New Halmahera and Temporary Enclosure!!

[AzulLoco]

Hi everyone,

First time BTS companion - wife named him Skin, but snake fanatic. Thought I'd share a couple pictures and seek a little feedback, before his new enclosure shows up and I pimp that pad. Once I do, I will post photos of it! I have a combination of cypress mulch, repti bark and coco chunks that I mixed up. I still was needing to spray and monitor the humidity quite a bit, which is frustrating and not entirely consistent at my home in southern California. Today was the first day I ran the modified fogger all day so far, and the hygrometer I have secured inside the enclosure is reading at 89% steady, for a Halmahera. I also added a plastic bowl with a bunch of terrarium moss in it and hollowed out the middle for another getaway if he wishes. The only thing I am not sure is if the humidity (relative) that is reading on the hygrometer is sufficient, or if the substrate needs to be wet for when he burrows. Basically, does anyone know if the fog will reach through the substrate and be adequate humidity all the way down? Not sure if that makes sense haha. Anyway, here are the pictures of the temporary enclosure I have him in. This is a 36" HDX bin I usually use for snake quarantines that I modified with screen tops and side ventilation, but it's suiting him well. There is about 4-5 inches of substrate in there for him, and the heat lamp and UV are on opposite sides. Switched his food to premium canned dog and cat food after watching a very informative video that let me know the "home brew" I was thinking was best for him was not the best at all. He wasn't touching it. Two days of wet dog food and he is already eating. I give him a large mealworm here and there, but I learned that these things should not be staples - hopefully true. I mix some mustard and arugula in with the dog food, some repashy vitamins and d3, as well as a small blueberry and a little yellow squash or something like that. Haven't really seen him drinking water, but changing it every day and using purified. Giving the dude a few weeks to acclimate before his new enclosure arrives (4x2x1 PVC) before handling him. He's very aware of my existence, but other than waking him up to eat every day from his burrowing, I let him be. Open to any advice and thanks to anyone who has offered theirs so far. Really hope some crazy parasites don't show up out of nowhere, but as it sits, he looks really healthy with no missing toes or scale issues. Fingers crossed.

P.S. I don't have any great photos of him in the enclosure yet, but this is the day I got him. Also had to resize these photos, so not sure if they'll be microscopic.

AL

[mb606587]

Your guy should be fine with your ambient humidity levels in the enclosure. I'd still try to keep the substrate damp only because if the fogger runs out of water while you're not around, the humidity will quickly plummet. Humid hides work great in these situations. Something as simple as a plastic hide box found in most pet stores filled with damp sphagnum moss can be the solution. Your skink will love to burrow into those, especially during a shed. Some people don't like those boxes because they aren't natural looking but you can apply silicone caulk to the exterior and sift substrate and moss to coat it if that is the case. My monkey skink, which requires similar humidity to your Halmahera, actually has a stone tile floor being that he is mostly arboreal. I rely solely on the humid hides and fogger in the absence of a good moisture retaining substrate.

[AzulLoco]

I actually put a mossy tupperware in there today, which you can see in the bottom left of the first picture. I guess like with all things, I will just have to experiment with the timing of things and the level of fogging required to support or augment already moistened substrate. He definitely likes to burrow, which is why I think the 12" tall PVC enclosure I am going to set up for him, while not the typical height, will be just fine if it is 5" of substrate and the rest sort of a low woody and planty area for him to roam around in. No sense in having a tall enclosure he is never going to climb anywhere! Can always add on to the PVC to make it taller. Thanks for the input.

[MaddyKay99]

Some skinks actually like to climb, at least mine does. I have a large wood log that he likes to climb on top of and he will climb up the foam insert which makes up the vertical back of his enclosure. I also have a little corner hammock that my beardie didn't like and my bluie loves it to death, he's on it all the time. Maybe my guy is special but i would consider adding some things that he could climb

[AzulLoco]

There will be places to climb. I just meant that it won't be overly tall. If need be, I will fabricate a 2x2x2 PvC piece to add to the top with a big branch. I think a baby skink in a 4x2x1 will be happy.

[splashy07]

I would rather discourage climbing as a fall at the weight of an adult could cause an injury. As long as the climbing area does not have excessive height I am sure it would be fine. My big northerns are so heavy I wouldn't want them falling more than 12 inches. I am overly protective though. It's just me.

[AzulLoco]

I can second that. Their tiny arms are fragile.