BLUE TONGUE SKINKS

So, the other day I child-proofed the enclosure just in case of babies, took out all of the wood chips an replaced it with towels. "He" was very weird yesterday, he slept for over 24 hours and when he at last got up last night he just layed around with his eyes closed, peeking at me now and then, breathing really heavy with several seconds apart. He's been breathing heavily for the last couple of weeks, but this was something new. Anyways, I have a few questions about newborns, might as well be prepared just in case.

1. When babies are born, should they be removed from their mothers enclosure or can they be housed together?
2. If so, is it safe to feed them together?
3. Should they get Calcium and D3 in their food on a daily basis?
4. How old are they when they shed for the first time?
5. At what age are the babies ready to move?

I'm sure there are a lot of questions I'm forgetting here, tips and advice are most welcome.

(Note: I'm still calling him a "he" until he proves me wrong )

hi buddy,

probably best to remove babies from mum,they are tiny in comparison,im not sure how your species does in groups,but some types can be fiesty,so may have to be small groups,or if fiesty preferably housed singley,u can try in groups and see,but like adults they can turn at any time

i would do calcium supplements 2 to maybe 3 times a week for a juvie,if feeding every day,dont want to over do it,they usually shed just after birth,but its around a month for there first propper dry shed

they can be moved straight after birth,they are independant straight away,but its always good to hang on to them for a month or so to make sure they are doing well first

there usually fine to feed together,but not with live food,as they can get very excited and bite anything that moves,usually cage mates

the breathing u describe is spot on for a gravid female,so he may be a she

Richard.C wrote:hi buddy,

probably best to remove babies from mum,they are tiny in comparison,im not sure how your species does in groups,but some types can be fiesty,so may have to be small groups,or if fiesty preferably housed singley,u can try in groups and see,but like adults they can turn at any time

i would do calcium supplements 2 to maybe 3 times a week for a juvie,if feeding every day,dont want to over do it,they usually shed just after birth,but its around a month for there first propper dry shed

they can be moved straight after birth,they are independant straight away,but its always good to hang on to them for a month or so to make sure they are doing well first

there usually fine to feed together,but not with live food,as they can get very excited and bite anything that moves,usually cage mates

the breathing u describe is spot on for a gravid female,so he may be a she

Thank you, that pretty much covered my questions for now

I've just finished setting up a tank for the babies, right now I'm experimenting with different lamps to get the temperatures right. It might be a bit big ( about 38x10 inches), maybe I should divide it in half?

As long as the heat temps and gradient are correct, then no size is too big

Nae wrote:As long as the heat temps and gradient are correct, then no size is too big

Yes of course, it's just that I read in the care sheet that if smaller space is provided for a group of juveniles, there's less risk of fighting?

Babies will probably be ok living together for 2-3 weeks. In some cases they can go even longer without chewing on each other, but after seeing what can happen first hand, I will not leave mine together for more than a week. They can, and will, maim and kill each other if left together too long.

I separate the mother from them as soon as she is done giving birth. It is generally easier to move her to a different enclosure than it is too catch all the newborns. They are just a bit fragile at first, so they can be hard to grab them without feeling like you are going to injure them. During the time that the babies are together, I give them really deep substrate to burrow in. That way, whether the enclosure is big or small, they don't have to sit around staring at each other all day. I feed them together, but NEVER live food as it is too easy to mistake your brothers foot for a worm that is wiggling around.

Before I ever had babies, I was told by a long-time breeder that the babies will have their first "real" shed 10-12 ddays after birth. So far that has been right on for all of mine. Like Richard said, they are kind of shedding when they are born, but I don't think that really counts as a shed.

Jeff wrote:Babies will probably be ok living together for 2-3 weeks. In some cases they can go even longer without chewing on each other, but after seeing what can happen first hand, I will not leave mine together for more than a week. They can, and will, maim and kill each other if left together too long.

I separate the mother from them as soon as she is done giving birth. It is generally easier to move her to a different enclosure than it is too catch all the newborns. They are just a bit fragile at first, so they can be hard to grab them without feeling like you are going to injure them. During the time that the babies are together, I give them really deep substrate to burrow in. That way, whether the enclosure is big or small, they don't have to sit around staring at each other all day. I feed them together, but NEVER live food as it is too easy to mistake your brothers foot for a worm that is wiggling around.

Before I ever had babies, I was told by a long-time breeder that the babies will have their first "real" shed 10-12 ddays after birth. So far that has been right on for all of mine. Like Richard said, they are kind of shedding when they are born, but I don't think that really counts as a shed.

Really helpful, thanks! When you separate your babies after a week, how/in what do you house them individually? I mean, if one were to get 10 babies, buying 10 enclosures might be a bit overkill.. And if they need basking spots an such, the enclosures can't be too small either?

Three weeks and two days between first and last pic... I guess I shouldn't still be doubting on the baby thing?

She ddefinitely looks gravid!

