BLUE TONGUE SKINKS

Hi all, I’m picking up my new skink tomorrow (Wednesday), but after doing some research I’m not sure I believe the ID they were provided/have given for her. As long as she’s an Australian species I’m not overly bothered (and 99% sure she is) but could I get some thoughts on which specific type she is? Thanks!

With BTS images still fresh on my mind, I'm 100% it is an Indonesian species(possibly halmahera). The black on and around the arms gives it away. Not Aussie, but still great.

Hmm interesting.. They have her listed as an Eastern. My only concern is that she’s wild caught, as I was really trying to avoid that. I’d gone through all of the Indonesian species and didn’t find any that matched, but there’s so much variation it’s hard to tell. I guess I’ll wait for some other opinions...

For sure, need more opinions with this one as it is a bit hard to tell. One flag to keep in mind is it is wild caught. Australia does not export, so I wonder how it was brought to CA?

That’s actually why I wanted an Australian! That way I could be sure it was CBB. If she is the Eastern they claim then she’d have to be captive bred.

Seems to be those black legs are the key indicator that she is and Indo though.

Agree with jreignltp - not an Australian type! The bands are too thin to be an eastern - I'm confident it's an Indonesian type. I agree it's currently looking like a Halmahera. However, I find it easier to ID from the scales under the body (as the pattern is quite different between a Merauke and a Halmahera). If you decide to go ahead with this Bluey, feel free to post more images for further ID confirmation

After doing some more looking I definitely agree! I guess my next question is - would a WC Halmahera be worth more or less than a CBB Eastern? (Basically, should I try to negotiate the price down before I take her haha) I will post more pictures in better lighting when I have her.

Beau wrote:After doing some more looking I definitely agree! I guess my next question is - would a WC Halmahera be worth more or less than a CBB Eastern? (Basically, should I try to negotiate the price down before I take her haha) I will post more pictures in better lighting when I have her.

Good question! I'd say considering they are advertising wrongly (whereby Indo's need higher humidity, Halmaheras 80-90%) I'd say try get a discount While I don't know how it is in Canada, in Europe I commonly see Northerns priced much higher (as they are rarer to find over here, not seen any Easterns so far).

You can also try argue that WC may need more vet checks (which isn't lying either! Some wild-caughts may have internal parasites that will need to be treated. Though based on the size, I'd guess it's doing fine health wise, but never hurts to get a fecal check!).

Unless you live in Australia, you will never find an Eastern in a pet shop and extremely rare at an expo. They can only be obtained from breeders at prices starting at $750 for babies. Adults rarely offered at all and command prices $1200+. That one is an Indonesian import, hard to tell species in pic looks to be Merauke or Halmahera. CBB blueys in pet shops are just about non existant. Many imports are misrepresented due to the ignorance of the seller or the desire to sell something of little value for more money.

Well regardless, I picked him/her up today and got some more pictures before putting him away. I did get a discount for the false name, although I realized after that the rest of the info on the tag was correct. (Origin: Indonesia, Size: 20”) My fault for not reading closely! Any better idea about species and sex?

Lovely skink - and good you managed to get a bit of discount in the end! Yep, looking like a Halmahera to me (so will need to keep humidity around 80-90% average, I'd guess it's previously had a poor shed - based on part of the missing toe on the back foot). Looking good otherwise! Enjoy your new cute friend

Yes, Halmahera. Can't tell sex, looking male but that's a far out wild guess. He's beautiful, all the best of luck with him. As previously mentioned, very high humidity.

Looks like a nice, healthy Halmahera BTS!

Congrats!

Thanks everyone! She’s in a PVC tank with 6” of substrate so the humidity should be pretty good to maintain. I’ll see how it goes and can block a few of the vents or add a Mist King if needed.

Wow, nice enclosure and even nicer looking skink! Congrats on your new friend! I'm new to skink keeping and also have a halmahera thats about 3-mo old.

jreignltp wrote:Wow, nice enclosure and even nicer looking skink! Congrats on your new friend! I'm new to skink keeping and also have a halmahera thats about 3-mo old.

Thanks! This one measures 14” total length, not sure about age but a fellow keeper put his guess on around a year.

Probably a good guess on age. Had one a few years back that reached 22" !! Awesome setup, that's a very lucky lizard!