Reptile & Amphibian Forums

Ok, so I decided to get a Blue Tongue Skink. This will be my first reptile and I just want to make sure I know what i'm doing before I get it.

I have a 55 gallon tank. I know i'll probably need bigger, but this isnt bad for now. The skink will be about 8 inches.

Heating: Now I don't know the exact dimentions of a 55gal, but I know its pretty tall. What watt bulb should I use for my basking light? 100? And would you reccommend a night bulb, maybe 75 watts to help keep heat at night?

UVB lighting: I've seen those ReptiSun floresent bulbs and the like at a local pet store. My question, how do I mount the bulb? Can I use the Floresent canopy piece to a regular aquarium hood? They usually have a piece of plastic gaurding the bulb. Do I want to remove that piece? I remember reading that UVA/UVB doesnt go through glass/plasic. Or do I need a whole different unit for my bulb?

As far as bedding, i'll probably use either BedABeast or Aspen shavings. I'll get a half log for a hide. large water dish. food dish.

I'm sorry this is so long, I just haven't kept a reptile before so I want to be sure. Thank you to those who respond. I appreciate it.
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1.0.0 Pixie Frog
0.0.1 African Dwarf Frog
0.0.1 Firebelly Toad
0.0.1 Firebelly Newt
2.0.3 Florida Bark Scorpions
0.0.1 Emperor Scorpion
1.0.0 Flatrock Scorpion
1.1.0 African Giant Millipedes
2.0.0 Madagascar Hissing Cockroaches
0.0.1 Chilean Rosehair Tarantula
1.0.0 Hamster!
1.0.0 Ugly Cat
1 Small freshwater aquarium
Grunngg@yahoo.com

Grunngg,
Keep in mind that glass conducts heat really well - so test the hot bulb (regular light bulb works fine in a dome fixture) with a digital thermometer. Sit the thermometer where the skink will lie under it - see what temps a 75watt produces. You want toasty, but not too hot - we prefer about 95-100. The other end of the enclosure has the UVB over it, and can be cooler - say 80 or so during the day. They can cool down to 65 at night - no problems - so no need for night heat bulbs unless your house is very cold!

You can use a reg fluorescent fixture for the UVB light. We use ReptiSun 10 if the distance is 12" or more, and we use shop light fixtures (no plastic covers).

So... are you getting a young baby?? It seems like ours are born at 7" - so that sounds young. You should be able to keep it in there for the better part of a year.

Use a tip-proof water bowl - it helps!
Watch for small aspen - you will like the larger kind better (it doesn't get in the nose as much).

Morgana

Yeah, from what I understand, these guys grow pretty quick. So when my skink gets to about a foot long i'll upgrade. What size tank do you thik I should get? I got the 55gal for free from a buddy, thats why i'm using that. What do you think I should get for an adult? I asked around at pet shops and they all seem to say a 40breeder is good. I thought that seemed small. What do you think?

About the basking spot: Should I have the bulb just shine down on the ground? Or have something that'll heat up more from underneath? I was going to get a piece of slate, but I was worried the skink might burrow under it and possibly get hurt. Also, should I use a larger light dome, so the basking spot covers more of my skinks body?
Humidity stays low, right? I think my house is constantly around 40%-45%. So I don't mist this guy?

How much do I feed these guys? I know the diet. Mustard greeds, collard greens, a little romaine(for variety). Stuff like that. I want to feed them a little dog food also, for protein, right? I know that when theyre young its fine to give them a few crickets each week. But when theyre older I shouldnt. Does that have anything to do with it being protein? Or because its animal matter? I know the guy at PetsMart said theyre feeding their BTS a couple of crickets a day and they make this mixture out of greens and carrots and cut it into icecube tray portions and freeze it. Then they thaw it and feed everyday. Does that sound like a decent method? I can easily buy a bunch of greens and such , then mix it all into small cakes and freeze them for later use.

Sorry i'm babbling. I just dont want to mess up.
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1.0.0 Pixie Frog
0.0.1 African Dwarf Frog
0.0.1 Firebelly Toad
0.0.1 Firebelly Newt
2.0.3 Florida Bark Scorpions
0.0.1 Emperor Scorpion
1.0.0 Flatrock Scorpion
1.1.0 African Giant Millipedes
2.0.0 Madagascar Hissing Cockroaches
0.0.1 Chilean Rosehair Tarantula
1.0.0 Hamster!
1.0.0 Ugly Cat
1 Small freshwater aquarium
Grunngg@yahoo.com

congradulations on picking a blue tongue. I got a bts for my first real herp also, after all those frogs and house geckos. I still have her too. She is 9 years old, and still as docile as ever. They are awesome herps!

