Does your bluey keep you up at night?

[Katrina]

I've had him for about 3-5 months now. He was very friendly at the begining. Hes in a 30 gallon tank while his old one craked right down the middle and started to look dangerous but that was months ago I am trying to find a new tank or build one. Any one know how to cut tempered glass?

Please post pictures of Marvin as well as Marvin's home. We can help determine what might be the problem and if he actually is looking skinny. He definitely sounds stressed - biting, lunging and moving around all night is something a stressed skink would do.

[WanderingChai]

In my opinion, a 30 gallon is TINY, even for a skink like Tea Cup(12" long). Definitely get a 40 gallon breeder(36"x18"12") or bigger. Sorry if I sound harsh, but Tea Cup already feels crowded in hers.

[Bird_Brain]

In my opinion, a 30 gallon is TINY, even for a skink like Tea Cup(12" long). Definitely get a 40 gallon breeder(36"x18"12") or bigger. Sorry if I sound harsh, but Tea Cup already feels crowded in hers.

Actually, a 30 breeder is (36"x18"x12") and a 40 breeder is (36"x18"x16"). So while the 30 may sound smaller, the skink is able to use the same amount of space as they would a 40.

And just to prove that when talking about cage size in gallons is irrelevant to floor space, a 30 gal breeder has more floor space than a 55 gal (30 has 4.5sq ft and the 55 has 4sq ft). Obviously a 30 and 40 have the same floor size.

[phaemas]

I'm saving up to get him a new cage, One thats home made so I can make sure the size fits my room. I tryed to make one out of tempered glass but it shattered when was cut. So we are planning to buy old window frames and make one out of that one.

[Katrina]

Can you please post pictures of Marvin and the enclosure so we can see if he looks underweight or if there is something his home could use?

[ILoveMyMonsters]

I haven't had that issue yet. Gauge is out by 9-10pm and doesn't wake up until well into the next afternoon. Sleeps like a baby.

[critterguy]

My guy is usually out within half an hour of the lights going out. They seem to be creatures of routine...if I go to bed early he is often scrabbling around the tank for a bit...but gets tucked in soon enough.

They do wake up early as well to get breakfast(any food they didn't finish yesterday)

[Adalon]

Adalon takes an afternoon nap between basking and then by about 4-5:00 he gets a drink of water and then goes to his hide to sleep. It's kind of funny how grumpy he can get if I wake him up; he refuses to open his eyes for 10-15 seconds and just hisses over and over (no aggression or anything like that, just a 'HEY I'M TRYING TO SLEEP HERE LEAVE ME ALONE' series of hisses) before finally squinting his eyes and flicking his tongue a few times to realize whats going on. He will stay up til almost 9:00 when I have him out with me, but after that he just goes to sleep at the nearest comfy spot. Also during this summer he would occasionally wake me up in the morning by pushing things against the glass or his hide until I turned on his basking light, but more recently on cold nights he stays in his heated hide until I wake up and turn on the lights.


As for your own skink, from what I've read I think you already know what you should be doing. A 30 gallon tank for a 3 year old skink is much too small even if it's long and wide, I think the minimum for any adult skink is around 55 gallons. Skinks are not nocturnal animals and shouldn't be doing much at night; make sure all lights are off and perhaps lower temps to 70-80F with a secure hide for him to sleep in. I think some skinks prefer sleeping burrowed in their substrate as well so you could try giving him more substrate to burrow in and see if that helps. Regular feeding times I think are a great idea; I recall reading somewhere about how feeding at night can cause digestion problems because they do most of their digestion while basking (anyone confirm?). Any kind of aggression worries me if he's not typically aggressive, my first reaction would be to check for injuries, stuck shed or inflamed eyes/mouth and then check for anything that could be stressing him in and around his enclosure.

[Bird_Brain]

A 30 gallon tank for a 3 year old skink is much too small even if it's long and wide, I think the minimum for any adult skink is around 55 gallons.

I am just going to copy and paste what I have written a couple post above. What you are stating is actually contradicting yourself because in reality, a 30gal/40gal breeder tank will give the skink MORE room than a 55gal

Actually, a 30 breeder is (36"x18"x12") and a 40 breeder is (36"x18"x16"). So while the 30 may sound smaller, the skink is able to use the same amount of space as they would a 40.

And just to prove that when talking about cage size in gallons is irrelevant to floor space, a 30 gal breeder has more floor space than a 55 gal (30 has 4.5sq ft and the 55 has 4sq ft). Obviously a 30 and 40 have the same floor size.

[Bird_Brain]

phaemas- Just curious, but are you going to post pictures as asked?

[phaemas]

Lost cameraO_O.

I know his cage is tiny and i'm working on trying to get him a bigger one but right now I have to save up for a vet fee.

[Nae]

Try having a look around for free tanks - I believe Ive mentioned this on a few threads, but if you ask and look around, you would not believe how many people are willing to give you or at least sell you one for very cheap, big tanks.

Nearly everyone seems to go through a large fishtank stage. But if they loose interest, the cost gets too much, a crack in the tank and they arent interested in a reptile or hermit crabs, the tank just sits around. But unlike small tanks, a large tank is rather bothersome to store. Same with fish stores.

Plus, if its free, dont worry if it looks shoddy or anything - At least Marvin will be happy and once you can afford a new tank, pass it on to someone else - Its not as if you paid for it!