my solution for damons temporal lonleyness

[BTSspartan]

i had to leave for the rest of the afternoon after i brought him home and while i was out i was thinking what happens if he gets lonely while im at school so i stoped by a pet store and they had a tiki head i thought he would like and he hasent left its side since its been in his tank

i thought you guys would love to hear this

[Nae]

Sounds cute

Although, dont worry too much about him getting lonely - They are naturally solitary creatures, so if anything he probably enjoys the peace and quiet while you are at school

[BTSspartan]

well all his previous owners were with him alot so hes a attention hog so therefore he dose become lonely after a while

[Katrina]

Sounds cute, but like Nae said they don't get lonely. They are solitary creatures and while curious and will come out to see what is happening, they don't need companionship or anything. He won't mind that you are away or get lonely.

[BTSspartan]

when im gone he dose nothing and when i get back he comes to the front and greets me

i fed him his first meal since hes arrived and he ate the chicken out of my hand yay

[Jeff]

That's great that things are going so well with your new skink! They are really remarkable creatures. It is always a temptation to project human thoughts and emotions on them, but as others have said, they are not capable of feeling loneliness. They just don't have the necessary parts in their brain to feel emotions. Don't worry about leaving him alone while you are at school. Just make sure he has everything he needs and he will most likely "enjoy" his time alone even more than the time when that scary human is grabbing him out of his cage to play with him. Honestly, I'm sure he would love you if he could, it's just that he is a reptile, and reptiles don't know how to love.

[Iceman]

I think that part of why you may think he is lonely is that he is "bored". I know that bored is not quite the right word for this, perhaps "unstimulated" would be better suited to this application. When you are home, the skink may be more stimulated by the amount of activity around him. A lack of stimulation during the day is not necessarily a bad thing though, a skink can only be active and "on" for so much time each day, much of the time they are more sedentary. One thing that I have found helps keep skinks slightly stimulated while I am away is some level sound, something that we humans may find soothing. For my guys it's the output from the turtle filters. I don't know that this sound keeps them more stimulated, but they seem to be more "content" to move about the cage in a serene manner, rather than scrambling at the walls or burrowing incessantly. As far as reptiles in general being unable to feel loneliness, it is my opinion that this is mostly true. However, a select few species have significantly lower stress levels when kept in pairs or small groups. The species that I have worked with that experience this include Prehensile-Tailed Skinks, Redfooted Tortoises, and Black Mambas (and to a lesser extent some species of Green Mambas).

[Jeff]

I think that part of why you may think he is lonely is that he is "bored". I know that bored is not quite the right word for this, perhaps "unstimulated" would be better suited to this application. When you are home, the skink may be more stimulated by the amount of activity around him. A lack of stimulation during the day is not necessarily a bad thing though, a skink can only be active and "on" for so much time each day, much of the time they are more sedentary. One thing that I have found helps keep skinks slightly stimulated while I am away is some level sound, something that we humans may find soothing. For my guys it's the output from the turtle filters. I don't know that this sound keeps them more stimulated, but they seem to be more "content" to move about the cage in a serene manner, rather than scrambling at the walls or burrowing incessantly. As far as reptiles in general being unable to feel loneliness, it is my opinion that this is mostly true. However, a select few species have significantly lower stress levels when kept in pairs or small groups. The species that I have worked with that experience this include Prehensile-Tailed Skinks, Redfooted Tortoises, and Black Mambas (and to a lesser extent some species of Green Mambas).

I understand what you are saying about the loneliness, but I interpret the "need" of some reptiles to be kept in pairs or groups as an instinctual awareness that this is necessary in order to continue their species, not a "feeling" that they prefer company. Some species need to seek out companionship as a matter of survival. That doesn't necessarily mean they feel anything. They are just following their instincts which only lead to the continuation of their genes.

I am convinced that there is a possibility of something similar to boredom in reptiles who lack stimulation though. I don't think it causes unhappy feelings, but rather just affects external behavior. Some would interpret this as a negative, but I see it neutral. Skinks LEARN that lack of stimulation = lack of danger, and so their awareness level may drop. I don't think this is a good thing, I just don't think that it is necessarily that bad either. Most captive skinks are "fat and happy", meaning they don't have any reason to be stressed out the way wild skinks need to be in order to survive.

[BTSspartan]

im going to post some pics of him in his tank tomorrow so you can see and i dont grab or pull him out of his tank alot today i only took him out for about 5 min to introduce him to out pet sitter that comes by sometimes

[Katrina]

im going to post some pics of him in his tank tomorrow so you can see and i dont grab or pull him out of his tank alot today i only took him out for about 5 min to introduce him to out pet sitter that comes by sometimes

I don't think you understand - my skinks do that as well. They come to the glass when we come home (some more so than others) because they are curious. The behavior isn't unusual, it just isn't loneliness. Like Jeff said - that is a human emotion. It is easy to try to describe pets, especially reptiles, through things that we feel and understand as humans but it isn't accurate. Instead of trying to see your skink as a little person it is best to try to understand them as a reptile - it will help you meet their needs better and help you understand why they act the way they do better. This doesn't mean in any way that they are "less" than humans or not intelligent or anything - it is just that they are different.

All that said, it would be great to see some new pics of him and his home!!

[Iceman]

Thank you for clarifying what I was trying to say. Just because a reptile "prefers" to be in close physical proximity with another reptile does not mean that they are lonely. This is usually a simple response to a natural stimulus. Certainly reptiles can lack stimulus in a bad way, but they can also lack stimulus in a good way (they don't need to escape from predators, etc.). So saying that a lack of stimulus is a neutral is probably correct overall, but lack of certain stimulus can average as an overall negative or an overall positive. I think that what this means is that we should stimulate our captive reptiles in a variety of ways, both positive and (slightly) negative in order to induce a slightly more natural behavior. To this some may say "well why don't you keep your skinks in naturalistic outdoor exhibits in their native range?" Basically for me it is because I want a middle ground between "stressed out wild skink" and "obese lethargic captive". When it comes down to it, I think most keepers would rather have a "fat and happy" skink than a more natural animal. I can't really blame them either. A fat happy captive is more likely to tolerate handling, being watched, and even just being in the same room with moderately sized mammals (Humans). Getting back to Jeff's previous post, I also believe that reptiles lack the capacity for feelings as we humans view them. I also believe that skink lovers should work with some more intelligent species (not saying that skinks aren't, but compared to crocodilians and elapids, they aren't exactly the brightest) in order to get a feel for the true intelligence and capabilities of reptiles.

[Jeff]

Just to make sure it's clear, I don't think I disagree with a single thing you have said Iceman. My intent was only to add to what you posted.

[Iceman]

Perfectly clear, thank you for adding to what I had said. I'm sorry if I came across as argumentative or combative, that was not my intent.