Help ID my new baby(s)

[aron77]

I found two babies in a pet store so despite the $250.00 price tag I decided to quit waiting and jump on them and got two for $475.00. Of the three they had one was considerably larger than the other two so assuming it was from a different clutch and my sister and I would like to breed them we chose him and one of the smaller ones. They didn't know what species they were, just called them "common" but said they were captive bred from their breeder but they still couldn't tell me the approx. born date either, I was kind of annoyed that they didn't know more about them. Since from what I have researched the most common ones bred in the US are Northern I assumed they were northern, which is what I wanted for their size and clutch size. The larger one has a little bit of a different pattern than the other two but I'm assuming same species but different parents.

I am assuming they are both the same species and that species is Northern just based off of being captive bred and them being described as "common", what say you? Any ideas on age? That is a 55 gal tank and a small rock if that helps you gage size, I'd say prob 6-8".

[tcopitho]

looks like a Merauke on the right and Irian Jaya on the left. They are certainly not Northerns.

Based on their size I would guess they are young, I don't have a lot of experience with growth rates so someone else will help you better there.

[Bluish]

Yes merauke and irian jaya. You can also assume they are not captive bred. Maybe captive born from a fresh wild caught female, either in the u.s.a. or indonesia.

[Dood]

I think the darker one is an Irian Jaya and the lighter one with a stripe down the back of his neck is a Merauke

I agree they are recent imports for the following reasons ...

Birthing season in North America is coming up so any young skinks would be 8 to 12 months old by now and much larger than these two

Very few of these species are captive bred and those that are likely would not be found in a pet store as breeders usually have waiting lists for them

[starscream3232]

As far as growth rates are concerned I only have data on my northerns. I have 4 that are just about 9 months old. They range from 318-525 grams. The big one is almost 21 inches and is a confirmed male. As others have said those two are most likely not captive bred. If you are thinking about spending that much on them I would wait for some captive bred northerns. They average around $200.

[Susann]

Please do not breed the two. Find another IJ or another Merauke.

Pet stores and expo snake vendors will almost always tell you that they have a "breeder" supplying them with whatever skinks they have for sale, yet mysteriously never know what species they have nor even approximate birthdate. Those are ALWAYS signs that the seller is just looking to make a quick buck by telling you whatever they think you want to hear.

I would advise you to separate the two you have right away. Especially if one is bigger than the other. If your sister is not ready for hers yet then maybe you should've waited to get the other one... Maybe see if the pet store will take one back?

[aron77]

They are already separate. I just put them in my sister's tank last night while I was getting her set up and I wanted a side by side photo. That sucks that they aren't what I thought they were because I specifically bought the two that were different in size thinking that they were not related to each other for eventual breeding. And as far as reptiles go this is the best shop in the area and I specifically asked if they were captive bred and they assured me that they only buy captive bred animals. I was put off that they couldn't specifically identify the species nor dob but as in most pet shops you are talking to a very young person who has limited knowledge. I didn't think I was going to be able to find any for months so I was pretty excited to find several and to also not have to deal with shipping. I actually thought that being that they were babies and out of season that that meant that someone had manipulated brumation early and gotten them to breed since I suspected that in the wild that they would be only started mating season now that it is spring?

I've got plenty of time to figure it out as far as getting two of the same species but what is the argument against breeding these two, especially since the are both from Indonesia?

[starscream3232]

The meruake is T. Gigas evanescens and the Irian Jaya is Tiliqua sp. the Irian hasn't been scientifically described yet. They seem more closely related to the Australian main land species. If your two reproduced you would essential have mutts. It's frowned to hybrid blue tongues. But the two you got shouldn't be too hard to find a matching mate if you do decide to breed them.

[starscream3232]

On a side note my first blue tongue was an Irian jaya. I had her for over 15 years and got her as an adult. She was awesome. I just got back into reptiles last year (finally have the room now) and got 5 northerns and 3 pink tongues last year. Very rewarding reptile to keep.

[Dood]

They may have been "captive bred" in some Indonesians backyard but then shipped over here

The problem with hybrids is even if the breeder sells them as mutts, eventually they can get mixed into the purebred bloodlines and diminish their unique qualities.

There are already a bunch of mutt BTS on the market, most "look" like one species or sub-species and when bred to a purebred you can get odd marked babies pop out - my skink had a Northern mother and an IJ father and all 7 in the litter looked different, some more Northern, some more IJ and some even looked like Meraukes my gal doesn't really look like any specific species