Completely new to skinks and reptiles.

[Evan93]

Hi,
I'm looking at getting a Blue tongue and I've had almost every kind of pet but I've never owned a reptile of any type and I think it's time I change that. I know when I was younger I looked at getting a skink but I went with a dog instead. My main reason for picking Blue tongues is (correct me if I'm wrong) but you don't necessarily need to feed then insects, which I have no issue with but my parents don't want loose insects in the house. I do have a few questions but this is mainly going to be just me asking for any information the pros can give me. So the only question I can think of is why don't most people use sand in their skinks enclosures and use shavings instead? Don't most of the Australian species live in arid parts of australia? My reason for asking this is I've have guinea pigs in the past and most of the shavings we used caused me to cough insesently. That's all I can think of at the moment. So just tell me as much as you know thanks.

[Ezealan]

"We advise against sand and/or crushed walnut shells as excessive ingestion can be fatal. This is called impaction, and I've seen it on a number of occasions. When a blue tongue is chasing prey, or shooting his tongue around, he can't help but consume mouthfuls of these tiny pieces as they stick to anything even remotely wet. The tiny pieces build up and get backed up in the digestive tract, creating a complete blockage. If the animal is not able to pass the "clump", he will die."

This is taken from the caresheet. You should read through it, it's very helpful! I actually use a type of gravel which the caresheet advises against, but I've had no problems with it apart from my little bluey digging through it and filling his water bowl with it, haha. Every couple of weeks I look through his poop to see if he's ingesting any. He does love it, though. He makes little ditches and sleeps in them. I have thought about switching to shavings though when he's a bit bigger.

[Cherbear]

Hi and welcome to the forum!
Sand is usually not recommended due to the risk of impaction and the inability to hold in humidity, which the animals need. There is also a difference between Australian species and the indos. Indos require much higher humidity than lets say a Northern. I personally use aspen and I've used eco earth. A lot of people use cypress mulch as bedding as well, so you do have alternatives to the dusty aspen shavings.

[Scotts1au]

Hi and Welcome Evan93

mmm, not sure that the original poster ever mention Walnuts :-)

As for sand - the best reason not to use it is hygene - hard to keep clean and sanitary relative to open mixes, also people try unsuccessfully to wash and reuse it rather than dispose of contaminated materials.

My understanding is that most impaction is associated with crushed limestone, or Calcium carbonate or similar substrates eg calci-sand, rather than silica based sands.

Anyway - congrats on choosing to get a bluey. Probably best to try coco fibre or similar first if you are getting and Indo or IJ. Less of an issue with Aus species. Also you can manipulate humidity to a degree by enclosure choice, size of water bowls, temperature management etc may need some trial and error.

[aron77]

That is one great selling point of a BT skink that they thrive on a diet of nonliving food, though I've read that many people still use live food as a treat and for stimulation. I used to have bearded dragons and leopard geckos years ago and I was buying crickets online by the 1000 and keeping them because it was so expensive and time consuming to go to the pet store all the time. By the time you run through 1000 crickets the cricket cage is pretty gross and smelly and of course that is just one more cage to clean. I haven't had a BT long but thus far the only down side I can see is that compared to the much more common BD and leo's there is much less information out there on BT skinks, there is this site and whatever else you can hodgepodge together off the internet though I did just join a facebook page for BT skinks. I'm still getting to know them but so far my opinion is that they are pretty easy to keep once you get your enclosure set up right and it is nice that you can make your own food with lean meat and vegies or just mix some vegies with cat/dog food and save some prep time. Mine is a baby and new to me so I'm still pretty stressed about keeping her healthy but most of that is just me worrying too much.

Substrate is a controversial topic in the reptile world. There are certain ones like the crushed walnut shells and some of the sands that are pretty much universally agreed is a high risk for impaction, even if you see them on it all day at the big pet stores, while there are others that some people recommend and others are steadfastly against. It is something that you have to seek out as much info as possible and weigh the evidence/opinions and make the best choice you can. For my BT I went with the coco fibers, I think it used to be called bedabeast, covered in moss. It has a real nice look to it, keeps in the humidity and give them something to burrow in and I don't believe there is a high risk of impaction. I've read about some people using different types of mulches and soils and I'm probably going to read up more on that and try that in the future. But for right now the coco fiber is cheap and easy to use, I like to buy it in the bricks and then you add water to it and it expands.

