Malakai doesn't "bask"

[MalakaisMum]

He doesn't come out and "bask". He comes out for 10 minutes maybe 15 warms a little, eats then hides back in his substrate. The warm end is about 30 degrees Celsius. He's in a 6 foot tank. The heat lamp is 60 watt. Do I need a higher wattage? He's about 10 weeks old. He seems to be growing ok too. Basking spot is 33.3 degrees Celsius.

[jdheff1982]

My concern is that his/her enclosure is too large for its age. He/she could be having trouble "finding" the basking spot. Usually, babies need a much smaller enclosure. As they grow, so does the enclosure. You may think about getting a 10 or 20 gallon tank or plastic tub to let the skink grow and have easy access to the basking area.

JMO

[MalakaisMum]

I got the bigger tank because there wasn't a big enough temperature gradient in a 3 foot tank. There was only 3 or 4 degrees difference. He didn't really bask in the smaller tank either.

[jdheff1982]

I keep my northern in a 3 foot wide tank and the temp gradient is easy to achieve. Under the basking lamp, temps are in the 90's (F); while the cool end is ambient (~70F).

Your basking temp is fine. What is the cool end temp? If the gradient isn't severe enough, you skink may not feel it needs to bask. Also keep in mind that skinks tend to hide during the hottest part of the day and come out very little during this time. I find my skink most active before noon and in the evenings when the sun begins to decline. Your skink may be basking, just when you are not around.

[MalakaisMum]

Cool end is about 25 degrees. I'm not too worried as I said because I know he comes out and eats.

[jdheff1982]

Apparently, you were worried enough to post this topic.

[Richard.C]

What sort of bluey,id probably up his basking spot temp closer to 40,ambients sound fine,if its eating and basking a bit sounds like its doing ok already,if it wanted to be warmer it would probably bask for a lot longer

[MalakaisMum]

Apparently, you were worried enough to post this topic.

Yes I'm worried about him not basking. I'm new to the world of bluey owners so I just want to make sure I'm doing the right thing.

[Katrina]

Apparently, you were worried enough to post this topic.

That's a bit rude - no need to stress a new owner who is just asking questions!

As long as he is eating and pooping, he is warm enough to digest. If the surface basking temperature is 33 degrees C it could be bumped up a bit moe - 35-37 degrees is perfect, but again - if he is pooping then he is warming up sufficiently to digest his food.

Some skinks don't bask much and some seem to hang out on the warm end all day. Even with the same species and same temperature gradients, I find there is a difference in the amount of time they spend basking. Watch for a healthy appetite and decent growth and let them handle thermoregulating (as long as a temperature gradient is provided - which it is here!).

[jdheff1982]

Apparently, you were worried enough to post this topic.

That's a bit rude - no need to stress a new owner who is just asking questions!

As long as he is eating and pooping, he is warm enough to digest. If the surface basking temperature is 33 degrees C it could be bumped up a bit moe - 35-37 degrees is perfect, but again - if he is pooping then he is warming up sufficiently to digest his food.

Some skinks don't bask much and some seem to hang out on the warm end all day. Even with the same species and same temperature gradients, I find there is a difference in the amount of time they spend basking. Watch for a healthy appetite and decent growth and let them handle thermoregulating (as long as a temperature gradient is provided - which it is here!).

How do you know? You have no idea what kind of context I was writing that in. OP first claimed that their skink wasn't basking; then, in the same post says their skink basks for 10 or 15 minutes before hiding again. Later on, the OP claims they are not too worried because the skink does eat. That's when I responded with my post and the OP's response to it seemed like they were not offended. No harm, no foul. Just one of the pitfalls of writing on the Internet.

[Katrina]

How do you know? You have no idea what kind of context I was writing that in. OP first claimed that their skink wasn't basking; then, in the same post says their skink basks for 10 or 15 minutes before hiding again. Later on, the OP claims they are not too worried because the skink does eat. That's when I responded with my post and the OP's response to it seemed like they were not offended. No harm, no foul. Just one of the pitfalls of writing on the Internet.

True - I just thought that you went a bit off topic and then tried to justify that. I could be completely wrong.

I've never heard of a bluey not finding the basking spot. Even in the those born into the expanse of the wild seem to do alright. I had two from several weeks old that I raised in the same tanks that the OP was talking about - they are now 7 years old and so being in individual 6 foot tanks for the first year didn't seem to hurt them at all. I know that with other reptiles people strongly recommend having a baby enclosure and then gradually upgrading to an adult sized enclosure, I've just never found the need with blueys. It seems to be a waste of time and money with blueys (in my opinion).

[Richard.C]

I think the small cage thing stems from folk struggling to heat a 6 footer to a decent temp

[MalakaisMum]

The tank temp at warm end is about 30 degrees basking spot about 34. He hasn't been out to eat for last 2 days. Could he be getting ready to shed? I checked on him yesterday and its the first time his got cranky at me, he actually flattened his body, hissed and showed me his tongue.

[saisaac]

I think the small cage thing stems from folk struggling to heat a 6 footer to a decent temp

Precisely! I find the idea that a lizard would get lost in a 12 square foot space rather silly. No, I might loose my keys in my house, but I can always find the fridge People used to say that larger enclosures caused issues on forums for other species that I used to frequent too. For example, I was once criticized for putting young crested geckos in 18x18x24 enclosures because they wouldn't find their food. Needless to say my geckos were nice and plump and never had any feeding issues.