Hey, congrats! These guys are a lot of fun! Anyway, as far as freezing the veggies, I'm pretty sure you will lose a lot of the nutritional value if you do that. If you want a lot of information on BTS diets, go to bluetongueskinks.net. They even break down the water/protein/fat/ash contents of crickets and worms for you (if you want that much detail). Good luck with your new pet!
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Diego & Tiffany
SNAKES
4.1.2 Corn Snakes(Different morphs)
1.0.0 Boa Constrictor
0.1.0 Tangerine Honduran Milksnake
0.1.0 Mexican Black Kingsnake
2.0.0 Ball Pythons
0.0.1 Ribbon Snake
0.0.2 Rosy Boas (Coastal & Baja)
0.0.1 Pueblan Milksnake
0.2.0 Kenyan Sand Boas
1.0.0 Western Hognose
LIZARDS
1.0.0 Frilled Dragon
2.2.0 Bearded Dragons (2 Normal, 1 RedXGold, 1 Citrus)
0.1.0 Eastern Collared Lizard
0.1.0 Merauke Blue Tongue Skink
1.0.0 Turquoise Sunburst Veiled Chameleon
1.0.0 Savannah Monitor

Grunngg,

Depending on the species, it may take almost two years to reach adult size - but most of the length is reached by 12-14 months. Some of them can get quite long, and some are more tail than body - so again, it depends on the species you get.

I think the 55 should work for a good while, then a 40 breeder tank can be used. We prefer just a bit larger for some of the larger skinks (northerns and IJ's).

As to the basking spot - we use slate or 10" ceramic tiles. We know one keeper that uses ceramic plant saucers turned upside down - it works good too. We use the 8.5 basking lamp domes. Humidity can be raised when they shed, some folks use moist hides at that time too. It especially helps with the toes. Generally, misting is not needed.

Diet shouldn't include any lettuce. Curly mustard; endive; chickory; collard; dandelion greens... much better.

When you have a young BTS (under 6 months); you want to feed it more protein than greens - so that is where the dog food comes in. You can do chicken or turkey - or even beef for variety. Be sure the canned food is a good quality and mix with some chopped veggies (grated squash; chopped greens; chopped fruit; etc.) We feed our young ones every day.

Once they get a bit older (6 month) we switch to more veggies and every other day. When they get to adulthood, more veggies and fruits even still. They can be fed 3 times per week.

We bought a couple of BTS from Petsmart - and they were feeding them like beardies! BTS need more protein when they are small! The ones we got plumped up once they got on our diet.

Have you decided what kind you are getting? Where are you getting it from?

Morgana

I'm also getting mine at PetsMart. They have it labeled Tiliqua spp. Looking into it, I think it's Irian Jaya.
I don't know how old they are, 7-8 inches, so that's pretty young still.
I hope you don't mind, but I have more questions.

Feeding: Ok, when it's young i'll give it the dog food with some veggies. Should I mix them together or keep them seperate?
When it gets older, and i'm feeding more veggies, I know i'll need a variety. Should I go out a buy baby spinach, some collard greens and kale and mix it up? Or is it fine to feed collard greens one week, then the next week switch to mustard greens or something else. With each feeding i'll also shred a little carrot. Now, about freezing food. I know it'll lose some of its nutritional value, but, lets say at the end of the week, just before my collard greens go bad, is it fine to freeze some, just to add in with whatever i feed next week for a bit of a mix? Should I mix fruit with the meals, or is that more for a treat?
And how often should I offer crickets?
Oh yeah, are there any fruits or veggies I shouldnt feed my Skink? And how much should I feed my skink now, and when he's older? Like, how large should the portions be?

The guy at PetsMart said I should use BedABeast and to keep it moist by spraying everyday. Is this accurate? Or should I use a different substrate? And I thought I read, i'll check again, that BTS preferred dryer conditions.

Heating/Lighting: PetsMart carries ExoTerra floresent tubes. I was looking at the ExoTerra site and ReptiGlo 2.0, ReptiGlo 5.0, and ReptiGlo 8.0. The site recommends that I use a 2.0 along with either of the others. What size do you think I should use? And do you think I really should get the second bulb?
As for my heating, i'm going to get a 75watt basking light and see if thats enough. I want the basking area to hit about 100º, right? Now how should I heat the other end? I've read that a lot of people use heat pads. I have heat pads for my Inverts, and I really don't feel much heat on the top of the substrate. I was also afraid that my Skink may burrow and get burned on the glass where the pad is. Do you think I should use the heat pad? My idea, I was thinking about just getting another basking light. A small 50watt and figured that would probably do the trick and at night, depending on the temp, i could put a 50watt night bulb in to help. So my lid would be set up from left to right, small basking light floresent fixture, large basting light. What do you suggest?

