Help With Crocodile Skink?

Feel free to post pictures, information, articles or anything else related to other skink species.
Forum rules
Topics may be anything to do with other skink species, keeping within the forum rules. Topics related to other lizard species, apart from skinks, are not permitted, but these can still be posted on the general off topic forum.
MissLissa
Bluey Beginner
Bluey Beginner
Posts: 1
Joined: Sun Aug 31, 2014 9:32 am
Country:
Location: Canada

Help With Crocodile Skink?

Postby MissLissa » Sun Aug 31, 2014 10:18 am

Hello!

I recently acquired a Muddy Eyed Crocodile Skink (T. novaeguineae), through my work, at an exotic veterinary clinic, from a fellow who was keeping her in some pretty sub-par conditions. I brought her home this past Tuesday, after an injectable dewormer (she has a pretty heavy parasite load) from our reptile vet. She is also on a liquid calcium supplement, as her previous home was not supplementing her at all. I strongly suspect she was wild caught and he did admit to purchasing her from one of the less reputable pet stored in the area.

Since I got her, she has been refusing to eat. I have tried crickets and mealworms (her main previous diet), as well as silkworms, and waxworms. I'm having trouble sourcing anything else to try (butterworms, waxworms, etc). She seems interested in food- she watched them wriggle around very intently- but she doesn't go for them. I've tried feeding her on the morning (after the lights come on, and after a misting when she is most active) and she does seem interested, but won't eat. If I leave the food overnight or if I leave the room for a few hours it does disappear, but I suspect the food is escaping more than she is eating. She did poop the first three days I had her (Wednesday, Thursday, Friday) but did not poop yesterday and has not pooped today. She is quite active, and rarely hides in her new set up even though she has plenty of places to retreat to, now (her previous home only had one single hide on the warm side, where she spent literally all of her time). I have seen her soaking in her pool, and drinking water droplets off the fake plants and glass panes.

Her set up:
10g aquarium (old fishtank i had laying around) 20"L x 10"W x 12.5"T
Hydroballs for drainage, and a 2-3" Eco Earth/Plantation Soil/Jungle Bedding/sphagnum moss substrate
Large water dish/pool
Multiple hides
25 watt red heat bulb suspended above mesh top, and small UTH (UTH alone was not warm enough- my ambient temperature is on the cool side)
15 watt UVB bulb, upon reptile vet's recommendation
Mesh top, 1/2 covered by towel to help keep humidity in.

Her parameters:
Humidity: 82-85% (digital, and corroborated by the silly plastic in-tank gauge I have)
High Temp: 87-88F (one specific spot on top of her log jumps to 90F)
Low Temp: 75-76F
Her weight on Wednesday: 40g - I have not yet reweighed her as I am reluctant to handle her and cause her more stress.

Her enclosure:
Image

Meet "Toothless" the Crocodile Skink: (taken at the vet; I haven't been handling her at all)
Image

Does anyone have any suggestions on how I can encourage this lady to eat something? I know they can go a while without food- but it's been at least 5 days,and possibly longer than that, and I am starting to get concerned!
User avatar
Ophidiophile
The Rock'n Roll Science Nerd
The Rock'n Roll Science Nerd
Posts: 555
Joined: Sun Dec 04, 2011 5:49 pm
Country:
Location: Rocky Mountain High, Colorado USA
Contact:

Re: Help With Crocodile Skink?

Postby Ophidiophile » Sun Sep 14, 2014 5:18 pm

Your setup seems good to me. Croc skinks are very secretive and if the prey items are disappearing, I bet it's eating them. In the wild these guys hang out in and under rotting palms, which forms a loose mulch as it rots. Various beetles lay eggs in the rotting palms and the skinks feast on the larvae. They are not really pursuers of fast prey - they prefer to chow down on wriggling larvae that are there and easy to obtain. So I'd stick with larval prey and probably not bother too much with crickets. They will also take newborn pinkies as an occasional snack. Maybe use a deeper dish that the prey cannot get out of so you'll know that if they are gone, they've been eaten?
David P. Tracer
Ophidiophile Farms
http://www.ophidiophile.com
Ophidiophiles are Snake Lovers!

2.4 Northern BTS
2.2 Eastern BTS
2.0.6 Tanimbar BTS
0.1 Irian Jaya BTS
1.1 Blotched BTS
3.2 Indonesian BTS
6.7 Merauke BTS
4.5.8 Kei Island BTS

Return to “Other Skink Species”

Who is online

Users browsing this forum: No registered users and 12 guests