Battle Against Humidity + Toys

[Halogen]

I'm at my wits end for keeping humidity up for my skink Fiji. I have tried almost eveything: large water dish, coconut substrate, sphagnum moss scattered around the tank. My current tank did not come with a glass lid, and the only lid I could find was a screen one. I covered most of the lid with books and the only open space is the area surrounding my basking lamp. I also spray the edges with a squirt bottle because Im not sure if a misting machine is a good choice but that might help out alot.

Overnight, the humidity goes up to the range it needs to be in (It gets around 50~60%) yet during the day, I struggle getting it to the minimum of 40%. Since I have a merauke, this is really bad for him. The scales still feel really smooth and normal yet it has been two weeks and I don't know how long it will be before rotting happens.

Also, does anyone recommend any toys for your skink? I don't want to overcrowd the cage with rocks and I feel if I give him a ball to play with he might eat it thinking its an egg. Are reptile hammocks any good for skinks or are they that bad at climbing?

I really want the best for my skink but I really need help

[BonesMcKay]

I recently set up a DIY humidifier system, but maybe you could look into a mister or something like that. I also mix a cup or so of water into the substrate every so often, like mixing the moist side up with the more dried parts until everything is evenly damp but not wet. We're able to get it to sit around 70%, our room's ambient humidity in 54% but without the DIY system it goes down to 25% under the heat lamp.

[Maplefish]

I put a big sponge in the corner in a plastic dish with a lid that has a lot of holes poked in it and keep it wet.

[kingofnobbys]

OK, no lid on the tank , and it's drying out too fast and much.

Easy fixed :

either build a timber tank that's about 4ft long x 2ft wide and 18inches tall (BTS don't need a huge amount of head read or to have access to climbing opportunities (very much) , and have sliding glass doors on the front.
This should be tall enough to mount a suitable basking light and a 5%UVB T8 tube in a reflector hood under the lid. Some ceiling style ventilation louvers for air ventilation.

The whole tank can be built from Plywood (1/2inch marine ply will be good and seal with marine varnish prior to assembling / gluing and screwing).

OR

get a solid timber lid , you can easily cut holes (for the lights to shine through if they are not going to be mount from under the lid) , and some holes for ceiling ventilation louvers.

Both will be much better options to hold a nice humid microclimate.

[alichamp]

In the meantime try a Humid hide while you sort out the rest of the tank.

[ETNJ]

A damp towel on the lid should help with humidity.

[Susann]

In the meantime try a Humid hide while you sort out the rest of the tank.

Also, does anyone recommend any toys for your skink? I don't want to overcrowd the cage with rocks and I feel if I give him a ball to play with he might eat it thinking its an egg.

Some skinks are very entertained by pushing balls around, or other toys that roll/move/make sounds, but you need to make very sure they are sturdy, don't come apart, and are large enough in size that the skink is unable to close his mouth around it, i.e. larger toys made for babies or pets. Some have had great success with pet "treat-balls" --the ones you fill with dry kibble that you have to push around to get the food to fall out... Some skinks "get it", others will never be interested no matter what you put inside.

Are reptile hammocks any good for skinks or are they that bad at climbing?

It's not that they are that bad at climbing, it's that they really suck at getting down; most skinks are quite good at climbing UP, but then only have one way of getting down, which is just dropping. As far as hammocks go, most skinks prefer a flatter, more solid surface to lay on, so hammocks tend to largely go unused.

[Halogen]

It's not that they are that bad at climbing, it's that they really suck at getting down; most skinks are quite good at climbing UP

That explains how my skink was able to climb out of his box (A large box I let him roam in) and into the trash can behind it while I was cleaning the water dish