BTS Setup & Diet

[Asherb]

I have what I suspect is a Tanimbar BTS, now about 3 months old. Diet wise I mostly have good quality wet dog food (gets boiled egg once a week), veggies and fruit (mainly blueberries, strawberry and banana), which I sprinkle with calcium every other day. He is growing fast, but I'm slightly concerned about how much protein he is getting. Is dog food everyday going to overload on protein?

Set up wise, I have recently moved the set up around as he was mainly spending his time in the warm hide as I think he feels most secure in it rather than because he wants to be on the warmer side. I now have that hide on the cooler end and he still seems to go in that most of the time now. My main concern is humidity. The humidity is 55-65% most of the time, but I am a bit concerned it is a bit dry. I have a mixture of soil and orchid bark which is what the reptile shop keeps his adults on. I spray it maybe every 3 days. He seems to sneeze a lot which makes me think it is a bit too dry and dusty.

ATM I have a hide on the warm side and cool side as well as a med size rock for him to sit on and bask. He will quickly outgrow these however.

I am planning on buying a 24" cork bark log for the cool side so he can sleep/chill in this when adult size. I would like to then just have a slate tile under the basking bulb for a basking spot. I would if possible like go without a hide on the warm side to maximise the floor space and so the tank doesn't look too crowded. Is it OK to do without a hide on the warm side?????

This is the first BTS I have had, wanted one for years. I keep Ball pythons, but this is my first lizard so I am not yet as expert as I would like. Any help would be appreciated.

[Susann]

Dog food is formulated for omnivorous animals, so no need to worry about it being too much protein, especially for a young growing skink.

I have no experience with Tanimbars, but here is the one care sheet addition we have so far for Tanimbars; according to the author, he keeps the humidity above 50% to avoid problems.

HERE is a thread of mine on making raised basking platforms; something like this would allow your skink to not only use the floor space underneath the basking tile but it doubles as a warm hide at the same time --real space saver. If you don't have at least two places where your skink can feel hidden and safe, then I'd make sure to supply enough substrate that he can dig into and hide under to cover himself.

[alichamp]

You could replace the soil with something else if you think it is a bit dusty. Here is a thread on Which substrate is best for my BTS? and another recent thread of options.

Is one of the hides a humid hide? Here is a thread on creating humid hides, they are a great option for when they want a little more humidity than the general enclosure, you might find it useful around shed time. Little ones might need a little extra care and help for shedding so when he does shed keep an eye out and make sure he sheds properly all the old skin on the toes and the tip of the tail. Because they grow so quickly it needs to shed properly so it doesn't get stuck and cause problems.

[Asherb]

Dog food is formulated for omnivorous animals, so no need to worry about it being too much protein, especially for a young growing skink.

I have no experience with Tanimbars, but here is the one care sheet addition we have so far for Tanimbars; according to the author, he keeps the humidity above 50% to avoid problems.

HERE is a thread of mine on making raised basking platforms; something like this would allow your skink to not only use the floor space underneath the basking tile but it doubles as a warm hide at the same time --real space saver. If you don't have at least two places where your skink can feel hidden and safe, then I'd make sure to supply enough substrate that he can dig into and hide under to cover himself.

Thank you for that. I am relieved to know I can keep giving dog food each day as I am not keen on having insects in the house. I do pick snails out the garden sometimes and put them in a tub with some carrots for a few days, then feed him a few as a treat. I'm put off giving the canned insects as protein source as I would imaging a lot of the nutrients would be lost by the time you take them out of the can, and therefore a bit useless.

Looking at the Tanimbar care sheet, my set up is spot on, I am just going to try and mist slightly more frequently to make sure its not too dry and dusty.

In terms of a humid hide, I haven't got a permanent one, I will just spray the tank down thoroughly each day when I see him start shedding, which seems to work, I will put sphagnum moss in the warm hide if I start to get any shedding issues, does the trick with snakes.
I think I will have to try and make a platform then like your thread, and make it a warm hide, that should ensure I have adequate floor space. My tank is 4ft long but with a large log on one side they can look cluttered, and I don't want the skink constantly walking over obstacles.

Thank you for your help, I just needed some reassurance lol

[Asherb]

You could replace the soil with something else if you think it is a bit dusty. Here is a thread on Which substrate is best for my BTS? and another recent thread of options.

Is one of the hides a humid hide? Here is a thread on creating humid hides, they are a great option for when they want a little more humidity than the general enclosure, you might find it useful around shed time. Little ones might need a little extra care and help for shedding so when he does shed keep an eye out and make sure he sheds properly all the old skin on the toes and the tip of the tail. Because they grow so quickly it needs to shed properly so it doesn't get stuck and cause problems.

Thank you for the advise. I don't have a humid hide constantly, I think my humidity in general seems ok and I have not had any shedding issues. If I do get stuck sheds I usually then put sphagnum moss in the warm hide for a week or so until the skin has fully shed, seems to work well for my ball pythons. I have been checking the toes and tail as I was told by the reptile shop to check this. The tail and legs are usually the last to shed but after a few days they appear fully shed as well, I guess its just more difficult for them to rub these parts to remove the skin.

Thank you for the advise.