Again, thank you for all of your help. Once I hjave these last few questions answered, I should be about set. I might have a few more, but shouldnt be as large as a post that i've been having. Thanks alot.
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1.0.0 Pixie Frog
0.0.1 African Dwarf Frog
0.0.1 Firebelly Toad
0.0.1 Firebelly Newt
2.0.3 Florida Bark Scorpions
0.0.1 Emperor Scorpion
1.0.0 Flatrock Scorpion
1.1.0 African Giant Millipedes
2.0.0 Madagascar Hissing Cockroaches
0.0.1 Chilean Rosehair Tarantula
1.0.0 Hamster!
1.0.0 Ugly Cat
1 Small freshwater aquarium
Grunngg@yahoo.com

Spinach is a no-no. It has been found to interfere with calcium intake in herps. Also, if you have left over veggies at the end of the week, try giving them to your crickets. Looking at your pet list, you probably go through a few crickets a week, so why not gutload them?

You can mix dog food or turkey or chicken right in with the veggies. You can also put the fruit in there, but try not to put in too much. I use the 50% protein, 40% veggie and 10% fruit ratio here and it seems to work quite well.

As for lighting and heat, I guess that just depends on your average room temperature. I really can't tell you what wattage works best in your situation. I use a Reptisun 5.0 fluorescent and a 60W incandescent for a basking spot in the low 90's. The cool side seems to maintain itself at around 75-80 degrees, so I don't use anything else. Hope this helps a little.
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Diego & Tiffany
SNAKES
4.1.2 Corn Snakes(Different morphs)
1.0.0 Boa Constrictor
0.1.0 Tangerine Honduran Milksnake
0.1.0 Mexican Black Kingsnake
2.0.0 Ball Pythons
0.0.1 Ribbon Snake
0.0.2 Rosy Boas (Coastal & Baja)
0.0.1 Pueblan Milksnake
0.2.0 Kenyan Sand Boas
1.0.0 Western Hognose
LIZARDS
1.0.0 Frilled Dragon
2.2.0 Bearded Dragons (2 Normal, 1 RedXGold, 1 Citrus)
0.1.0 Eastern Collared Lizard
0.1.0 Merauke Blue Tongue Skink
1.0.0 Turquoise Sunburst Veiled Chameleon
1.0.0 Savannah Monitor

Is 5.0 enough for me? My tank is 48x12x21 So 21 inches is alot. And that site kept saying to use the Reptisun 2.0 along with the other bulbs. Is that even neccessary?

For the heating, my home usually stays between 70-75º. I'll have my basking spot at about 95-100 (Unless thats to much) And for the rest of the tank, I was sure if it would be heated enough from the basking light, so I thought maybe a smaller basking bulb would help on the other side.
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1.0.0 Pixie Frog
0.0.1 African Dwarf Frog
0.0.1 Firebelly Toad
0.0.1 Firebelly Newt
2.0.3 Florida Bark Scorpions
0.0.1 Emperor Scorpion
1.0.0 Flatrock Scorpion
1.1.0 African Giant Millipedes
2.0.0 Madagascar Hissing Cockroaches
0.0.1 Chilean Rosehair Tarantula
1.0.0 Hamster!
1.0.0 Ugly Cat
1 Small freshwater aquarium
Grunngg@yahoo.com

If you raise your basking spot (i.e. rock, log) it will be closer to the bulb and it will be hotter. You should just start out with a fluorescent UBV, an incandescent bulb, and a digital thermometer. You can adjust wattages accordingly.
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Diego & Tiffany
SNAKES
4.1.2 Corn Snakes(Different morphs)
1.0.0 Boa Constrictor
0.1.0 Tangerine Honduran Milksnake
0.1.0 Mexican Black Kingsnake
2.0.0 Ball Pythons
0.0.1 Ribbon Snake
0.0.2 Rosy Boas (Coastal & Baja)
0.0.1 Pueblan Milksnake
0.2.0 Kenyan Sand Boas
1.0.0 Western Hognose
LIZARDS
1.0.0 Frilled Dragon
2.2.0 Bearded Dragons (2 Normal, 1 RedXGold, 1 Citrus)
0.1.0 Eastern Collared Lizard
0.1.0 Merauke Blue Tongue Skink
1.0.0 Turquoise Sunburst Veiled Chameleon
1.0.0 Savannah Monitor

Grunngg,

I already answered a good portion of these questions when you asked them before.