[Evan93]

Alright thanks for the help. Now I would like to know about all the species and their differences. As well as what species are available in Canada.

[Susann]

Welcome! Hope your search for a new pet goes well.
Just like Scott says, the recommendation against sand is mostly because it's a labor intensive substrate, very heavy. Some people have reported impaction issues, and therefore many choose to be safe rather than sorry.

As far as the different species, click here and on the left you'll see a list of all the species and subspecies of BTS with descriptions of them. As far as what's available in Canada, Northerns for sure, I see quite a few Meraukes up there, most are wild caught or babies born to recent imports, but they can make excellent pets too. Some Irian Jayas and Indos as well, Tanimbars are not very common to my knowledge, but people do have them.
Have fun with choosing and searching.

[RagTagSoldier]

Alright thanks for the help. Now I would like to know about all the species and their differences. As well as what species are available in Canada.

Hey welcome. I just joined myself. It is hard to find blueys locally. Depending on where you are you might have to look REALLY hard to find them. They are no where near as popular as other reptiles. I am in the process of getting things set up for my first so I am still a greenhorn but I can give you some advice. Find out if there is a reptile convention or expo that is held every month or so in a city near you and go poke around. I hear there is normally at least one person that has some BTS at these. Thats what I am doing. At the very least someone there should be able to point you where to get one.

[Evan93]

Alright thanks for the help. Now I would like to know about all the species and their differences. As well as what species are available in Canada.

Hey welcome. I just joined myself. It is hard to find blueys locally. Depending on where you are you might have to look REALLY hard to find them. They are no where near as popular as other reptiles. I am in the process of getting things set up for my first so I am still a greenhorn but I can give you some advice. Find out if there is a reptile convention or expo that is held every month or so in a city near you and go poke around. I hear there is normally at least one person that has some BTS at these. Thats what I am doing. At the very least someone there should be able to point you where to get one.

That's also what I'm going to be doing there is one coming up in May thats right in the city where I live.

[Susann]

My 5 cents from a couple recent threads:
I do not recommend expos to anyone looking for a BTS; there are so few expos that have legitimately well cared for and bred blue tongue skinks where the seller knows what he has and has any history on his animals.
Some of our best breeders do from time to time get tables at expos, like Ray Gurgui, Jeff, and I met jgjulander and his exceptional Northerns at an expo here in UT (and there are others as well), but it's pretty rare. Most of the blueys you see at expos are recent imports, I imagine just brought in for variety and "oooh" factor for the seller to make a quick buck.

Most of the time it is very rare to find reputable BTS breeders at expos in the US. Like I said, I does happen, and one might get lucky, but I wouldn't count on it.

I would absolutely recommend going with a breeder.
When you are dealing with someone who breeds primarily BTS you are much more likely to get exactly what the seller claims he's selling, and the babies are more likely to be bred and reared with a lot of care.

Pet stores and snake breeders at expos selling a few blue tongue skinks usually are just trying to make a quick buck, telling you whatever you want to hear, usually that the skinks are from breeders and were bred in captivity... A BTS breeder will be able to show you pictures and history of parents and will certainly know the date the babies were born.

A breeder will also give you all the help and support you'd ever need with any animal you purchase from them, and that can be invaluable.

I know a lot of people are nervous about the skink's welfare during shipping when purchased online, and therefore try to find skinks locally instead, but those of us who do breed are just as concerned about the animal's wellbeing as you are and use superior shipping materials and take every care that the animal arrives safely.

You will pay more going through a breeder, but it is SO worth it in my opinion. When you are talking about an animal with the potential of being a great companion for possibly 25-30+ years, what you pay extra by going through a breeder ends up being next to nothing in the long run, and a quality animal is worth its weight in gold

[Evan93]

Alright another question. It being my first skink would it be best to get a young one? Or an older one?

[NickBrahz]

All comes down to personal preference really, i prefer them to onto be upto a few months old when they are still a bub that way you know its been brought up in good conditions you get to bond with it as it grows, you get to take a million pictures of as a little cutie growing up, the only different between a adult and a bub really is how much and often you feed it.

