BLUE TONGUE SKINKS

Hello everyone!

For starters, I'm sorry that my questions are all similar to the ones answered in the FAQ and care sheet-- I have read those, but since every skink and situation is different I still think it'd be very reassuring for me to get some more personalized advice. Sorry in advance for probably asking questions you've heard a million times before.

I brought home my first BTS on Saturday afternoon (about three days ago). He is a captive bred Irian Jaya, about four months old. I don't have photos at the moment. I got him from a very nice and reputable local pet shop that does only reptiles.

When I got him home, he buried himself completely in the aspen on the cool side of the tank. At some point when I wasn't around he ate a few blueberries that I left him. The next morning, he was curled up on the cool side completely hidden underneath a piece of cork bark, and there, to the best of my knowledge, he has stayed ever since, for at least 48 hours. There's no evidence that he has eaten anything else (I've held back any additional berries with the intention of using them as treats in the future), or that he has gone anywhere near the warm side of the tank or his basking light.

I guess my question is: I want to start handling him so he'll get used to it, but of course I don't want to rush him. Exactly how long should I wait? I'm dreading that three weeks from now he'll still be spending all of his time totally hidden. If he doesn't come out on his own after a few more days, how long should I wait before plucking him out and handling him anyway? Is there any risk of his de-acclimating to the handling he got used to at the pet store if I don't touch him for weeks on end?

I'm frustrated that a lot of the advice I've read is to build trust by hand-feeding him or sitting close to the terrarium, but none of that is going to work for me right now since he's hidden 100% of the time.

Thanks for your help! I'll post pictures once he becomes a little more personable.

I'm kinda in the same boat. Generally what I'm hearing from people is just give them time to get used to their new home but what if in the 2-4 weeks he just stays hidden and never comes out?

Glad to hear I'm not alone! I asked the same question on reddit and got some helpful replies if you want to check them out:

https://www.reddit.com/r/reptiles/comme ... gue_skink/

Luckily my skink did finally eat all his food while I was at work yesterday, so it seems like he's finally starting to get more comfortable.

Heya! Not to worry. I hear that the best advice is to give them two weeks+ to adapt but kinda play it by ear. If your new buddy starts to feel more comfortable, they will come out, but remember they're in a totally new environment so it makes sense that they're a bit shy. Just give them time and space. I hear some good techniques for hiding skinks is to come up to the cage and talk a bit in softer tones and deposit a few treats in the bowl and leave. That way they will eventually associate you with yummies and hopefully be more inclined to peak out. From there it's just patience.

Congrats on your new buddy! I would love to see some pictures when they finally unbury themselves!

Hi! I would still leave him time to settle in to his new environment before handling. Even if it takes a few weeks you're unlikely to undo his getting used to be handled to any serious degree, but I think more likely is to make him more fearful and stressed and recluse if you start digging him out or handling too soon. If you do that, you're kind of proving his point that it is not safe and he needs to keep hiding.

While young they do tend to hide a fair bit, as they are most likely to get eaten or attacked when small. Take it slow and at some point he will start to come out more - at this stage your job is to make sure you provide the right set up and monitor feeding, drinking and poop as much as possible. Make sure you offer a hide on both ends. Once he's feeling less threatened he will start to be more curious about his new digs and nice treats help also.

Thanks for the advice, you guys! I do need to do a substrate change (I used the wrong kind), but I guess I can just try to work around him to avoid digging him up.

Due to the fact he's not eating much, I'm continually worried about the temperature being too cold for him. The coolest part of the cage tends to be 75-80 degrees F, but may on occasion drop a few degrees below that. Is that okay? It seems to me that if it got a bit too cold he could very easily just move closer to the heat lamp, and I don't want to overreact and use a heating mat if it's not needed.

Since he's an Irian Jaya, I'm trying to keep his humidity high-- as close to 70% as I can get it. Let me know if that's not correct.

Which substrate do you have? If it's aspen or something similar, no panic. You can just mix it with some new stuff whatever you are getting until it's run out, and you don't need to disturb him too much to immediately change substrate.

For temps, a pic of your enclosure might help, but what temps are you getting up at the hot end, both basking spot and ambient warm? Humidity 60-70% should be good.

Here's a pic of my enclosure. A few labels:

1. Thermometer on the cold end. Currently 24 degrees C.
2. Place where my buried skink is currently sleeping. Until recently he was always further into the cool side; last night I moved the heat lamp a bit further toward the center, and soon after that he burrowed a little closer to it.
3. Temporary probe thermometer near to the heat lamp. Currently 30 degrees C.

And as for right under the heat lamp, that's currently 38 degrees C.

If you've got any tips for how I can improve this layout, especially in regards to heating, please let me know!

I have aspen bedding now, but will be swapping out for Cypress mulch tomorrow (or at least mixing it in).


Edit: as an experiment, I moved the heat lamp even further toward the middle so that the skink was in a zone of about 32 degrees C. I let it sit for maybe an hour and upon coming back I found that he had eaten all his food (for the first time in several days), and was on the surface, though he burrowed back under when he caught sight of me. It seems like he needs to spend more time in the basking lamp, and yet when I keep it to one side of the tank he hasn't ever gone over there. Would it be crazy if I put the lamp and basking spot right in the middle of the tank? That way it would be easier for him to find it, and since it's a pretty big terrarium I'm pretty confident that the outer reaches would typically remain fairly cool (I doubt they'd get much higher than 27 C). Here's a picture of the set-up after that modification:

The temps you were getting the first time were perfect. You do want a gradient right down to 24 or even lower, this gives them a choice. Also if the cool end it too warm this doesn't leave much room for hot days. You could add another hide in the middle if you want to give him more options.

Your setup looks great otherwise!

Great, that's good to hear. Thanks for the help!