higher nouthren price

[supersnakeman101]

why are nourthrens usually priced higher then any other bts they have the larggist litter size i mean 200 is a bit high for me

[critterguy]

All Northerns in the states that you see for sale are captive bred. Not the case for skinks from Indonesia/Papua New Guinea. These(IJ's Meraukes, Indonesian gigas) come in in large numbers as WC, and many of them are pregnant females-thus their are large numbers of captive born babies available. Supply is thus higher. If you are looking for a true Australian skink, then you're going to have to pay a little more. Actually, any CBB skink should be able to command a higher price.

Also, if you could please put some time into spelling/grammar of your posts they will be easier to read and thus get more replies.

[Nae]

If you think Northerns are expensive, go shopping for something like a centralian or shingle

[Katrina]

why are nourthrens usually priced higher then any other bts they have the larggist litter size i mean 200 is a bit high for me

Like others said, it is mostly because Northerns are always captive bred. A lot more time and work goes into breeding and raising healthy babies than plucking skinks from the wild.

One thing to consider is that the cost of the animal is usually a small part of the total cost. Enclosures, food, lighting etc can be done economically but it can add up. If you are concerned about a $200 bill then any potential vet costs will likely be a problem. I'm not trying to discourage you but it is something to think about while researching.

[Jeff]

What amazes me is that CBB bts are NOT generally more expensive than WC. My personal opinion is that a captive bred animal should cost at least TWICE as much as a wild caught one. Not only do CBB skinks generally have fewer health issues than WC, but when you choose CBB, you don't support the collection of animals from the wild. That seems like it should be worth quite a bit to me.

[James Wilson]

What amazes me is that CBB bts are NOT generally more expensive than WC. My personal opinion is that a captive bred animal should cost at least TWICE as much as a wild caught one. Not only do CBB skinks generally have fewer health issues than WC, but when you choose CBB, you don't support the collection of animals from the wild. That seems like it should be worth quite a bit to me.

Jeff is right, and that is really the most important reason to by cbb. When a person who truly cares about these animals is shopping for a nice pet skink, I really do not see any other ethical choice. I have been harping about this for the last 15 years, and it just gets very frusterating at times. Every time I come here and check out the fourm, it is littered with posts from new members posting photos of their new skink, and 9 out of 10 times it is a wild caught specimen or a baby from a wild caught gravid female Indonesian or Irian Jaya BTS. Honestly, it just bums me out more than anything. We are here because we have an appreciation for these animals, yet so many here support a very dark, ugly, and sad aspect of this hobby. For every one of these animals that gets purchased, many others have had to die in the process to get here in the first place. It is a numbers game, and if people saw the way these animals were treated, they would be mortified. Every time a person buys one of these imports, they are in essence putting out a death for hire contract on another wild skink, but again, to get that one skink here, many others die, so it is actually many more than just one. These skinks belong in the wild. We have plenty here in captivity to work with. So when is this going to end? The answer to that is simple, and that is when we stop making it worth while for the importers to do what they do by purchasing these animals in the first place. It is as simple as that.

[Linnea]

I definitely support both James and Jeff on this topic.

I saw the poor baby indos in store here, and I will never forget it. WC and "very cheap"........and ill.....and kept together on sand.......in a tiny space.....fed birdfood and salad.....

while my skink costed me double the price + a little more - a CBB northern skink.

[StaceyLeigh]

Jeff & James, It is so good that the two of you are posting about this issue and educating people on this issue! I myself almost bought a WC BTS from a local pet store for my son this past summer. My son thankfully found this forum, and we both educated ourselves better about the disadvantages of buying a WC animal. We now have 2 very healthy CBB skinks, bought from breeders on this site. We are very happy with the decision we made, and try to educate others we know who are considering buying a BTS.

Thanks again for your efforts and knowledge!

[Spindown]

I didnt know better when i got my first skink, and I'm pretty sure she was a WC Indo, but after that we only got from breeders. all my others were from breeders at expos who could give me data on them. I do NOT support WC practices at all now that i am aware of them.

Makes me wish someone would go to the trouble of producing more CBB animals, like fire skinks or Scheltopusiks (although those are just about impossible to breed in captivity).

If i find myself a CB/CBB Indo to go with zergling, i'll be trying to breed Indos as well as the others.

[xxmonitorlizardxx]

@Sapphire Tigress- your merauke is cbb?

[supersnakeman101]

thanks for all the responses probably i will try to get a peach nouthren from someone on this site but i need to step on get enough money step two convince my parents and what Katrina said about the vet bills if i have to pay vet bills then i will do just about any kind task or chore to get it so that not a problematic to me
also i got a CB IJ from bayareaharps so I'm happy for now

[Spindown]

yes, i'm pretty sure she is actually.
there are a couple breeders that do meraukes around here. Not sure which one she came from though, she was picked up from a breeder who had her for a project but normally bred some other type of bluey and decided he personally didnt want to do meraukes, so i got her for a steal.