I separate my babies into shoebox size tubs at a week old. This is one of the racks I made to hold them. It has heat tape at the back to create a slight temperature gradient, but this is very short-term housing, so they don't need everything a permanent enclosure woulld have. They each have a small water bowl and enough aspen to burrow in. They do very well set up this way for the short time until they are sent to their new homes. I feel the small space is preferable to the risk of serious injury or death posed by keeping them together in a larger enclosure.

Nice setup Jeff. yeh scincoides sp. = evil when together. This is why you need to breed blotchies - just bung them in together on mass, no fights :-)

nice jeff,i need to do something similar,these northerns can be terrors,i had 2 nipped tails at birth,possably others going for the birth sack

Mama and future babies are so lucky to have come upon you. I can't even say how happy it makes me to see you learning and getting ready for the possible responsibility. Way to be

I personally separate my babies right away now. My first litter (Northerns) started attacking each other within days, even with food available 24/7. I keep the babies in bins similar to Jeffs, and my babies are out in public parts of the house so they see lots of activity and get used to lots of interaction. I gave each baby substrate, a small water dish, and a couple of hides (toilet paper tubes were loved).

I supplemented every other meal. I remember my first meal was scrambled egg (right after birth). Then they moved to dogfood, then tiny pieces of greens/veggies mixed into egg or dogfood.

I considered them ready to go to new homes at 1 month, but I did find that 1m/o babies were much more easily stressed than the 2m/o babies when I had them at the expo. The 1m/o babies did not handle the stress well, and it took them a while to recover. So I would say anything under 2m/o needs to be kept a bit more stress-free. By that I mean that basics seemed to be fine (handling, taking outside to sit in the sun, exploring my bed/floor) but the stress from the expo was obviously way too much. So I've learned to send older, calmer skinks to homes where there's children, or the person is a bit overeager and will probably not be able to keep from pestering it as it settles in.

What is that rack made of Jeff?

Alioop wrote:What is that rack made of Jeff?

It's all wood Alie. Actually just scrap wood that I had. The shelves are pegboard. This one cost me about $10 to make (spray paint) plus the tubs that were less than $1 each. It holds 21 babies. I think the bowls were actually about $2 each. I could have used things from around the house for water, but as discussed in a previous thread, they needed to match.

matching bowls

what are they heated with jeff?i was thinking of doing something similar heating with heat cord

Fatal_S wrote:Mama and future babies are so lucky to have come upon you. I can't even say how happy it makes me to see you learning and getting ready for the possible responsibility. Way to be

I personally separate my babies right away now. My first litter (Northerns) started attacking each other within days, even with food available 24/7. I keep the babies in bins similar to Jeffs, and my babies are out in public parts of the house so they see lots of activity and get used to lots of interaction. I gave each baby substrate, a small water dish, and a couple of hides (toilet paper tubes were loved).

I supplemented every other meal. I remember my first meal was scrambled egg (right after birth). Then they moved to dogfood, then tiny pieces of greens/veggies mixed into egg or dogfood.

I considered them ready to go to new homes at 1 month, but I did find that 1m/o babies were much more easily stressed than the 2m/o babies when I had them at the expo. The 1m/o babies did not handle the stress well, and it took them a while to recover. So I would say anything under 2m/o needs to be kept a bit more stress-free. By that I mean that basics seemed to be fine (handling, taking outside to sit in the sun, exploring my bed/floor) but the stress from the expo was obviously way too much. So I've learned to send older, calmer skinks to homes where there's children, or the person is a bit overeager and will probably not be able to keep from pestering it as it settles in.

Aaw, thanks!

Okay, so I guess it's best to separate them as soon as possible, then. Just to make sure. Don't want any injured babies here.

So guys... How long can it take before anything happens? Starting to get impatient here

The past days he's been very inactive, sleeping through the day, he gets up once at night to eat and poop, then he gets back under his blanket and continues sleeping, today he's been up a little more though. The breathing is almost getting heavier by the day

Could it be weeks before (if) anything happens?

haha the first thing you should do is stop calling it a "he"

It can be a while, my friends boa has been gravid for what seems forever!! she is huge, and looks like if she gets any bigger she will explode! Stop worrying about it and it will happen. Pretend like you are going out of town, that might work too!

oh MAN Jeff...I am super jealous of your baby racks! Premade or homemade?

SapphireTigress wrote:haha the first thing you should do is stop calling it a "he"

It can be a while, my friends boa has been gravid for what seems forever!! she is huge, and looks like if she gets any bigger she will explode! Stop worrying about it and it will happen. Pretend like you are going out of town, that might work too!

oh MAN Jeff...I am super jealous of your baby racks! Premade or homemade?

I will, when "he" proves me wrong When I see babies, I will call him a she and maybe even change his name

Sigh.. Guess I will just have to waaaait....

i always say they look like dropping any time,usually ends up 4 to 6 weeks later,lol

usually the female gets agitated when its getting close and she starts moving around alot again and the breathing changes again