BLUE TONGUE SKINKS

Hello, call me Era, I'm a girl. Just saying it up front to prevent confusion I normally get.

Anyway I'm thinking about getting a skink. I'm rather new to reptiles. The only other reptile I've kept if an anole so I do have a UV light. It's 30 inches.

I'm looking into tanks and substrate. How many inches/feet of substrate is good for burrowing? Also I would prefer not to use aspen shavings but a more natural looking mix. Coco fiber probably. And dirt maybe?

I want to go at least 120 gallons but a glass tank would be 500$ and weigh 300 pounds. The weight is more the issue then the money. And getting it through the door.

I'm looking into DIY stuff. But I more want something I can just assemble. Cage by Design is a little pricey though. And not perfect. If it was perfect I would do it.

I found this . . . http://www.amazon.com/Jumbo-Screen-Rept ... roduct_top. I could close it off with plastic??

yep u could make that work,be ok to use outdoors to,i used something similar for raising blueys and water dragons out doors

only issues i would have with them indoors is maybe not overly attractive looking through screen,also with attatching plastic to it,plus being screen to,will take extra heating to keep the occupant warm,but theres ways around that to

seems priced ok though

Hi Era try this site for an enclosure animal plastics .com i picked up a 4x2x12 for about $235 after all the additions, also try a company called all living things they have an tank that is 3X18x16 dont know price good luck and welcome to the forum

My bluey came in an "acceptable" enclosure which was a 40L breeder tank. After putting everything I thought was necessary (water, backing rock, couple of branches) in - I didn't think it was acceptable. I went on craig's list and got a 4' x 18" x 24" enclosure for $80.00. Skeeter is a lot happier now.

I know they say the bigger the better, but like you, my $$ is restrictive, as in the space available.

I use shredded paper for bedding - he was housed on sheets of newspaper with paper towels wadded up for him to burrow in (that is what they called it anyways). Skeeter does not know what it is like to walk on natural material - he stayed in his hide for a couple of days before I broke down and put the shredded paper in for him - how he is happy as a clam

I have 5-6" of bedding down - and the nice thing about the paper is when it compacts, it easily fluffs up again.

I commend you for your research on these delightful creatures before purchasing - not many people do that.

I can't offer much advice on that, but

It looks like the cage you posted a link to is 4 feet tall, then has about 2 x 2 ft for floor space. Blueys don't aren't big climbers and wouldn't use that much height, so unless you are able to use it turned on it's side, I'd say look for something else.

And, of course:

Welcome!!

Thanks for the welcomes!

Now I'm looking into cookie cutter cages that are for tegus. They actually aren't big enough for a tegu or savy but seem like they would be good for a skink. Am I over doing it though? Is there a point at which a cage is too big to properly monitor a skink or is bigger always better. :3

Also is a foot of substrate the ideal for burrowing?

This is one I am considering saving for the T50 at http://www.animalplastics.com/

Or a similarly sized enclosure.

Bigger is always better, as long as you can achieve the correct temps. The T50 would be great if you have the space!

12 inches of substrate is overkill, they don't need to dig like varanids - several inches is fine, so they can cover themselves, but they won't really dig or construct burrows like varanids. They will just wriggle underneath so that they are covered - in the wild they would burrow under leaves / deadfall etc. rather than actually digging into the soil.

Thank you for the quick reply. Yes I do have the space. I'm getting rid of some furniture in my room. And old bookshelf and a desk. That leaves me 7 maybe 8 feet long and three or four feet wide. Just have to make sure I can get to the closet. Originally I was contemplating a Savvy but I was a little tight on space and my mom would probably not be able to sleep with a full grown Savvy in the house. So I opted that my second lizard should be a skink. They look a bit like Savvy's but are probably a better starter pick. One day I'll own a savvy though. :3 Unless I decided skinks are better. xD

So how many hotspots should I have . . . two? Well I'll figure it out. I might use a space heater to heat the room to 75-80 instead of lights on the tank. I'll see what's the most energy efficient.

Also would using leaves be a good substrate? Like oak or almond leaves that they use in fish tanks . . .

I have ton more questions especially on worm culturing. But I have to go for the moment.

Savannahmonitor.org
For your worms:
http://www.nyworms.com/

Just one hot end with a basking spot and a cool side of about 75 is fine, with a gradient so it can choose what temps it wants. There are lots of substrates that work well like aspen, cypress mulch, reptibark etc. Any of the common reptile ones are fine, if you get a Northern or other Australian species you might want a drier substrate like aspen.

welcome! They can do ok in 40 gal breeders, but I do have one that came with a 75 gallon long, and she uses every inch of it. Be careful about the height...they may not climb *much* but if its too short or something is just close enough to the top...they CAN climb out. I had a couple escapes before I figured out who was a climber and who wasnt. Thankfully they were all ok when they escaped *facepalm*

Sapphire - check out my post titled "letting them roam on the range" (or something like that) - it was there that I learned we need to have enclosures at least 2 feet tall. There are pics of a bluey climbing something shorter.

These guys continue to amaze me in many different ways

yep, they will TOTALLY stand on their tails (how do they even do that!?) and leverage themselves up! Its nuts!

Welcome! I recommend 112 gallon tank. one like 39 inches X 36 inches X 24 inches it's plenty enough room!