Sleeping on top of substrate

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kayla990
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Sleeping on top of substrate

Postby kayla990 » Mon Jun 25, 2018 11:29 pm

So a quick question about sleeping habits: Do you guys also have a Bluey who sleeps on top of their substrate/rocks? As Maya has done this for a a few months already (where he'll go into his cave for a nap in the evening, but then sneaks back out around 10pm to sleep somewhere else). It used to be in the back of his tank, but more recently he'll sleep at the front (which is adorable to see! he's quite a heavy sleeper, rarely wakes up as we're walking around etc..). Here's yesterday and the day before, today he's in a similar position as I type this :)

sleepy1.jpg
(taken just as the basking light was starting to turn on, but he kept sleeping for a little bit. Can see the humidity meter is closeby)

sleepy3.jpg


Any thoughts on if this is unusual? With him being a Halmahera I was a bit concerned by the humidity levels of him sleeping in the open, but his sheds are still very quick and he's still very active during the day (the tank naturally raises to around 95% humidity in the evening, around 85% in the morning). It's a little odd in some ways that he's always out and about! We did a full substrate change recently in case that was the problem, but still seems to prefer to sleep out xD
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Re: Sleeping on top of substrate

Postby Suzle87 » Tue Jun 26, 2018 12:39 am

Don't know how normal it is but I have been asking the same question as Ventress sleeps out in the open now (curled up yesterday instead of stretched out which looked very cute and the other day he put the fear of god into me by sleeping with his head on the edge of his water bowl)
I would presume it's just that they feel secure enough to sleep where they like? I will be interested to hear the views of people more in the know about this though!
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Re: Sleeping on top of substrate

Postby kingofnobbys » Tue Jun 26, 2018 1:36 am

indicates the skink feels very safe and secure and doesn't feel it needs to hide itself/ my two old eastern bluetongues and my beardie and water skink all often sleep on top their hides. I regularly move my gang into their hides before I go to bed, especially now it's winter, …. none show any interest in brumation.

I've also had wild skinks who have taken up residence in my house do the same , sleeping on the head rest or arm rest of our lounge within 2 feet of me , even looking over our shoulders , or sitting on the lounge with inches of me …. shows they trust us and feel safe and secure with us .
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Re: Sleeping on top of substrate

Postby kayla990 » Tue Jun 26, 2018 2:24 am

kingofnobbys wrote:indicates the skink feels very safe and secure and doesn't feel it needs to hide itself...
Ahhh that's adorable, glad it's not uncommon afterall!

So cute all of yours are sleeping in similar ways (including the wild ones!) it's fascinating how reptile trust works vs. mammals :D very cute critters!

Suzle87 wrote:Don't know how normal it is but I have been asking the same question as Ventress sleeps out in the open now
That's so funny Ventress has been too - awesome we're seeing similar behaviours! So sweet when you see them sleeping ^__^ Glad it seems to be a positive thing!
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Re: Sleeping on top of substrate

Postby Suzle87 » Tue Jun 26, 2018 2:51 am

Suzle87 wrote:Don't know how normal it is but I have been asking the same question as Ventress sleeps out in the open now
That's so funny Ventress has been too - awesome we're seeing similar behaviours! So sweet when you see them sleeping ^__^ Glad it seems to be a positive thing![/quote]

I will try and get a picture of him tonight if I get chance, he sleeps in some brilliantly bizarre positions. Maya and Ventress seem to be very alike in their funny habits.
PS if my quote thing doesn't work right on this someone is going to have to clue me up on how to quote smaller sections of text from other posts haha.
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Re: Sleeping on top of substrate

Postby kingofnobbys » Tue Jun 26, 2018 6:29 am

Suzle87 wrote:I will try and get a picture of him tonight if I get chance, he sleeps in some brilliantly bizarre positions. Maya and Ventress seem to be very alike in their funny habits.
PS if my quote thing doesn't work right on this someone is going to have to clue me up on how to quote smaller sections of text from other posts haha.


