BLUE TONGUE SKINKS

Can anyone tell me what subspecies this blue tounge skink is? Probably going to go pick her up friday.

A nice looking merauke

Tiliqua gigas evanescens

Richard.C wrote:A nice looking merauke

Tiliqua gigas evanescens

Ok thanks alot! Is there any difference in personalities with different subspecies or are they all different? Lol just wondering....
Btw im new here....i had bearded dragons and leopard geckos but she will be my first bts!

jwiedner wrote:

Richard.C wrote:A nice looking merauke

Tiliqua gigas evanescens

Ok thanks alot! Is there any difference in personalities with different subspecies or are they all different? Lol just wondering....
Btw im new here....i had bearded dragons and leopard geckos but she will be my first bts!

There are some differences in personality. Each skink is unique so you never really know, but there are some generalities...
Merauke's are great though, really sweet but sometimes a little skiddish at first.

my merauke is the sweetest of my bunch, I even take her to outreaches. She is very calm and good-natured. Shes my favorite of all my BTS.

I'd recommend a fecal test be done though.

i got her today shes been burrowing the whole time i have had her home though. She breathes very heavily when im near but calms down after i pick her up. She did try biting a couple times but its probably just because shes in a new environment. Im guessing shes WC? and can anyone guess if she is really a "she" without starting another thread?
Here is her old set up and new one....

Looking good, but I wouldn't place the food under the basking spot. The heat will make it go bad very quick. Nice skink!

Do you know the history of the skink? Was it someones pet or a recent import?

Yeah it was his pet....and ok ill put the food on the othet side lol.

I have a similar white tube thing that one of my skinks loves.

About how long/heavy is the skink? Not sure that it looks full grown to me (could be the pictures) and it can be hard to judge sex with juveniles.

Ohh ok only about 14 inches. Hope she will calm down when she gets use to it.

Sounds like it still has some growing to do then.

I would give it some time to settle in, probably about a week or so. They need some time to adjust to new surroundings, probably doubly so for a young animal that was likely wild caught or captive born, but it should calm down as it gets used to handling. It's all very new for the little one.

My skinks LOVE the pvc, which is why include lots of those tubes in my "perfect enclosure"
My merauke is 24" snout to tail, sounds like yours definitely has some growing to do, about half of that measurement is her tail! I love their long tails

Well she hasnt ate anything and has been hiding the whole time...i only seen her come out once is this normal?

Pretty normal with new animals,especially if timid to begin with,it should settle though,keep offering food,it will eventually eat

jwiedner wrote:Well she hasnt ate anything and has been hiding the whole time...i only seen her come out once is this normal?

Usually takes at least a week for many reptiles to settle in. Also BTS burrow constantly and will hide much of the time anyway.

so should i wait until she starts eating to handle her?

I would give her time to settle in a bit before handling her too much. Like they said above, it's a whole new experience for her and she should probably get used to one thing at a time. Letting her explore her new environment will help her feel safe in due time. I'm still in the process of acclimating my new bts and he didn't eat at first either. I didn't start handling him until about a week after I got him, which gave him time to settle in and relax. I've been doing short handling times 10 to 20 minutes about 3 times a day so as to not stress him out too much and he is calm enough now to take naps out of his cage. It takes time for any new animal to get used to new surroundings and bts' are no different. Good luck and welcome!