i think their a great skink, but stress is a killer with these guys... and cb are not that common do to the low reproductive rate.. 3 eggs per year.
below i am posting my care sheet.. below e-mail if you have any questions..
Underworldreptileshotmail.com
thanks sorry for all the typos:
Natural History: Crocodile skinks or Red Eye Armour Skinks are found
mainly
> on the northern parts Irain Jaya and Papua, New Guinea. These skinks are
> usually found scurrying around the undergrowth of the forest floor, mainly
> located near a water source.
>
> Physical Description: Croc skinks are a small, shy, stocky bodied skink
that
> ranges in size about 3.5-4 inches for snout to vent length, with a total a
> size of about 7 inches. The body of Croc skink is usally a dark brown to
> flat black in color. Croc skinks have a bright orange circle running
around
> the diameter of its eyes, that develops with age (hatching croc skinks do
> not have these rings). Head and body of this animal reminder me of a toy
> dinosaur, or medieval dragon. The head is in a shape of a triangle with
head
> having heavily keeled scale to the rear of the skull. These keeled scales
> continue down the back of animal in 4 rows until reaching about half way
> down the tail. Croc skinks as have the ability to vocalize when disturbed
or
> restrained. More often I have seen this in freshly wild caught animals and
> hatchings.
>
> Housing requirements: I believe that single Crocodile skink can be
> comfortably house in a ten gallon glass aquarium, but 20 longs are a lot
> nicer. For Pairs and trios highly recommend at least a 20 long or higher.
> From my own personal observation I believe that a lot of vertical height
is
> not considered necessary. The cage temperatures for Croc skinks should be
> maintain at around 80° F in the daytime to 70°F in the nighttime. When the
> temp rises above 85 °F the animals in my collection seem to exhibit some
> signs of stress. For lighting full spectrum lighting dose not seem to be
> need ( cool florescent bulbs are all I use) as long animal's diet is
> properly supplemented. Basking light's are also optional, if using a
basking
> light use a lower wattage bulb (20 watts or below). For substrate I
prefer
> a shredded coconut fibers at a depth of 3-4 inches ( Bed a Beast )( ratio
of
> Bed a Beast I use is 1 brick for every 10 gallons of tank space), but I
> believe any good moisture holding material would work just fine.(examples
> clean top soil, peat moss, and shaguphm moss). The cage should be spot
> cleaned off with substrate being changed once every 2 to 4 weeks.
> Croc skinks like to borrow, so I avoid putting any plants in the cage to
the
> destruction that I have seen in the past. As mentioned up above Croc
skinks
> are shy animals, so to reduce unneeded stress ( especially in the first
few
> days of acclimation) try placing a slab of cork bark lying
> flat on the ground. If you don't have cork bark try using a opaque plastic
> lid or deli container. The Croc skink(s) will most likely make a nice hid
> out for themselves were they will feel safe.
>
> Water Requirements: In captivity Croc Skinks appear to be very good
> swimmers, so at minimum I like to provide my animals with at least enough
> water to fully sub merge their entire body. (Take care when working with
> hatchings and juveniles to avoid drowning). If you have the ability to
make
> the cage 1/3 to ¼ water go for it, but it gets messy quick with fecal
> material and substrate. The method that I found works best is a flat
bottom
> bowl that obtains a depth about 2 to 3 inches. Recessing the bowl into the
> substrate provides easy access for adults to enter. ( clear plant saucers
> 6-8 inches in diameter are my favorite to use, they can be found at many
> garden supply stores). In conjunction with supplying a fresh clean water
> source, I mist my Croc skinks once a day just to keep the substrate damp
not
> soaked..
>
> Food Requirements: The main staple of Croc skinks in captivity is gut
> loaded crickets. The size of the cricket will depend on the age of the
> animal, from pinheads for hatchings to ¾ inch crickets for adults. Feeding
> should be done once to every other day, again it depends on the activity
> level and stage of life.. Younger the animal the more often. I highly
> recommend dusting the prey insects with a D3 multivitamin, three times a
> week for adults and daily for hatchings.
> Other food items that Croc skinks seem to love is wax worms and butter
> worms. Wax worms and butter worms are great for getting reluctant animals
to
> eat.
>
> Reproduction / Sexual Maturity: Males can be determined from females by
> looking at the rear feet. Males will have a series of planter pores on the
> third and fourth toes that appear grayish in color, for younger animals
this
> can be a little difficult. Not much is know about the reproductive habits
of
> the Crocodile skinks but, from my own account the courtship ritual
contains
> a series of head bobs displayed by the male, and then male grasping the
> female by the nape of the neck then sliding his tail beneath the females.
> I'll let you fill in the rest of the blanks, for what happens next. After
> successful courtship has occurred the female will deposit one leather egg
> (gestation time for the egg seems to take anywhere from 30 to 60 days
> depending on the health of the animal). The egg is about 1 to 1.2 inches
> long with a diameter of about ½ inch. The egg's of the Croc skink seem to
be
> able to handle pretty damp conditions, so to incubate them I use shedder
> coconut fiber. The incubation temp found in most articles and has work
well
> for me in the past is 75 to 78º Fahrenheit for an average of about 70
days..
> After the first egg Hatches be on the look out for another egg, Females
seem
> to lay the following egg about same time that first one is hatching. Croc
> Skinks usually have a clutch size of about 3 eggs per season..