[Evan93]

I haven't been able to find any breeders in my area. Does anyone know if there are breeders in the states that would ship to Alberta, Canada? The species I so far think I'm going to get is a Northern.

[NickBrahz]

I haven't been able to find any breeders in my area. Does anyone know if there are breeders in the states that would ship to Alberta, Canada? The species I so far think I'm going to get is a Northern.

As far as i know it isn't birthing season in USA for 3-6 months.

[Richard.C]

birthing season in the usa has already started,april and may are peak times breeders over there expect to have babies,5 to 6 months is birthing season for all the wildcaughts that get imported

most folk get a bluey first and treat it like a dog,lol,so glad you went the other way round,as dogs make way better dogs than blueys

now the fun part of researching,uou will read alot of hogwash,theres a ton of info out there not based on actual experience,but repeated stuff others have read

some of ehich includes

dogfood diets

use of uv lights or not

how u should mimick natural diet

sand as a substate

indo types hate the sun

i could go on and on

main thing is alot info out there is pretty average ot just that persons thoughts,or worse repeated info off one other persons thoughts

so dont take everything you read as gospel

[Richard.C]

sand actually holds humidity very well,if u want that,if u put some depth in to it can be dry on top and moister as u go down

sands not just found in arid zones,temperate animals in coastal locations also live in it,eg blotchies and easterns,and around this area is usuallu quite wet

the prob with indoors is most keep there animals in cage set ups more akin to making beef jerky,to much ventilation and temps that are to hot,even the cool end is hot ,hence blueys struggle to shed because skin dries out before they get a chance to rid them selves of it

indos arent shade loving restricted to rainforest type animals,if they were im suprised more dont get cooked in captivity,as i cringe when i see the temps people often keep them at,keeping them to hot is taking awau there options,wild ones even in the hottest areas can escape that heat easily,but captives in a beef jerky making cabinet cant

personally for me,i find the best approach to happiness ,happiness for the lizards,not for me,is to offer them a wide amount of choices,i offer hotter than they need basking areas,but way cooler than they need cool end temps,and they use the whole temp gradient,i live in an area of variable weather,so my temps can fluctuate highly,in warm weather i switch all heating off

ive kept some of mine on sand,never had issues with impaction or hemipene infections on it,thats from them mating in it,dragging everted penes in it,having babies in it,which in turn eat there yolk sacks in it.usually covered in sand to,it is a very labour intensive substrate though,like scott says,its messy,and is best chucked and replaced rather than washed an re used,but if u clean as u go,eg scoop poops ect out with like a kitty litter scoop so it holds poop ect you can go a while between replacing substrate,theres much easier substrates to use ,but one thing that sand does excell at is its ability to keep skinks claws from growing to long,it natueally keeps them trimmed

i could go on and on and on about some of the other topics,but yhats enough for now,lol

[alichamp]

So the only question I can think of is why don't most people use sand in their skinks enclosures and use shavings instead? Don't most of the Australian species live in arid parts of australia?

Alot of Australia where skinks are found (Eastern, shinglebacks and blotchies) are coastal regions or bush and dry country. They like areas where there are grasses, ground cover and leaf litter, logs and things to hide under and shelter and bushes as well as basking in the hot sun. They are very commonly found in people's gardens and backyards - whether hiding in the garden or grass, or sunning themselves on the hot concrete pavers or driveway. My mum has had visits from both a shingleback and Eastern who were attracted to her natural bush-like garden and even liked to hang out in the sunny patch inside her garage! She thinks it had babies!

[Evan93]

Ok first off I'm so thankful to all of you for answering me so nicely and not treating me like the rookie I am. I really appreciate it. Second do skinks smell? I'm still living at home with my parents and one of the conditions is they can't have a strong odor.

[wermy]

No they don't smell, as long as their tank is properly cleaned every couple of weeks. Their poop does, quite a bit, but it should be easy enough to pick up and throw away. Luckily they usually only poop once every 1-3 days.

[Evan93]

Now I'm going to be studying abroad in the UK for three years and I'm going to presume that long distance travel with a skink is not advised, but I just thought I would ask. I know pets won't be allowed but I'm willing to live off school grounds. I just want to know if I can take my skink with me or should I wait until I'm done?