6 foot enclosure, too big?

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Leigti
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6 foot enclosure, too big?

Postby Leigti » Wed Oct 18, 2017 5:05 pm

I plan to get or make a permanent enclosure for my northern BTS. Is only about four months old right now but I’m thinking long-term. Would a 6‘ x 2‘ enclosure be too big? I don’t want to keep upgrading and upgrading I just want to upgrade this one time and call it good. And 6‘ x 2‘ is as big a space as I can give to this enclosure. By skank is not going to be getting out running around the house much, so I want to make sure he has enough space. Any opinions would be welcome. Thanks.
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Re: 6 foot enclosure, too big?

Postby Janella » Wed Oct 18, 2017 5:52 pm

That would be and excellent size
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Re: 6 foot enclosure, too big?

Postby Janella » Wed Oct 18, 2017 5:52 pm

That would be and excellent size
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Re: 6 foot enclosure, too big?

Postby kingofnobbys » Wed Oct 18, 2017 9:03 pm

Spoilt BT !

He'll be very happy in there , might be very overwhelming for a baby or juvenile BT though and too easy for the little BT to loose his live bugs (and for them to crawl off and hide).
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Re: 6 foot enclosure, too big?

Postby Leigti » Wed Oct 18, 2017 9:46 pm

kingofnobbys wrote:Spoilt BT !

He'll be very happy in there , might be very overwhelming for a baby or juvenile BT though and too easy for the little BT to loose his live bugs (and for them to crawl off and hide).

All my animals are spoiled :-) it will be at least three months before I get this new enclosure in place. I haven’t fed him any live bugs yet. I might put him in a small bin to do that. Then the bugs won’t get away.
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Re: 6 foot enclosure, too big?

Postby splashy07 » Thu Oct 19, 2017 5:52 am

Best to feed insects outside the enclosure or from tongs, that way they don't get a mouthful of substrate when attacking them. And no loose bugs in tank where they could feed on feces or who knows what and then be eaten by your pet. Wish I had room for that size cage for all of mine, but being I currently have 15, I would have to move
myself into the back of my pickup. My largest enclosures are 48 x 24, my smallest 36 x 18, and all my skinks are doing great. If I had only one, I'd do what you did. Spoil the heck out of him while you can, because this is a very addicting hobby and before you know it you'll be hoarding them. That's one lucky skink you have there!
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Re: 6 foot enclosure, too big?

Postby Leigti » Thu Oct 19, 2017 7:47 pm

splashy07 wrote:Best to feed insects outside the enclosure or from tongs, that way they don't get a mouthful of substrate when attacking them. And no loose bugs in tank where they could feed on feces or who knows what and then be eaten by your pet. Wish I had room for that size cage for all of mine, but being I currently have 15, I would have to move
myself into the back of my pickup. My largest enclosures are 48 x 24, my smallest 36 x 18, and all my skinks are doing great. If I had only one, I'd do what you did. Spoil the heck out of him while you can, because this is a very addicting hobby and before you know it you'll be hoarding them. That's one lucky skink you have there!

Heck, I couldn’t afford another one. I have decreased my reptile collection, I now have one tortoise and one skink.
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Re: 6 foot enclosure, too big?

Postby Ohgeez » Fri Nov 03, 2017 1:42 am

Sounds great for when they're an adult. I have a 4×2×2 and now that my boys reaching a year it feels way too small. They grow fast!
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Re: 6 foot enclosure, too big?

Postby Leigti » Sun Mar 11, 2018 4:37 pm

Well, I got my animal plastics cage. 6‘ x 30“. I keep rearranging the furniture, I change from Aspen to cypress mulch. But this gives you a general idea.
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Re: 6 foot enclosure, too big?

Postby xxmonitorlizardxx » Sun Mar 11, 2018 7:39 pm

There's no such thing as too big :)
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Re: 6 foot enclosure, too big?

Postby Y33T » Mon Mar 12, 2018 5:03 am

have multiple water dishes available so the bluey wouldn't have so much trouble finding them.
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Re: 6 foot enclosure, too big?

Postby Leigti » Sat Apr 28, 2018 9:52 pm

Well, he’s been in the enclosure for a while now. But he does not seem nearly as active, basically hides all day. I’ve added a few more plants. Any other suggestions?
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Re: 6 foot enclosure, too big?

Postby kayla990 » Sun Apr 29, 2018 5:04 am

In regards to the inactivity - a few things come to mind; mainly temperature and humidity. We've found when it's too cool then they are more likely to sleep longer. Maybe check where he is sleeping - has he found a cool spot? Similarly, when the humidity is too low, it's possible he may hide more (as the soil generally holds more moisture).

How long have you had him? It could be new skink behaviour; or potentially going through a shed (as that can cause them to hide more for a few days). If you've had him for some time already, you could try to get him out frequently (as some may hide more until they've realized people aren't that scary!).

If you have feeder insects, that could be another route to try encourage him out - but I would suggest to double check for cold spots first. Goodluck!
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Re: 6 foot enclosure, too big?

Postby Happyherper » Tue May 01, 2018 8:01 am

In the wild they have much more than 6 ft to roam in, so i would say go for it, but also make sure that you are giving your skink enough interaction

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