General husbandry questions

[Dan]

Where do you place a large shallow bowl in your enclosure? Under the light on the warm end, or towards the cool end? I recognize that it is typically desirable to lower humidity rather than raise it (as would happen by causing a dish of water to evaporate), but perhaps cold water discourages necessary soaking prior to sheds.

Also, not to start an argument here but, what is the best substrate for babies, and at what point (age or size-wise) do they cease to require added precaution? I understand that impaction can be compounded by particularly tiny pelvic girdles, but some sort of burrowing medium would be tremendously appreciated, I'm sure. The other option might be to offer towels, layered cardboard, or a rucked persian carpet that he could explore. Somehow I feel that the tactile experience of digging has its merits though.

[bella3]

I put the water bowl on the cooler side of the tank because it would warm up too much under the light, plus the basking rock is under the light.
As for substrate I personally like Aspen, Juno burrows well in it, and she seems to like it, but so many people have different opinions on substrate, so I think in the end it may be a bit of a personal choice, what you think works the best. Hope that helps a bit, I'm still learning about all of this too

[Richard.C]

cool end to middle of cage i reckons best for water bowl,i like cool end in the corner,as they walk through it more in the middle,though being the lil adventurers they are they walk through it down cool end to,bella brought up another plus,keeps water cool down there to,when your thirsty do u like hot water or cold

as for best substrate,theres no right answer,so id say whats available in your area for a reasonable price,thats easy to clean and replace as needed and is of little concern about impaction issues if blueys consume it

[Jeff]

There is no single answer to either of your questions, but I use aspen shavings for my baby skinks until they hit about 6-8 months. It works great for me. I place my water bowls in a corner of the enclosure on the cool side. This is mostly to minimize the number of times a skink inadvertantly strolls through it. Nothing wrong with placing it somewhere else, this is just what I do.

[Richard.C]

generally they dont need a waterbowl to soak in for shedding,they should shed fine even with no water present,soaking is to aid them to shed if they havnt done it properly themselves,which happens,but isnt because of a lack of soaking options