Blueys digging

[Scotts1au]

I spose I just wanted to make a comment about blueys digging and potentially digging out of outdoor enclosures.

In the last couple of weeks my blueys have woken up and despite having made several enclosures before and not having had escapes suddenly I have found myself in a situation where a couple of them have learnt that they can dig their way out. I found one of my blueys in my garden shed and another half way out of a hole. They had dug 10-15cm down out and under a concrete slab for my shed build adjacent to the enclosure to enact their great escape.

Moral of the story is that no they don't get out as easily as other animals but they do dig, they seem to learn what works for them and repeat the behaviour. Anyway - day off work today - off to hardware store to buy a bag of premix mortar.

Live and learn. Don't underestimate them.

Some photos.

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[RoryBreaker]

The same can be said for what tries to dig into the enclosure.

I have heard of horror stories where rats have burrowed into an outdoor enclosure during the winter and have attacked/fed on brumating skinks. A layer of mesh below the substrate works well for the medium term ( it will eventually perish/rust away though).

[Richard.C]

I had them do that years ago with my old rain water tank cage,was only 3 or 4 inches into ground ,and they retryed after there first success,definatly dont underestimate them,i over kill cages now,tin at least a foot into ground and rubble but on inside perimeter against tin base for peace of mind,with water dragons in there to its parr nessesity as they burrow to hibernate and often lay eggs around edge of cage

Grrr,ive suffered rat attack,seen the damage they can do

[Scotts1au]

The fix

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The cement is now continuous with the slab.

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I there is at least 15 cm of tin into the ground around most of the enclosure, however on the corner they got out of I assumed that the concrete slab from the shed was continuous alas not. Moral to the story - if there is a weak spot they will find it.

I had to litterally pick the blueys up and move them -cos they weren't going to move from their nice warm spot so I could work

[Jeff]

When you watch how some blueys scratch at their indoor enclosures for what seems like hours at a time sometimes, It's easy to see how they could dig through dirt quite easily. I'm curious to see if they scratch/dig at the dirt in front of your new mortar Scott. It seems like some blueys just have the instinct to look for a way out. I would think that every outdoor enclosure that houses multiple skinks would have some area where at least some of the skinks scratch or dig.

[Lea]

It seems mine have already started a hole, right in the middle of their new enclosure though, goodness knows why! I think maybe they found some juicy bugs, then just kept on scratching, hoping for more. The fences are dug in a good 15cm, like yours, Scott. Luckily, two sides are buffered by concrete slabs on the fence and walls, too.