BLUE TONGUE SKINKS

Hey guys, I'm new to this forum and I'm getting my first BTS in a couple days with everything ready to go for him/her. I'm mainly using aspen shavings as my substrate so my question is; can a 100watt heat bulb sitting on top of the cage light the aspen on fire? My terrarium is 12in high with 3-4in of aspen(do BTS's need more?) so that's only a 8-9 inch difference between the heat bulb and the aspen itself. Thanks for any input.

Disclaimer that I only have about 2 years of experience with BTS, so this is just from what I've personally seen.

You shouldn't have any problems! I use shredded aspen in my cages as well and have not had any issues. Unless the lamp or light bulb severely malfunction, you should be okay. That said, it's a good idea to have a thermostat to control the temperature just in case! That way if your lamp starts getting too hot, your thermostat will switch it off for you.

But no, a normal heat light at that distance should only warm the aspen up a little bit. I've used 150 watt bulbs at the same distance with no problem, if that helps!

Awesome, thanks for your reply, no worries then.

My only question is what type of skink are you getting? Most skinks do better off of Aspen and on something that can hold humidity better.

Website says I'm getting a Teliqua scincoides scincoides. IDK really what species that is but I've already put a ton of money on him/her and the setup. I already bought and used a huge bag of aspen that's sitting on top 2 inches of eco earth.

That is an Eastern right? If you are using the Ecoearth and then Aspen on top, I think you should be just fine. I just wanted to make sure it wasn't straight Aspen. However, I am no expert with Easterns. I will let the experts chim in on this one. Send us pictures when you get your new baby and congratulations.

Thanks I will. Got it full grown.

Send a picture as soon as you get him. Easterns are quite rare in the states, and can only be obtained from breeders. Finding one on a dealer's website is impossible, unless you live in Australia. Whatever type you get, I wouldn't use aspen. I even found it too dry for my Northerns.

I really don't know what type it is, I asked them but I'm waiting for a response. I'm using aspen and eco earth below it. Im just here making sure that the aspen won't catch on fire from the heat bulb.