Beginner Bluey Help Part 2

[Halogen]

So I have had my skink for almost a month now, yet still have some questions.

1. How do I get my skink to eat his greens? He eats the treats (fruits) and meats just fine, yet I rarely see him touch the green stuff. I have tried giving him only greens for a meal and he barely ate. I also have switched it up going from collard greens and green beans to arugula and carrot yet he doesn't seem to like them.

2. How to keep a skink occupied? I am pretty sure my skink is bored in his cage and claws at the sides regularly. I take him out when I can, yet he keeps getting into places he shouldn't or thinks a bed is a good place to jump from. Also when I last took him out, he peed and left white stuff on my bed and I had to clean my sheets twice in a day. Any good way to avoid this? I included pictures of when he does this

3. I have a tree thing in his cage that he used to use when I first got him yet rarely uses it. Should I take it out?

4. Any good ways of keeping up humidity? I have struggled with this alot and the humid hide I made doesn't seem to work quite well.

[Maplefish]

Give him more substrate to dig into.

I mix Cypress mulch (60%) with fine coconut fiber (40%) and a pour about 10cups of water into his enclosure a few times a week. Saturate the substrate and mix it all up but dont make a soggy mess. Don't let coconut fiber get dry either because the dust isn't good for them but it holds moisture well.

What's with the tin? It takes up a lot of space.

Humid hides work really well if you stuff it with moss and use a spray bottle on the moss itself every other day or so.

Your skink will eat greens if you mix it with raw egg. They loooove egg and there is no way to separate the egg and the greens for picky skinks.

[Ohgeez]

Theres some ways to get picky skinks to eat veggies, the egg idea above is new to me and sounds good. Other than that you can finely chop up and grate the veggies and mix it in with his meat enough that he can't pick it out.
I also agree with more substrate, but dont think you have to stick to pet store stuff either! Hardware store mulches can be just as good, as long as its reptile safe (no pine tree mulch), not super fine and has no feed/manure. Also most of em are real cheap!
For the walls, you might want to cover up 3/4 of the glass sides. Most likely he cant register it and thinks he can just roam past it. Some paper or a nice picture taped on the outside'll do
I think if you add more substrate and wet it the humidity should stay higher for longer since there'll be more to dry out. For a humid hide I used an ice cream container with a hole cut in it, filled with coco fiber (good for water retination). Moss is also good as the above stated
I hope that rambling was usefull aha

[vana]

Maybe a bigger cage would help, I can't see how big yours is.

[Halogen]

What's with the tin? It takes up a lot of space.

It is the water dish I use. People say skinks need a big enough water dish to chill in sometimes and mine fits him. Should I get a smaller one?

I mix Cypress mulch (60%) with fine coconut fiber (40%) and a pour about 10cups of water into his enclosure a few times a week. Saturate the substrate and mix it all up but dont make a soggy mess. Don't let coconut fiber get dry either because the dust isn't good for them but it holds moisture well.

I didn't know pouring water in would work, some say to not do this because bacteria or mold could grow, yet I guess I could try.

[Halogen]

Maybe a bigger cage would help, I can't see how big yours is.

I'm trying to save up for a bigger tank as I know I need one.

[Janella]

Hi, what size enclosure do you have now? What substrate are you using currently? Depending on the substrate using you can absolutely pour water on it about once a week to help with humidity. I like using Jungle Mix with Reptibark on top. I spot clean every day and then every 3 months a total cage clean and replace substrate. The humid hides work well as well.

As for greens. You have to chop or blend them up extremely fine. Then mix them in with his meat and fruits. If you just offer the veggies by themselves, most won't eat them. The egg idea also works.

As for letting out. You can try to potty train your skinks. I usually wait to let my guys out until after I know they went
Once they have then out they come. I never have accidents if I do this. If I let them out before they have gone, then I almost always will have some sort of accident in the house. You also have to supervise and monitor them closely while out. They have no fear and don't understand that they can fall and hurt themselves. You wouldn't want your little one to hurt itself.

I would take the tree thing out. They don't usually climb. I would make sure there is at least two hides. One on the cool side and one on the basking side. Lastly the water dish is fine.

I think I covered everything. I hope that helps. Good luck and if you have any other questions we are here to help!

[vana]

My skink hates greens! The egg is a good idea, I might try it.

[Halogen]

Hi, what size enclosure do you have now? What substrate are you using currently?

Right now it is 30 by 12 inches I think and my skink is around 1 year to 2 years. Right now I am using coconout fiber (Eco Earth) until it runs out and then switching to cypress mulch as I heard it is better. I am saving up for a bigger tank and I just started working at a concession stand and trying to get extra hours on the weekend so I make more and I could hopefully get a new tank in 2 weeks.

I would take the tree thing out. They don't usually climb. I would make sure there is at least two hides. One on the cool side and one on the basking side. Lastly the water dish is fine.