Skinks , dragons and geckos are very good at sleeping in very goofy and (to us) very uncomfortable looking positions …. it's part of their character and charm ….
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Re: Sleeping on top of substrate

Postby splashy07 » Tue Jun 26, 2018 8:45 am

Sometimes mine do, sometimes they don't. Nothing abnormal or unusual about it. As King mentioned, if they feel secure and no need to hide while sleeping that's the sign of a content lizard.
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Re: Sleeping on top of substrate

Postby kayla990 » Tue Jun 26, 2018 1:10 pm

splashy07 wrote:Nothing abnormal or unusual about it.
Thanks for the confirmation :D Great to know!

Haha yep King; some very goofy sleeping positions across the reptile world :D

Suzle87 wrote:PS if my quote thing doesn't work right on this someone is going to have to clue me up on how to quote smaller sections of text from other posts haha.
I find the easiest way is while typing a reply to highlight the text you want and to use the quotation marks at the top of their post ^__^ if you press the quotation mark straight away, seems to use the full quote (but can delete text in between the [ ] format to shorten it too).
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Re: Sleeping on top of substrate

Postby Janella » Tue Jun 26, 2018 6:36 pm

You guys, have happy and content lizards. Completely normal :-)
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Re: Sleeping on top of substrate

Postby Suzle87 » Wed Jun 27, 2018 12:35 am

Don’t know how well these pics will show up as they are pretty dark and blurry on my phone, but here is Ventress sleeping with his head on his water bowl the other day.
177FEE04-BFCD-436A-807C-2D2F9F5E084A.jpeg
66CE52BB-DC57-4734-AED7-6837A4D2C940.jpeg


And here he is last night opting for the behind the log sleeping option
3AC47430-A386-4F75-91F7-EC697E5CD4AA.jpeg


I just wish I’d got a picture when he fell asleep with his head in his dry food bowl!
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Re: Sleeping on top of substrate

Postby kayla990 » Wed Jun 27, 2018 1:16 am

Janella wrote:You guys, have happy and content lizards. Completely normal :-)
Yay :D It's so adorable to know that it's common!

So sweet with Ventress! Looks a cosy spot ^__^
Suzle87 wrote:I just wish I’d got a picture when he fell asleep with his head in his dry food bowl!
Haha, n'aaaw.. maybe dreaming of his next meal..!
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Re: Sleeping on top of substrate

Postby Suzle87 » Wed Jun 27, 2018 2:53 am

Kayla990 is that a water fall i spy in your vivarium in the corner? if so was it easy enough to set up and have you had any problems with Maya knocking it over/ moving it?
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Re: Sleeping on top of substrate

Postby kayla990 » Wed Jun 27, 2018 7:11 am

Suzle87 wrote:Kayla990 is that a water fall i spy in your vivarium in the corner?
It is! An Exo Terra waterfall (can't recall if it's a medium or large model). Decided to get a pre-made one instead of making one myself (again, tried that before and it was a lot of maintenance and modifying!).

Under normal circumstances I think he would be able to get under it or knock it over but we've got it really tightly wedged between the tank glass and the concrete on the rocks (I struggle to move it too). We used a dremel on the waterfall to take away sections that stuck out to make it fit (the white lines that look like masking tape) the top half isn't secured much, but he's not pushed that over so far - despite often climbing it to peek out the tank. If we didn't have the concrete/glass to wedge it in I would try the following (just in case you're thinking of getting one!)

1. Superglue or silicone a really big rock onto the floor of the glass, then silicone the base of the waterfall ontop of that (weighing it down with a larger rock inside until it's all dried). If it's in a corner of the tank, less chance of getting behind it. It could be possible using really heavy duty velcro if you'd want it to be removable (but not sure how well it'll hold vs. a persistent bluey!)

2. Making a DiY splash pool - getting a large heavy dish, fill with large river rocks and put a small pump in the base of the dish (worked well before, but Maya was confused by the glass dish we used.. so took it out. Ideally a large dish that isn't see-through will work better!). If you try this don't use medium-small pebbles, they may try to eat them thinking it's huge snails xD

If I think of another method I'll let you know, I'm sure there was a #3 but forgot it ^__^
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Re: Sleeping on top of substrate

Postby Suzle87 » Wed Jun 27, 2018 7:29 am

great thanks for that Kayla, It was one of the many things on my list to get him eventually so i think i will look into it once pay day creeps round. i will definitely have to attach it to a heavy rock and possibly velcro the sides aswell just incase because he is like a little bulldozer when he gets going.
thanks again for the info! :thumbs:

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