Conventional Wisdoms

[Richard.C]

Surely people in the usa should stop breeding the 4 common sub species of rugosa,westerns and centralians,blotcheds,even the occaisionally available eastern and pretty rare northerns and soley concentrate on the ultra ultra rare indo species,there in way more trouble of being lost to captivity,being the only legal wild collected species and all

Dakota,saying to buy cbb isnt an insult to indos,its saying you will likely have less health issues starting out with genuine cbb rather than wild caughts or babies of such,thats common sense,cbb generally dont suffer the same stresses as imports

[Dakota]

I think other species should be looked at (occi, multi, nigro, and s. sincoides) not just the Indonesians. If there are man made morphs of a certain species starting to come out, maybe it is time to start focusing on the less commonly bred species? Or is that just me?

[Fatal_S]

Conventional wisdoms for breeders (this applied to all species, not just blueys):
If you have a male and female of the same species, you are a breeder.
If your imported female happens to be gravid and gives birth, you are a breeder.
If you're housing a pair together and accident-babies occur, you are a breeder.
If you throw animals together haphazardly until you manage to get a litter, you are a breeder.
Congratulations on becoming a breeder. You may now brag to everyone about how awesome you are at breeding. Your official-breeder button is probably in the mail.

[Scincoides]

Dakota you can't even get babies out of your gravid female! (just in case you took it the wrong way, that was a joke) Anyways, I've only had the Meraukes for 5-6 months now, and I'm pairing them frequently with no results. I've bred Northerns in the past, I'm trying to breed Indos now, chances are I'll have no Indos and a bunch of Northerns in the spring. Its not that i m not trying, or don't care about the Indos. Its just that they are more difficult.

[Fatal_S]

The northerns are commonly bred because they happen to make fantastic pets. They're friendly, hardy, and all around fantastic. There are few other species that can match them, and unfortunately those species are either extremely rare or refuse to play nice and breed in captivity. Even if you managed to breed thousands of indos, northerns would still be the far superior pet skink.
(Obviously there are people like me who prefer the non-pet species, but I acknowledge how fantastic northerns are as pet skinks).

[RoryBreaker]

Conventional wisdom says we can blame Scott for this thread!

[Dakota]

It isn't even time for them to breed yet, man.. think positive. Jos lets his skinks do all the work, and they don't even start until February or so.

[Dakota]

Even if you managed to breed thousands of indos, northerns would still be the far superior pet skink.

Look at the Blood Pythons. WC ones are very aggressive and will not tolerate humans.. now that there are 5 or 6 generations of captive breeding, they overal start to tame down a bit. Same way with Tokay Geckos.

And I would disagree with that statement to top that off.

[Scincoides]

Different climate and he houses them together. I have to be super attentive and pair frequently so that i dont miss the window. Housing individually is going to make this a little difficult. But soo much more rewarding if it happens like its supposed to. Not to mention i live at a higher altitude. It got cold here over a month ago. I have to run the heater every night just to keep the house at 68 f

[Scincoides]

And I would disagree with that statement to top that off.

How many northerns have you kept to compare?

[Fatal_S]

They may start to tame down, and don't get me wrong - they are awesome, but they will never be as popular as northerns for the average person. In the same way bloods will never match balls, and tokays will never match cresties. That doesn't mean they're not worth breeding of course, just that it's not the ideal pet in that category.

[Dakota]

Do I need to compare? My opinion is that they are not. Very simply put. Like Mel thinks they are, all just an opinion.

[donkeybuff]

I don't think you can form an accurate opinion that compares two things without having experience with each one.

[Dakota]

Conventional wisdom says Northerns are better because they are bred readily in the U.S. while not giving gigas the chance because they are not.

[Fatal_S]

Except that I've dealt with multiples of both species. Indos are simply not as naturally friendly and as hardy as northerns. They require a bit more specialized care and someone who's willing to put a bit more time into taming them. They're not bad pets by any means, they're just not as ideal for the average person. I personally prefer indos over northerns, but I am capable of understanding that most people looking for pets would think otherwise.

[Scincoides]

Yes you absolutely need to keep both to form an unbiased opinion. Look at mels site. She has meraukes. She has kept indos and Northerns and formed an opinion. Again you cant say, Gigas are better than Scincoides because you decided to get meraukes. As far as what species makes for a better pet, you absolutely have to have to have one of each to compare.

[donkeybuff]

I think conventional wisdom says northerns are better for the majority of skink owners in the U.S. because the majority of skink owners in the U.S. want an animal with the easiest care and the best temperament possible. This is only achievable through captive breeding. Many people are giving gigas a chance, but gigas can't be considered better for the average skink owner in the U.S. until captive breeding becomes better understood. This is coming from someone who owns both gigas and scincoides.

[Ray Gurgui]

They import them by the thousands every year , so why bother having to compete with those prices .
And yes they are EASY to breed , you have to time it right.

I told Susan how to breed them on chat, and she is doing a great job with them !

[Dakota]

They import them by the thousands every year , so why bother having to compete with those prices .
And yes they are EASY to breed , you have to time it right.

I told Susan how to breed them on chat, and she is doing a great job with them !

Thank you.

[Scincoides]

Good job ray, now im going to feel extra dumb if it doesnt happen for me