BLUE TONGUE SKINKS

Hey everyone,
Just wondering what to expect or enforce this winter in Brisbane. I have a 5 month old Eastern, and haven't experienced a winter yet. In saying winter, I mean a Brisbane winter, so temps between 5ish-15ish degrees celsius. Wondering being an eastern, if he will go into brumation during the winter? Do I maintain the standard 25 cool end and 35 warm end, or let nature run it's course with temps as his locale temps are similar to where we live and see what he does. Do all Blueys need a brumation each year? Will he go into natural brumation between those temps?
RoryBreaker what would be recommend?
Thanks everyone.

It may brumate even if your enclosure temps are maintained at a 'summer' level. Even indoors they pick up on the changes in the season.

With a good summer's worth of growth under its belt, your skink is well set up to go through brumation. Brumation for blueys in brisvegas generally means they go off their tucker, often hide away in the cool end of the cage with the occasional bask near the heat. I still offer food but only every week or so and less in quantity, but still keep up the regular water dish changes for it to drink. But all that won't start to happen until we start getting the cooler night time temps, mid April onwards.

For a bluey in its first winter, it's not imperative that it brumates. Some will brumate even despite your best efforts to avoid brumation. Some even without night time heat, power on feeding through the winter ( go figure) , it all depends on the individual skink and the conditions it's kept in. Brisbane has very mild winters anyway. If your skink was kept outdoors you'd find it would come out to bask most days.

So to wrap up, business as usual for another month or so and then keep watch/get ready to read the behaviour that your skink is displaying, eg. Basking for longer, eating less, staying tin the hide at the cool end of he cage etc..and adjust your husbandry accordingly. Look forward to a few months of less work on your skink.

awesome advice thanks heaps.