BLUE TONGUE SKINKS

I'm really trying to set up a natural looking tropical rain forest and I think I've got it down. I'm building a large pyramid that will double as a basking spot and a hide that should be done in another week or two. I'm going for the Mayan style because the Indonesian ruins type was going to be too much detail to imitate for a nonartist like me but it is a rain forest none the less So far I think he likes it and with all the moss I'm hoping to keep the humidity higher.

I was pretty worried for the first few weeks because he was doing nothing but hiding and not eating but he is settling in and now he comes out regularly and after a good shed he is eating and pooping regularly, loves cilantro and egg. And I do think the cage is helping as there are plenty of places for him to be out and about while still feeling hidden. He is just a tad skittish when I open the cage up but for the most part doesn't seem to mind being handled and gets over the skittishness pretty quickly after I get in there.

WOW. *hats off* One lucky skinky.

Wow, That fancy! What are you using for plaster on that hide?

that is a great set up,state of art!

That is a fantastic enclosure beautiful to look at just like the little skink.

That is so amazing! I've got to keep it simple because I have a lot of reptiles and work long hours, but would love to do something like that some day! One question....how do you find his poo??? My Merauke is actually the only one who 'goes' in the same spot every day! In my next life I want to be your skink!!!

Sweet looking enclosure. He's one happy skink. Living the life of luxury.

tcopitho wrote:Wow, That fancy! What are you using for plaster on that hide?

I started out with sanded grout but it was very flakey and chipped off pretty easy but now I'm using nonsanded grout and it is looking even better. I've got about 3 or 4 layers on it now and it is pretty sturdy and ready for paint. My only issue now is finding a good nontoxic sealer as the one I've heard of is expensive and only available online tho I may just have to bite the bullet.

splashy07 wrote:That is so amazing! I've got to keep it simple because I have a lot of reptiles and work long hours, but would love to do something like that some day! One question....how do you find his poo??? My Merauke is actually the only one who 'goes' in the same spot every day! In my next life I want to be your skink!!!

The tank itself minus the pyramid isn't hard at all, just coco fiber and two kinds of moss on top, plus one fake plant that is in the middle. The background helps pull it all together. The pyramid is time consuming but it has to be done in stages to allow the grout to dry and then when painted the paint to dry. The most time consuming part was the first step which was imagining what I wanted it to look like and then figuring out how I was going to do it and then cutting the Styrofoam. I spent probably 4 or 5 hours the first day cutting, gluing (I also used finishing nails to hold it together) and then putting on the first layer of grout. After that I come home from work and spend about an hour a night on it mixing grout and then applying it, after that I just have to leave it alone and let it dry until the next day when I reapply. So far I have probably 9 hours in it over 5 days. At this point I've got 3+ layers of grout on it and I'm ready to go get some paint and sealer so I should be done in another few days to a week. Start to finish I'll probably have 15+ hours into it, we'll see how the painting goes so maybe more or maybe less. I'm making this to go at one end of my tank so I only had to make it look like a pyramid on two sides with a little wall on one other side for support on the back and the side is open so I can look in the side of my tank and see him. I took pictures in stages, see below.

As far as the poo I just scan the tank every time I'm in there and I have a slotted spoon that I use to pick it up. I'm going to replace the substrate every couple of months so I don't care if I scoop a chunk of substrate with it. If he were to poo while burrowed I might not find it so soon but so far I find them right on the top layer and the white urate helps draw attention to it. I just replaced all the substrate and I could have easily missed it but I didn't see any poo that I missed on my daily scans during removal.

aron77 wrote:

tcopitho wrote:Wow, That fancy! What are you using for plaster on that hide?

I started out with sanded grout but it was very flakey and chipped off pretty easy but now I'm using nonsanded grout and it is looking even better. I've got about 3 or 4 layers on it now and it is pretty sturdy and ready for paint. My only issue now is finding a good nontoxic sealer as the one I've heard of is expensive and only available online tho I may just have to bite the bullet.

Thanks for the info. What a cool project. Can't wait to see it when you get it finished and in your enclosure. Lucky bluey.