BLUE TONGUE SKINKS

Hi guys, I'm looking into getting my self a skink - I have one in the near-by reptile shop and I always give him a hig and stroke and I go in and I now want him as my own!

So I was just wondering if someone could give me the basic equipment shopping list so I can start ordering/reserving stuff now and get the viv set up and running before I actually buy the little feller! I already have a 4ft viv on order (£54 bargain!) but anything else I'd need heat lamp/equipment wise that'd be awesome. Going to get my amazon wishlist cracking as soon as I know what I need!!

Thanks guys appreciate it! And as soon as I have "slushy" I'll be posting pictures of him

Thanks, Sophie.

get a UV bulb
some aspen shaving or cypress mulch
some hides boxes
temp gauge
water bowl
and some kind of heat lamp
and check out the care sheet to because i probably forgot something important

get a UV bulb

Unnecessary.

Its the heat lamp part that confuses me because I have leopard geckos and they only require heatmats so ive never had to purchase a heatlamp! Would it need a guard and all that and what one would you guys recommend?

Oh yes i will definitely read the care sheet, however may print it and read it through so that I dont skip bits, and make sure a highlighter is near me!

xxmonitorlizardxx wrote:

get a UV bulb

Unnecessary.

ML - one word responses aren't helpful. If you want to help, then explain why UVB is a good idea but many people believe it to be unnecessary and how if you chose not to provide UVB lighting then to be sure to supplement with a calcium + vitamin D3 supplement. One word isn't helpful, explain your response properly so people understand why you feel that way.

Welcome to the forum sminot! Snakeman's list is pretty good. I'd also get some nice flat rock / slate tile for a basking surface and a temperature gun so you can accurately measure the temperatures in the enclosure. Pick up some calcium supplements as well and maybe a multivitamin supplement as well. Hides / decorations are fun to shop for, I like adding things like cork bark, nice rocks and / or driftwood but that isn't necessary.

I don't have any sort of guard for my heat lamps, but it depends what kind of enclosure you have. You said you already have one - does it have a wire lid? Or what kind of lid? If you describe the enclosure then we can give better recommendations for heat lamps.

Katrina wrote:

xxmonitorlizardxx wrote:

get a UV bulb

Unnecessary.

ML - one word responses aren't helpful. If you want to help, then explain why UVB is a good idea but many people believe it to be unnecessary and how if you chose not to provide UVB lighting then to be sure to supplement with a calcium + vitamin D3 supplement. One word isn't helpful, explain your response properly so people understand why you feel that way.

I was looking for the quote

"I don't want to get into another UVB debate, but I will do my best to convey the results of a fairly long term study done by one extremely respected person in the BTS community.

This breeder kept one group of skinks (#1) away from any UVB exposure and supplemented their diet with calcium that included D3.

Another group (#2) was kept with UVB lighting, but given calcium that did not include vitamin D3.

The third group (#3) was given both UVB lighting and calcium that included D3.

The results were as follows:

Group #1 - No health issues at all. Extremely healthy skinks that bred very well.

Group #2 - Some of these skinks seemed normal, and others began developing the first signs of MBD. The breeding rates were much lower. Even the skinks that appeared healthy had smaller litters, and the babies were not as hardy.

Group #3 - These skinks were all healthy and showed no signs of any health issues. They bred well with large healthy litters.

This evidence is of course not ultimately conclusive, but it does support the theory that artificial UVB lighting may not be totally effective for the calcium needs of BTS. It is important to note that this study was done a number of years ago, before mercury vapor bulbs were available. The best bulbs available at the time were used, but they were not MVB.

I don't know if that is very useful to you or not, but personally, I would supplement with a calcium that included D3 regardless of whether or not you provide UVB lighting."

(Jeff)

xxmonitorlizardxx wrote:I was looking for the quote geez

Ok, that is more helpful! I guess I won't take away your boxes as punishment.

That was mean - I can imagine you frantically searching for the right quote and come back and I've already chastised you for not being helpful.

i use both supplement with d3 in them and UV light
this gives me peace of mind because i had a leopard gecko that had MBD and i DO NOT want that to happen to my bluey

If there is a flooring place near by you can go in and ask them if they have any free scraps or old display tiles for basking spots. My Wife and I also build a lot of out own hides out of bark from cottonwood trees. The shopping list can be as big or as small as you want it to be. heat bulbs and lamps are generally cheaper at hardware stores, or feed stores as well. For a water dish anything shallow they can fit in will do fine. One of our water dishes is actually something we got a greenhouse that goes under plant pots. It wasn't cheaper than a pet store, but it was prettier.



I find there is actually very few things you have to buy at a pet store, and most of the time pet stores charge double or triple the prices.



Quick edit. If you do use stones or bark from the wild it should be treated to kill of bacteria, mites, and other harmful things . For stones we boil them and scrub them, and for wood we actually freeze it for two weeks in the deep freeze and the rinse it in close to boiling water.

I think the enclosure he is referring to is a vivarium, which is also what i have. It uses sliding glass doors on the front rather than a lid, so the lamps are secured on the inside of the vivarium, also increasing the risk of a skink touching it etc for burns, so if you observe him getting near to or touching the lamp i would suggest getting a guard, but in the mean time i would say it isnt necessary. Quite contrary to the types of enclosures that are typical in the US, mainly all enclosures, minus the glass exo terra terrariums are vivariums here in the UK. Its good that you got one, but if later on you decide to get a new one i would recommend a vivexotic EX48 if you cant find a viv that is custom taylored to the size you require.

This is what they look like, however they dont come with the decor lol.



The list i use for my skink is as follows:

- 42" UVB tube 10% or more (optional but many people reccommend, isnt necessary however if you supplement sufficiently)
- Starter ballast for the light
- Some form of heat bulb - i personally use ceramics as it allows me to maintain the temperature better, and is more efficient with night time temperatures, however heat lamps can be used and infra-reds can be used in the night.
- Thermostat - this will depend on the bulb you get, however with my ceramic i use a habistat pulse proportional 600w, with day/night function for automatic night time switchover
- Substrate - this is personal preference, however there are many strong reccommendations around and in the care sheet, i personally am using beech chips but am switching to a hemp substrate to eradicate the risk of impaction
- Water/food bowls - water bowl should be large in my opinion to let him get into and soak to aid shed/regulate body temps if needed, but also allows for a bit of humidity
- Hide and features - Hide is a must imo, and features are whatever you decide to put in there

You will probably already know this but its a good idea to stock on the disinfectants, in the UK there is a product range called F10, which many people support.
For supplements, i use nutrobal and komodo live food dust.

just dont overdose on the D3 supplement.

Heres something important that i think we are forgetting:

Make sure you check what food you will feed your new bluey. since its from a smaller store the probability is high its been given a very odd diet for a growing and healthy bluey, so make sure you go through the new diet (use caresheet) and go buy veggies and some dog food to mix together (as an example, its a good way to start, and then have fun being creative)

make sure you know that fruit and berries are mostly treats, and that skinks are omnivores in need of about a 40% protein 60% greens diet.

thats all from me, im sorry if you already read up on this, but one can never be too careful (i think)


(if this has already been brought up then just delete my post)

uv light isnt nessacary,but can still benefit them,they will never replace what they get in nature,re the sun,and diet,even with uv u need to supplement them with vitamin d3 /calcium,and multivitamins

personally i dont use uv on my indoor skinks,i think diet is more important than exposure to uv lights,supplement there diet with vitamin d3 calcium supplements and multivitamin supplements,and if weathers good enough expose them to natural sun