Questions before I bring home a baby.

[TheresaSch]

Hello everyone! My name is Theresa and I’m brand new to the forum as of 10 seconds ago.

About three weeks ago my 6 year old Bearded Dragon Leila passed away. I absolutely love reptiles and thought hard about getting another. After some research and speaking with some local reptile stores I’ve decided I’d love to have a Blue Tongued Skink. My first order of business before I purchase the baby is to educate myself the best I can like I did with my beardie, and she lived a nice long lazy life =) I still have everything I did for my BD and I understand some things will be different with the care of a BTS.

I read over the detailed care sheet and gathered a lot of wonderful information from it. I have a few questions so I can define exactly what I need and get a few recommendations from experienced owners

- It was recommended I get a lower wattage UV bulb than I used for my beardie. I used a repti-sun 10 and it’s recommended I use the repti-sun 5. Any thoughts or opinions about this?

- I understand they bask at a lower temp than a beardie, around 90. Any thoughts or corrections on this? and any bulb suggestions. I got tired of the expensive pet store bulbs and settled on a 100 watt house bulb that got the temps well up to 100.

- Substrate seems to be a very independent school of thought. The stores recommend the bark bedding, but I see a few other recommendations on here. I have tile in there now from my beardie and understand that will need to be changed. I’d like the best bedding that is possibly the easiest to change, OR any suggestions on changing the substrate to make it easier.


I do understand a BTS is not a bearded dragon and require differences in care. I’m just trying to feel out what I can keep and what I would need to change before I bring a baby home.

One thing I’ve learned is to ask questions and learn as much as you can from a group of people with many many years of experience combined.
I thank you all in advance for any answers and help!!

Theresa

[mv2sa]

- I understand they bask at a lower temp than a beardie, around 90. Any thoughts or corrections on this? and any bulb suggestions. I got tired of the expensive pet store bulbs and settled on a 100 watt house bulb that got the temps well up to 100.

I usually keep my basking spot between 90 and 100, temps above 110 can be very dangerous. It's also recommended to have a hide in the warm side.

Good lucky and soon the forum masters will appear and answer everything, I am kind of new into the BTS stuff, got mine just a few months ago.

[Spindown]

good for you for asking questions BEFORE getting a critter. I'm probably rescuing a bluey from someone who jumped in before they realized the commitment to owning a reptile. At least they are doing the right thing.

[Katrina]

Welcome!

There are lots of similarities between blueys and beardies, so you are off to a great start.

You can use either a repti-sun 10 or 5, just use it according to the manufacturer's instructions (for distance to mount it, how often to replace it etc).

A basking spot of 95-100F is ideal. Make sure if is the surface temperature of the basking spot, not the ambient air temp, but 100F is just fine.

There are lots of good substrate options. The "best" one depends on your preference and the species of blue tongue skink you get. Something like aspen is great for Northerns, Indonesian species do better with something that retains moisture like cypress mulch. Other options include repti-bark, carefresh, etc. etc. Most any substrate will work alright, so don't be afraid to try a few things before you figure out what you like best. The bluey will do just fine on various types.

[TheresaSch]

Thank you so much everyone! Hopefully this weekend I go pick one out. Now that I have the rest of the tools needed to get as much info as possible. :-) ill be checking back soon.

[Shortie]

Sorry to hear about your beardie. Mine passed away quite recently too and I decided to get a bts. There really isn't much you need to change in the viv. The only extra thing I bought for mine was a pool and a hut to hide in. My beardie had reptile carpet as a substrate. It was newspaper till he got toilet trained but with my bts I use carefresh. Very easy to clean out and if you have dust allergies like me, it's a lot better than aspen Other than that you don't need anything else. But they are a lot more different than beardies temperament wise and the way they feel and all those things. Mine is still going through the process of being hand tame but it's definitely taken my mind off my beardie. One door closes, another one opens