It isn't like a tree thing for chameleons or other vertical reptiles it is like the half log reptile home:

Also another question about my water dish. Underneath it is a wood block with slopes on the sides. I think the slopes take up too much space, yet without the woodblock my skink crawls underneath the bowl or the water bowl is wobbly all the time. I have tried putting it on the very bottom of the cage so it doesn't tilt, yet then my skink just pollutes the water.
I added a picture of the block (usually the sides are covered with substrate but I cleared it so you could see)

[Ohgeez]

I like to use ramekins as water bowls, theyre shaped sturdy, high up enough to stay clean and wont get tipped over. See if you can find some cheap remekin to replace the tin with

[Janella]

I personally would save up for a knew enclosure like you are. I have my adults in a 48 inch long by 24 inches wide, by 18 high. They seem happy with that. I also wouldn't switch from the Eco-friendly earth, but just add the mulch on top of it. Then about once a week wet it down with a good 16oz of water or so. Perhaps less since your enclosure is smaller at the moment. Also leave the log in. My guys love their log hides. I just didn't know what you meant when you said tree. As for the water dish, I would try a heavier one as was suggested. The tin he can just take advantage of and move around. They make tons of different style dishes you can try. Something heavy is the key though. Again I hope this helps.

[Halogen]

Thanks for all the help, does anyone recommend a place to get a 48 inch by 24 inch by 18 inch enclosure?

[Janella]

Where are you located?

[Halogen]

Where are you located?

Near Greenwood IN. I know a friend that works with wood that might be able to make a cage for me, but if he can't I just want a back up plan.

[Janella]

I personally don't know any enclosure builders in IN, but here in MI I have two awesome enclosure builders. I personally love the front door enclosures the best. I wish you luck finding what you are looking for

[BD99]

G'day mate.
Ok, so I am by no means an expert on Blue tongues. I bought my first maybe 4 months ago... I was very bright eyed, bushy tailed and dumb about it. A pale bluey caught my eye. I spent 4 months visiting and revisiting the store for my bearded Dragon, and eying this blue tongue. eventually I bought her.

I ended up with an 8 year old Eastern Blue female who had been a brood lizard for some time, and ultimately has masses of broken ribs from her men getting rough... and the sweetest lizard I could ask for.

Gidgey is a fusspot when it comes to food, so I developed several ways I mix and match to make her eat.

1 - Egg sauce. With this, I take an egg, crack it open and shake it up (Don't froth it, just break the yolk) from here I take a quarter of the egg and eggwhite, add a little water, calcium powder and maybe 1/4th of a banana. Then I shake it all up so its a sauce of sorts. Again, make sure not to have the egg white fluffing up, just ensure that the banana is soaked and the powder is mixed in. This sauce of sorts ultimately ends up thick in many places from squished banana. I mix this through the greens. The scent of Egg gets Gidge going ape, and she'll eat anything that scent is on. Doing this turned greens from disgusting into the yummiest thing she's ever tasted.

2 - Gutloading. For Gutloading, its a case of getting her live food to have devoured what I want her to get. I separate several crickets or roaches, starve them for a day or two so that they have pooped all their waste out. Then after those days I swap the bugs into a clean container and feed them. 30 minutes to an hour before feeding them to Gidge for crickets. up to a day for roaches.

3 - Starvation. This was cruel of me, but I also went a very short time where I offered Gidge NOTHING but her greens on certain days. While this isn't what I'd like, after going 2 Wednesdays without anything but the yucky stuff, she relented and ate. Soon after I figured out the gutloading though through my vet, who has a wonderful rep in Victoria, Australia. That said, Gidge still grazes on carrot


For Entertainment/environment. I have a 6ft long cage that's 3ft high and 2ft wide. I used my substrate to create natural hills so that she climbs to her basking spot. I used an actual real rock in this, which I baked and washed to get rid of nasties, along with old hides I bought online that were too small to create her a platform and also different textures. I added fake plants and a large fake log tunnel for her, with the terrain allowing her to climb on top of the log or go under. Used another branch to fence off another hilled area and sunk her hide. The top of her used hide serves as yet another platform for her to climb over and explore and the dip down into her rock cave is very much a sandpit for her if she wants to dig. She can effectively dig under her substrate anywhere in her cage however, I merely provided levels.
My goal was to go simple yet also give a wild terrain.

I found she was too heavy to climb HUGE logs like I've seen younger blue tongues do.

As for humidity. I just use a spray bottle and plain water and put a few puffs in when I turn her lights on and off. It seems to work well enough.

for her water bowl, I sunk it into the substrate enough for her to step in and out of it if she wishes. She doesn't seem to get stuff in it though, which is a huge plus. I also feed her on a near flat dish that's large enough for 90% of her body to fit on. she can just lay down and munch if she wants, and letting her graze seems to occupy some of her time too. Or tossing her food looking for yummy things.


When I bring her out, I generally set her near me around the computer. I use my old boxes of whatever cereal and such I've had and set up a Small maze for her. She LOVES ducking in and out of the boxes exploring, then either falls asleep or comes and starts licking at my feet when she's done. She also sits happily on my desk, watching me type. Fingers are amusing apparently.

I MAY be lucky with Gidge, she's older and had a somewhat rough time. Perhaps more mellowed out than your bubba. She is very patient, even with various other skinks climbing over her or hissing at her. She just doesn't react at all, that said she is almost 1 1/2 foot long and over 700 grams. She is NOT small at all. That does seem to make her very confident and relaxed about life, laid back, not disinterested or indifferent. Honestly, I think everyone will learn the quirks of their lizard to fully know how to do things. I see some things work for some people and other's don't.