Ocellated Skink info wanted

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Ctkbod
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Ocellated Skink info wanted

Postby Ctkbod » Wed Aug 12, 2015 6:47 pm

I have an opportunity to pick up some ocellated skinks (Chalcides ocellatus). They're cute little buggers. I've never kept them before though and can't find a lot of info about them. Can anybody tell me anything about their care and keeping? Especially- how many should be housed together? There are 8 juvies available. Do I get 1? A pair? All of them? 8) Thanks!
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Scincus
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Re: Ocellated Skink info wanted

Postby Scincus » Mon Oct 19, 2015 8:59 am

Hi, I have been keeping juvenile ocellated skinks for about two months. They have a pretty wide range feom deserts to farmlands, so there are several options on how to keep them. At the moment, I keep a 1.2 trio in a 20 gallon long tank with uvb and a basking light. Basking temperatures are about 105, ambients in the 80s. I keep mine currently on playsand and coco fibre, but I plan on addin some gravel and sandy soil mixes when they go into their adult enclosure. I provide them with several cork logs and lots of rock formations that they can bask on and hide between the crevices. I feed mine small dubia and mealworms and will ocasionally dust with calcium with d3. I have heard from other keepers that they are slightly omnivorous, but I have yet to see mine eat any offered fruit or veggies.

As for housing together, they can get a bit *prissy at each other sometimes, but I've yet to observe them trying to harm each other. Mostly if one gets too close, the other will dash off somewhere else (which is why it's important to have many hides so that they can each have their own space). They seem to have some sort of hierarchy going on and mostly tolerate each other. Just be sure to keep a close eye on the group dynamics and remove any that try causing harm to each other. Another warning, my group consists of 5 month old juveniles with one male and two females. I do not know how multiple males would get along, and when mine start to mature, they may not get along anymore, in which case they would be given a lot more room or be seperated. One thing I have discovered is that you can sex juveniles using a flashlight, though I do not know if it is 100% accurate since I have a small sample size.

As adults, I plan on keeping them in no less than a 40 gallon but preferrably a 4'x2'x2' enclosure.

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