You need to take some notes from experienced keepers - there is an extensive care sheet on the BTS website - you can even print it out and highlight those areas you had questions about. Find it at - http://www.bluetongueskinks.net

There is identification help too - if you are unsure of the species. Good luck with your new one.

Morgana

I apologize about all the questions. I just don't want to kill my future pet.

I looked in pet shops and couldnt find the ReptiSun 10, I even checked the ZooMed site. After a Google search I found it. I didnt realize it was a compact bulb. Is one of the fine for my tank? And does it fit into a light dome? I'm guessing, if it does, I should use a large dome. The site labels it as a Compact UVB. Will this also take care of my UVA?

Thanks for your help, i'll try to figure anything else out on my own.
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1.0.0 Pixie Frog
0.0.1 African Dwarf Frog
0.0.1 Firebelly Toad
0.0.1 Firebelly Newt
2.0.3 Florida Bark Scorpions
0.0.1 Emperor Scorpion
1.0.0 Flatrock Scorpion
1.1.0 African Giant Millipedes
2.0.0 Madagascar Hissing Cockroaches
0.0.1 Chilean Rosehair Tarantula
1.0.0 Hamster!
1.0.0 Ugly Cat
1 Small freshwater aquarium
Grunngg@yahoo.com

Grunngg,
No need to apologize about all the questions - just don't ask the same ones again after someone answered them already.

I can't imagine why you would have trouble finding a light bulb! So here is a link: lllreptile.com/store/catalog/-/zoo-med-24-repti-sun-100-fluorescent-bulb/
Hope that helps.

We gave you the link to a great BTS website - did you check them out??? There is no need to "try to figure anything else out on my own" - that could lead to problems and heartache. There are experienced keepers who contributed to this care sheet - read it. www.bluetongueskinks.net/

Morgana

www.reptayls.com

Is that a big enough bulb? Or should I look for the next size up?
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1.0.0 Pixie Frog
0.0.1 African Dwarf Frog
0.0.1 Firebelly Toad
0.0.1 Firebelly Newt
2.0.3 Florida Bark Scorpions
0.0.1 Emperor Scorpion
1.0.0 Flatrock Scorpion
1.1.0 African Giant Millipedes
2.0.0 Madagascar Hissing Cockroaches
0.0.1 Chilean Rosehair Tarantula
1.0.0 Hamster!
1.0.0 Ugly Cat
1 Small freshwater aquarium
Grunngg@yahoo.com

It depends on the size of your enclosure. If you have a 48" enclosure, you can use a 48" bulb. But you might want to use a 36" bulb and leave room for your basking spot light.

Morgana

Yeah, I think i'll do the 36". I'm pretty much all set. I'm just waiting on the tank. I made sure I found a herp vet. I'm not sure about the substrate. That site highly reccommended Aspen for a substrate. My problem is, they say to use the shaved aspen and not the shredded aspen. But the bags dont say Shaved or Shredded on it. So i'll try to figure that out, or I might just use BedABeast.
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1.0.0 Pixie Frog
0.0.1 African Dwarf Frog
0.0.1 Firebelly Toad
0.0.1 Firebelly Newt
2.0.3 Florida Bark Scorpions
0.0.1 Emperor Scorpion
1.0.0 Flatrock Scorpion
1.1.0 African Giant Millipedes
2.0.0 Madagascar Hissing Cockroaches
0.0.1 Chilean Rosehair Tarantula
1.0.0 Hamster!
1.0.0 Ugly Cat
1 Small freshwater aquarium
Grunngg@yahoo.com

The shredded aspen is very small, splintery pieces, whereas the larger aspen is large, shaved curls and pieces.

I find that most coco fiber bedding is too dusty....

Morgana

www.reptayls.com

Oi, still working on getting everything set up. PetsMart feeds there BTS primarily crickets, and they keep there humidity at 70%. I know that isnt proper, but the skinks look healthy, so I think it'll be fine if I get it out of there soon. They spray there tanks twice a day. You guys dont recommend this, do you?
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1.0.0 Pixie Frog
0.0.1 African Dwarf Frog
0.0.1 Firebelly Toad
0.0.1 Firebelly Newt
2.0.3 Florida Bark Scorpions
0.0.1 Emperor Scorpion
1.0.0 Flatrock Scorpion
1.1.0 African Giant Millipedes
2.0.0 Madagascar Hissing Cockroaches
0.0.1 Chilean Rosehair Tarantula
1.0.0 Hamster!
1.0.0 Ugly Cat
1 Small freshwater aquarium
Grunngg@yahoo.com