Elerida wrote:kingofnobbysThank you!
The first post of the topic I write when I get the BTS. Now it seems that the skink stopped afraid of me after. Now it stay calm when I open the terrarium to change water/remove poop, and when I take it out from the enclosure.
Here is the terrarium:
https://i.ibb.co/KKGxsqG/1.jpg The lamps were like this before, but the breeder of the BTS say that I should put in on the terrarium, not inside. But after what you say, I think that I will return it like that again:
https://i.ibb.co/N2wvh18/Whats-App-Imag ... -46-44.jpg I think you will need to upgrade to a T5ho 12% tube for that tank height , a 26W UVB150 is only a 5% UVB source and will be giving quite low UVA and UVB at 50cm , if you insist on keeping the existing UVB compact, you'll need to either
Yes, I put it like this because the breeder say that 10.0 is too much for them and they need 5.0. Soon I should order a new lamp, and I want to be sure that I get the right one...
Seems to me the "breeder" (if indeed he actually is a breeder and not just a trafficker) has given you some bad advise , as has the pet shop where you bought the tank. But don't worry, it's early days and you can recover the situation make corrections to the lighting , and the husbandry and your baby IJ BTS can still grow up big , strong , healthy and friendly and happy.
I've taken a look at the image of your tank , see below :
A common misconception is that Blue Tongued Skinks do not require UV, however this is utter presumption as there is no reason why they are exempt from the same care as other species. Thus UV and a full photoperiod are essential, as supplementation alone is dangerous via the risk of over or under-supplementing of vitamin D3. They can be provided UV ideally either 10-12% and either T8 or T5 however T5 is far more efficient, modern UV equipment being able to fully simulate wild UV index’ when set up correctly. This UV equipment should be fitted the same side as the basking area allowing a UV and photo gradient so the animal can escape it on the opposite side and under décor should it want to.
from
https://www.reptiletalk.net/indonesian- ... gue-skink/ and
https://www.herpvet.com.au/blue-tongued ... are-sheet/If the UVB150 is above the very fine mesh lid , your skink is getting NO UVA and NO UVB at all to speak of, in fact the level of UV at the indicated basking spot wlll so close to zero ( likely under 10 microW UVB / sq.cm that even if you are giving VitD3 fortified Calcium & multivitamins and food (cat food ?
would not be my choice for a baby skink BTW ) 6hat your skink wont be able to metabolise it's dietary calcium (needed to grow) and risks developing MBD ( insufficient UVB) and severe neurogical problems ( insufficient UVA) because
1) the
26W UVB150 is MUCH TOO WEAK to start with , needs to be upgraded to at least a 26W UVB200 , a T5ho 12% tube with a good quality reflector (hood) would be much better at distances of about 30cm to 40cm , and if you can't get the basking higher or closer , I'd strongly recommend even a T5ho 14% UVB tube in a reflector hood in order to get the UVB flux up to about 150 or higher microW UVB / sq.cm at the basking spot.
See this chart that I created comparing Arcadia's high T5HO tubes with and without focusing reflectors / reflector hoods :
It can be seen that a T5ho 14% UVB tube in a reflector hood will give about the required UVB flux at 45 cm to 50cm
if UNOBSTRUCTED.2) if the UV source is in dome B , on top of the mesh lid , the fine mesh is block more than 45% of the UV before it even gets into the tank, essentially cancelling any benefit of using a reflector (dome , or if you upgrade to a T5ho , the reflecto hood. I VERY STRONGLY recommend moving the UV source and it's reflector (dome) so it's hung UNDER the mesh lid.
3) I'd replace the mesh lid with a solid timber lid with the lights mounted under it , this will help
>>> maintain adequate levels of humidity for your IJ BTS
>>> help maintain tank temperatures , you wont need as high a wattage basking globe to achieve the same basking spot temperature, warm and cool zone temperatures
>>> help keep the tank warmer overnight, your skink wont cope with cold overnight temperatures especially in winter , I'd endeavor to keep the overnight temperatures in winter over 24 degC
See this for one way to set up the basking globe and a CHE on thermostats to manage the tank temperatures during the daytime and overnight :
4) I suggest investing another hide , in this case a suitable sized timber or plastic (acrylic) hollow 1/2 log style hide , like
this will go under basking globe to provide both a warm humid hide and a basking platform
Young / baby and juvenile skinks shed frequently , and will benefit from having some pointy / rough surfaced pieces of tree branch to crawl over and scratch against and crawl under when in shed and while they are feeling very itchy and uncomfortable.
If you live near an area of woodland or an orchard , you should be able to find a suitable dead branch that's been dropped or cut off a tree that will only need to cut to length to fit inside the tank.
Even bits of very textured bark of tree trunk that have been shed are good.
I believe Israelis have large areas of eucaypt trees ( not native to Israel but considered the bees knees for timber and shade ), and they often grown in plantations there , the dry dead leaves and shed twigs and branches and bark of these are PERFECT additions to any BTS tanks. I believe the most common eucalypt grown in Israel is what we call the river red gum.
The sun dried dead shed leaves add a nice textural element to the skink's bedding as does a few larger bits of shed bark and some twigs.
All my skinks ( eastern BTS , eastern water skinks, and delicate (rainbow) skinks love the stuff included in their bedding.
I simply collect my leaves and twigs and bits of bark off my front lawn as I have a mature ( 40 year old , 50m tall eucalypt in my front yard that I planted as a seedling shortly after I bought my house) , I don't bother treating the leaves or sterilizing them , they are simply collected and mixed with the coco fibre bedding .
The little skink will also benefit from a wide shallow water dish , I'd suggest placing this in the warm zone so water warms ups a bit and on a piece of cement paver ( BTS have a habit of trying to burrow under stuff in their tanks ( this will discourage this skink getting under the water dish and spilling the water and the paver will soak up heat and help keep the tank warmer overnight when it will act as heat source while it's slowly cooling down ( high relative thermal inertia and thermal mass in the paver will help , see this for dense concrete's thermal properties , and note unpigmented concrete has an emissivity of 0.9 .
ref Researchgate.net
I have a 400mm x 400mm paver in my each of my eastern BTS ' tanks , I place the food and water dishes on these , in a smaller tank , a 300mm x 300mm paver will do :
A typical dry 300mm x 300mm x 40mm paver is 9.54 kg mass
==> if warmed to 35 degC , it can store 1.1 x 9.54 x 35 = 367 KJ of heat that will be released slowly as the air temperature in the tank falls (after the basking light is switched off) .
This is the kind of dish my skinks have in their tanks :
https://www.petco.com/shop/en/petcostor ... ter-dishes , my advise is pick one like it that's got a nice rough inside the dish surface (will help a skink crawl out) and never have more water in the dish than a depth about half the belly to back height of the skink's body).
