BLUE TONGUE SKINKS

Hey all, just wanted to introduce myself. I found this forum while searching for more information on the BTS in general and Meraukes specifically. I've been a lurker on the board for almost a year and finally decided to post and introduce myself. I come from the reef aquarium hobby so I'm familiar with taking care of animals that have unique needs.

I've always been interested in reptiles and have frequently watched the cute little iguanas and veiled chameleons at a certain pet store chain. I'm familiar with the necessity to research animals before buying them (fish have a variety of requirements including minimum tank size and tank mates) and to my surprise found that your average green iguana can grow up to 5 or 6 feet long and you would need a cage at least twice that length to house them! Veiled chameleons on the other hand might be best for a more experienced herper and they dont like to be handled, so for the most part they're an observe only animal (I have a lot of those already). Enter the Merauke Blue Tongue Skink, a reptile that will tolerate some handling, grows to be large but not too large, needs the 60% humidity that my "office" (aka fish room) already provides (of course I wouldn't solely rely on this as my only humidity source/measurement), and has a diet that is easier for beginners to source. I hope to receive a Merauke within the next couple months and am currently preparing it's terrarium for future habitation.

Here's a little more info about my reef aquarium setup. I have a 65 gallon mixed reef aquarium with a variety of fish, coral, anemones, and other invertebrates. Connected to the main display tank is a 20 gallon sump and a 20 gallon filter feeder tank (the filter feeder tank allows me to keep fun tiny animals like sexy shrimp, anemone shrimp, and yellow line shrimp without fear of them being swallowed in an instant by some of the larger fish in my display tank like my marine betta or foxface). I've been in the challenging reef aquarium hobby for about 4 years and have had my share of failures and successes with an eye on how I can always improve the stability of the system and environment for my animals.

I'm currently using a Neptune Apex controller to monitor my aquarium. It uses sensor probes to monitor temperature, pH, ORP (Oxygen Reduction Potential, a general dissolved oxygen measurement), and salinity. It records the measurements and can turn on or off any device plugged into the Apex powerbar as well as send me an email if something needs to be addressed immediately. It's not full proof, but it does help, and it eases the worry that comes with having a giant block of suspended water in your house. I've seen a couple reptile related controllers that look pretty good like the Herpstat 2, but if possible I would like to use my Neptune Apex controller that i'm already heavily invested in to monitor my future Merakue BTS environment (temp, humidity, email alerts, maybe more?). *** Does anyone have any experience using the Neptune Apex controller for their reptiles? *** I've found one or two vivarium/dart frog owners that have adapted their Apex systems to fit their needs (Neptune doesn't make a humidity probe so they found a way to connect another brand's humidity probe), but no one housing skinks.

I will be around the boards and will try to break out of my lurker habits. -- Ryan

Welcome! Reef tanks are awesome; I'm currently debating whether or not to set up a nano this summer. If you can maintain a reef tank, BTS should be no problem

I second that.
We just had a freshwater tank (as you know = easier than a reef tank) for a while with an Oscar, a Jack Dempsey and 3 silver dollars.
Maintaining two four foot BTS enclosures is less work.
You'll do great!
Good luck!

Thanks for the welcome. Freshwater is fun too! At work I have a freshwater nano that I'm keeping ornamental shrimp (neocaridina) and cardinal tetras in. Saltwater can be easier if it's fish and rock only, but once you add coral into the mix it can become more challenging. You'll have to consider things like more intense lighting fixtures, providing better water flow, supplementing pH and calcium, and testing your water more often for more elements (you dont "need" a super expensive aquarium controller, but it doesn't hurt). All that said, it's not so bad if you take it slow, read up on the reef forums, and add animals one at a time (after quarantine).. but sometimes that's hard to do when you're looking at all the cool colors and forms that different corals can have.

There's quite a few awesome nano tanks available now a days. They're great, with a few fairly obvious caveats. Due to the size, you're limited to the types of animals you can put in your tank, but there's still plenty to choose from. Also you're dealing with a smaller amount of water so if things start to go downhill, they can go downhill fast so you really have to stay on top of maintenance and testing. Finally, they may eventually lead you to wanting a bigger aquarium.. I started with a nano .

One thing I am a little concerned about with keeping my BTS enclosure in the aquarium room is that the room doesn't get a whole lot of foot traffic. There will be weeks when life is busy and I'll go into the aquarium room for about 15 minutes twice a day to feed and do some light maintenance. I'm concerned that this might prevent my BTS from becoming more social and less afraid of humans. I of course intend to feed, care, and interact with my baby BTS as needed, but how much ambient activity do they need? I've seen some postings on various sites that suggest moving the enclosure into the family room as long as it's not too chaotic. Where do you keep your BTS enclosures? What is ideal? Feel free to post a link if this has already been discussed ad nauseam.

Hi Ryan! Glad to see your lurking days are over.

It's hard to say before the fact how much interaction/observation your skink will need in order to be "socialized"; there is such a huge variation in the personalities of BTS that there really is no way to say how much is needed and how much is too much or too little.
If you get a baby (...I'm working on it! ) it'll all be dependent on the personality. Some come out requiring a lot of work to calm them down, whereas some are born just chill as can be no matter what you do or don't do.
If you get an older skink, then it'll be a combination of its personality along with how much it was handled previously.

Some skinks seem to get used to us humans easier if they see us moving about our daily business, but equally many (...maybe more...?) seem to calm down better and faster if they are left alone and given a chance to stay de-stressed during the times when we're not feeding, cleaning, or handling them.

I'm afraid I'm not helping much but maybe start out putting the enclosure in the aquarium room, and should your skink seem to be having issues, then you can re-assess the location, or maybe set up a "temporary" tub with a heat source where you can place the skink for a period every day when your home is at its busiest...?

Susann wrote:Hi Ryan! Glad to see your lurking days are over.

It's hard to say before the fact how much interaction/observation your skink will need in order to be "socialized"; there is such a huge variation in the personalities of BTS that there really is no way to say how much is needed and how much is too much or too little.
If you get a baby (...I'm working on it! ) it'll all be dependent on the personality. Some come out requiring a lot of work to calm them down, whereas some are born just chill as can be no matter what you do or don't do.
If you get an older skink, then it'll be a combination of its personality along with how much it was handled previously.

Some skinks seem to get used to us humans easier if they see us moving about our daily business, but equally many (...maybe more...?) seem to calm down better and faster if they are left alone and given a chance to stay de-stressed during the times when we're not feeding, cleaning, or handling them.

I'm afraid I'm not helping much but maybe start out putting the enclosure in the aquarium room, and should your skink seem to be having issues, then you can re-assess the location, or maybe set up a "temporary" tub with a heat source where you can place the skink for a period every day when your home is at its busiest...?

Thanks Susann, I guess I'll play it by ear. The stand I'm building will have wheels (w/locks) so I can move the tank easily if needed.