Hello from Alberta, Canada

[Brooksy]

Greetings everyone,
I just thought I should introduce myself instead of just creeping the forums.
My name is Meg and I have one blue tongue skink and I am definitely not as experienced with them as I am with the other reptile species I keep. I have a pretty big crew that consists of various geckos, various snakes, various amphibians, various lizards, hermit crabs and a cat. I haven't named my blue tongue skink just yet, as I really don't know it's gender nor has the right name come to mind just yet.
I am thinking of starting up a snail colony as feeders for my BTS. I see lots of threads with mystery snail breeding, but can other aquatic snails be fed safely? I saw some pretty zebra ones before that would be nice to look at while they do their thing.
I look forward to gaining more in depth knowledge and getting to know everyone better.
Thanks
Meg

[Katrina]

Welcome fellow Albertan! I'm sure we'd all love to see pics of the entire crew (the OT section is the perfect place to show off the non-bluey pets).

I'm not sure about zebra snails specifically, but I'd assume any snail you can get to breed and feed healthy would be a great bluey snack.

[Ellie_A]

Hi Meg, you are going to love it here! If you post a picture of your skink I'm sure that people can sex it for you. I have fed zebra nerites to a puffer fish and he loved them but I can't tell you anything specifically about skinks eating them.

[Brooksy]

Thanks Ellie & Katrina. I'll be adding pics once I can get some decent ones. Speaking of that what are the best angles to get photos of to determine gender? He/she is still pretty skittish but slowly getting more used to me being around. I can tell he/she almost analyzes everything that happens and adapts to my routines. Still doesn't love me getting too close unless there's food as a result of the closeness.

[Katrina]

For gender, try to get top down / birds eye showing the entire body and tail as straight as you can get it. If your bluey is really young we probably won't be able to help until it is older. Looking forward to seeing some!

[Laurenk]

Welcome to the site Meg! I'm sure you'll find that everyone here is friendly and helpful. Trust me, this is a wonderful community to be part of.
Your fellow newbie,
Lauren

[Rhianimal]

Another welcome from Alberta! I'm not sure where you're located, but if you're in central or northern Alberta, the Edmonton Reptile Expo is coming up on the last weekend in May. I found the supplies there are usually decent buys and tickets support the reptile society. With that menagerie you may already be familiar, and you may also be too far away!

It's very rewarding when your skink warms up to you. I've kept other reptiles, but I've found my BTS to be the most interesting.

[Rifte]

Hey, I'm looking to get a blue tongue skink and live in Alberta (calgary) too. Whereabouts did you get your skink from? From what I understand there's not too many places locally that sell/breed babies..

[ljhinders]

Welcome! I'm new to skinks too and looking forward to learning here and meeting great ppl on the way

[Ellie_A]

Hey, I'm looking to get a blue tongue skink and live in Alberta (calgary) too. Whereabouts did you get your skink from? From what I understand there's not too many places locally that sell/breed babies..

Hi Rifte, I would recommend contacting Mel (Fatal_S). She is in Manitoba and will probably have babies for sale again this year.

[Rifte]

Hey, I'm looking to get a blue tongue skink and live in Alberta (calgary) too. Whereabouts did you get your skink from? From what I understand there's not too many places locally that sell/breed babies..

Hi Rifte, I would recommend contacting Mel (Fatal_S). She is in Manitoba and will probably have babies for sale again this year.

Yeah, a lot of people on other sites have been recommending her, so she's pretty much the only option I have in terms of reputable breeders close(ish) to me.

Is there anyone you guys know of in Alberta?

[Ellie_A]

Katrina who is on the forum is from Alberta and previously bred bluies, not sure if she will have any this year. I'm in Saskatoon and am hoping to have babies this year though I'm not sure yet.

[Brooksy]

Another welcome from Alberta! I'm not sure where you're located, but if you're in central or northern Alberta, the Edmonton Reptile Expo is coming up on the last weekend in May. I found the supplies there are usually decent buys and tickets support the reptile society. With that menagerie you may already be familiar, and you may also be too far away!

It's very rewarding when your skink warms up to you. I've kept other reptiles, but I've found my BTS to be the most interesting.

I'll be volunteering for the ERAS show in a few weeks, as I'm from Edmonton and a member of the society actually . I attend most meetings and other events when possible. Will you be there?
My BTS just started his/her first shed with me yesterday, and wow they certainly shed differently than I imagined. Little dude is more grumpy from it, so hopefully it's not a drawn out process. But the color underneath is gorgeous, so pictures will be taken then for sure.

[auristi]

Hello hello!!! Yay so many people in Alberta! I am just outside red deer. For zebra snails I don't think they work well!! My bts kahless could not break through the shells. We eventually had to take a hammer to them, and even THEN my fiancé and I had trouble breaking them. Let me know if you have any luck using them, or if anyone else has - I'm wondering if I got a bad batch or if I was just an over protective mommy who didn't want him to hurt himself on the shells.

[Rifte]

Katrina who is on the forum is from Alberta and previously bred bluies, not sure if she will have any this year. I'm in Saskatoon and am hoping to have babies this year though I'm not sure yet.

Alright, I'll keep an eye out then! Around what months would this likely happen?

[Ellie_A]

It has been about 80 days since they were bred so babies could come as early as a couple of weeks from now or they could take as long as a couple of months. There will definitely be a birth announcement post as soon as it happen!