 inches wide, and 13 inches tall. I always make sure there are mealworms in the cage, and I feed them Calcium dusted crickets every few days or so. I spray water in the cage about twice a day, to keep the humidity up. They have a Heat Lamp, a 20-Watt Super UV Coil-Lamp (for UVB) and a fluorescent light hood on top (just for extra lighting, its old and probably doesn't give off UVB rays anymore). The temperature on the warm side of the tank is 85-90 degrees, while the cold side is 70-75. I'm using ESU Jungle Mix for the substrate (they can dig in it very well), and they have plenty of hiding places.

This is the other thread I made a long time ago incase anyone wants to read up on the problems my skinks were having before: http://forums.kingsnake.com/view.php?id=723012,723012

Here is a picture of my cage setup:

Does anyone have any clue as to why my Skinks are trying to escape all the time? Any suggestions would greatly help!

I have some 5 lined skinks (from Florida) that I bought as snake food and to scent pinkies but liked them and kept them.
I imagine tho babies like yours wild caught which might be why they acted as yours.
I know this isnt what you want to hear but you have two choices.
put some type black,dark poster board paper on glass from outside to stop this while leaving only front open so you can see in tank.
Second is do what I did I IGNORED it. They in time stopped . The digging part is normal tho as they love to dig,hide as you know. Mine used to "bang" against the glass but stopped in time.
Your tank has a lot of decorations maybe thats why they dig in the corners more because less stuff.
I love ESU jungle mix but since my substrate deeper than yours in long run it was cheaper to buy non chemical soil and orchid mix from large garden stores and mix it myself.
Your set up is nice.

Hello,
I currently have two BTs. My oldest one was my first reptile. I do not know how old your skinks are, but when my oldest was young, he did the same thing, and the baby is doing that now. It seems that they tend to grow out of it. My oldest still digs in the corners, especially when a weather front approaches or the seasons change. As long as they look healthy, I think you shoud be fine. Nice tank set up by the way, although it may be just a weeee bit too crowded. If anything is causing them to do this, that may be it, but I doubt it. Good luck and enjoy your reptiles!