BLUE TONGUE SKINKS

Hi guys, just received my first BTS yesterday (2 months old) and was trying to get a definite ID to help give him/her the best care I can. It was sold to me as a CB Indonesian BTS but I would like to get some confirmation. I managed to snap some pics of the little guy before it went into the cage

Currently my skink is in a 40 gallon breeder on Aspen bedding, basking temp is about 94 F while cool side is about 83. I have a water dish and a hide on the hot and cold side of the tank (although atm my skink is just burrowing to death is aspen ). Humidity is at 48% give or take. Although he/she hasn't eaten yet I'm offering collared greens with raspberries and dubia. Any advice is welcome!

Definitely gigas (indonesian species) and very cute! About Indos though, they need much higher humidity levels than aspen can provide. I even found it to be too dry for my northerns. I kept Indos for quite a while before deciding to keep strictly Australian, and found repti bark, cypress mulch and coco husk to work well. I used to spray the cages every day and used a large water bowl, and covered the screen except for where the light fixture was. Humidity was 60-70 on warm end and 80+ at cool end. Took years of experimenting to have no more shedding issues. I kept Halmaheras and merauke. Many keepers use sphagnum moss also, if not exclusively in a hide. I only recently decided to go all Aussie simply because I ended up with 1.2 northerns, which were compatible and bred this year, one female producing 9 babies. Hope in the future my Easterns do the same, still too young! Good luck with your little one, I'm sure other gigas keepers will add some advice. They are beautiful and rewarding pets, and my first BTs.

Thanks for the help splashy! I'll have to switch over the substrate. My guy seems to really enjoy burrowing, do you have any recommendations for how much substrate to provide?

It looks like a halm to me, but I'm no expert.

I've got a halm, and aspen is definitely too dry as a substrate. I'm thinking of switching to a peat moss substrate. Keeping the humidity above 50 can be a real pain. Something I do is spray the top layer of substrate until it darkens (moist but not soggy) then mix it up and spray the new top layer.

This results in the middle/bottom layer of the substrate retaining some moisture, which is perfect for a burrowing animal. In just a few days I've noticed an improvement in how my halm's scales feel. It's like he's been using moisturizing cream, haha.

2-3 inches of substrate should be good. Ideally, he should be able to fully bury himself. It will help him feel safe and regulate his temp/humidity, and having plenty of substrate is good stimulation/exercise besides.

Hi and welcome.

I'm not very good at identifying the non-Aussie species so I won't weigh in there, but as others have mentioned, humidity is important for these types. Here are a few great threads that you should definitely have a look at:

Over in the FAQs there's a great thread on What to expect in the first few weeks. Basically it is good to give them a few weeks to let them get used to their new environment and let them settle in so keeping handling to a minimum at this time is likely to be helpful down the track and help them get used to you.

This thread on Humid hides gives some important information and links about why high humidity is important and how to create a humid hide to give them options within their enclosure.

You have yourself a nice little Indonesian (Tiliqua gigas gigas).

You indeed have the nominate subspecies of Tiliqua gigas -- T. g. gigas. He is what most consider a "classic Indonesian" or just an "Indonesian" (not to be confused with Halmaheras, which are currently the same subspecies, but different forms). Beautiful one, too!