Random small questions

[Linnea]

1. Every time litchie has shed, he leaves the last part of the tail unshed. There is no other problem, other than that. is there some way to prevent it? hes already got a humid hide when he sheds, and i bathe him an extra time 2 days after shed.

2. I picked up a brick from our garden and washed it, how do i prevent it from becoming too warm? Is it safe for them to bask on? ( i washed it with good, non toxic stuff)

UPDATE: i put the brick in, despite the light being off, hes been checking it out for 20 mins already. ill monitor the heat tomorrow to make sure its ok.

3. is it safe to have an aquarium by a terrarium? Are there any known complications?

4. ive bought 5 100W heat lamps to ensure hes got plenty of heat even in winter, but if the electricity goes down, i wont be able to heat a ricebag ( my extra idea lol..). any suggestions that could help me prepare? (ive probably asked this before, but im very nervous and forgetful)

Thanks for reading and maybe responding to any of my silly questions x) here are two photos lol. Hes getting bigger, sadly i cannot weight him, but hes eating like a horse, and is approx 45 cm, still shedding every month.


btw, i found out he likes blackberries almost as much as banana. He will now eat them from my hand : D

i have a video on my phone but i cant send it to my comp......

[xxmonitorlizardxx]

I think andrew should steal litchie...

[Linnea]

I think andrew should steal litchie...

steal? O__O

[xxmonitorlizardxx]

I think andrew should steal litchie...

steal? O__O

borrow?

[Linnea]

I think andrew should steal litchie...

steal? O__O

borrow?

why borrow Litchie? D: and wait, who is andrew? xD

the orange colour on the second photo is enhanced by the lightbulb light( i cant edit it), but the one on the first photo looks proper : ) if thats what you meant. but his orange is lovely after shed : D even now, a week after.

EDIT: i remembered who andrew was, i asked him about Litchies origin a few months ago, and he said litchie probably wasnt one he had bred. random info lol.

[Fatal_S]

1) Because the tail doesn't move much it does tend to be harder to shed. If he has that part a few days after shed, you can see about removing it to keep his tail safe and pretty. Making sure there's lots of things to rub against and tunnel under and such usually helps too (if you don't have it already)

2) IMO so long as you can hold your hand on it without burning, and the skink can't touch the heat source, there's no big issue.

3) Not a big concern I think. Aquariums can boost humidity in the area around them. Keep an eye out for issues like mold in the skink tank. Also, having all the electronics in one area could possibly overload the breaker. I can't think of any other problems.

4) If the electricity goes down, can you still get warm water? A warm water bottle is good. Other options include the little self-heating hand-warmer things that are used as warm packs in reptile shipping or tucking the skink into your shirt (in a pillowcase maybe) to share your body heat. Short periods of cold-time is pretty safe, but prolonged or very cold temps can be bad.

I think ML is referencing the fact that Litchie is looking stunning

[Linnea]

thank you for the answers : ) ill give him another bath tomorrow, and hope that the brick i placed there will help him a little next time. but now i wont place more stuff in his tank lol.

i think i can get warm water if the electricity only goes off on another part of the house, otherwise i guess he will have to live in a hood on a sweater an hour every week, i hope he will stay more still than usual.

the temps im talking about is about 14 degrees, in my room. im afraid that will be his night temps too so i might get a heat bulb with no light for him. swedish climate is problematic, but its kinda like in canada, right? any lightless heatbulb brands that are recommended? i think ill need a 30W to keep 16-17 C at night.

im happy to hear he looks good : D im putting a lot of effort into him being satisfied with his terrarium life. i hope he wont grow more than 10 cm more though, then id have to buy a bigger terrarium.

[Katrina]

Fatal answered everything!

Andrew is a breeder who produces sunset northerns. ML is commenting on Litchie's gorgeous orange color!!

I also have to worry about the heat going out in winter, so what we do is:
a) if furnace dies we have electric heater (has been used in past)
b) if electricity goes out we have a small propane heater - not as nice as electric heater, but a cheap backup in case the power goes out for a while.

Our furnace did die one time while the boyfriend was out of town and it was -30 C (of course - worst possible time!). So I had the electric heater in the lizard room and it was a balmy 26 degrees all night until we got a repair man in. I slept upstairs and froze my butt off, shivering under every blanket we own, but for the lizards it was just like summer.

Don't worry about asking questions - it is great that you think of these things and want to make Litchie's life so good!!

[Richard.C]

a lovely looking northern u have,indoors i find a few specimens once they have shed most of there skin they stop trying to remove it,maybe they think they have done or they just give up,its pretty common to have to give them a hand,a damp cloth and gentle rubbing can help to remove it for them,keep an eye on the feet to,its quite common for skin to be still there to

[realis88]

wow
beautifull