traveling with BTS?

[pmyrick]

I have not yet made the decision whether to buy a BTS for my 8 yr old daughter, but one thing that could factor in would be how to care for a skink during vacations. Do people tend to leave them at home of away for a week or 10 days, or bring them along?

[donkeybuff]

If you're gone for a week or 10 days, an adult BTS will not even need food. You should have someone come in to change the water at least every other day, but other than that, your bluey should be just fine at home. Just remember to leave the thermostat on so that your house temperatures do not go too low.

[Jeff]

Hi, and welcome to the forum! I have kept bluetongues for years now, and I leave them for up to 14 days at a time while on vacation every year. If nothing unusual is going on at the time (like females giving birth) I feel comfortable having someone come to check on them and make sure they have clean water once during that time. As long as they have clean water, they will be absolutely fine for that length of time without you.

[pmyrick]

OK, and thanks for the welcome, Jeff! We moved into a new town recently so although I think I could find someone to come once while we are away, to find someone to come every other day, as donkeybuff suggested, would be difficult.

[pmyrick]

Still curious though - we go skiing about 4 hours away by car from Xmas to New Year's - do people bring their skink in a travel terrarium for a week's vacation in those circumstances?

[Jeff]

The truth is, they could easily go 10 days with no water at all. If you leave them with a big bowl of water, that should be good for at least a few days before they poop in it. Normally, you should be fine for two weeks easy. It’s ideal to make sure that they have clean water at all times, but not absolutely necessary for them. Some skinks never poop in their water, so a big bowl can easily last 2 weeks. You never know for sure, but if you plan on the worse case scenario, which means your skink soils the water within 24 hours, he will still be fine for a week to 10 days without clean water.

I wouldn’t try to take a skink with me on vacation. The ordeal would most likely cause the skink unessesary stress, and be more trouble for me than it’s worth. I’m not saying it can’t be done, just that it would be a lot of unnecessary work for you.

[pmyrick]

thanks for the great advice!