BLUE TONGUE SKINKS

So I just bought my first BTS at the local reptile show. I’ve been researching skinks and waiting to buy one for about 2 years. Finally, I found one that caught my eye. The vendor was too busy to help me, so his 12-13 year old son took care of the transaction instead. The boy couldn’t tell me the subspecies of the animal, as they had a very large selection of animals at their booth. I asked if they could at least tell me the age and the owner quickly glanced over and said “about 3 months”. I know i shouldn’t have purchased without getting more info, but I was too impulsive and couldn’t help myself. I’ve been looking all over different sites trying to identify the little guy; only thing written on the box was “Hi-Red”. I know it’s an Indonesian species but I’d really like to know which kind. Thanks in advance for any help!

P.S. I can take additional photos if needed.

I hate trying to ID baby skinks but it does appear Merauke.

I'm no expert, but those black spiderwebs on the head and very black legs would make me think of a regular Indo rather than a Merauke.

Efferalgan wrote:I'm no expert, but those black spiderwebs on the head and very black legs would make me think of a regular Indo rather than a Merauke.

Precisely why I hate IDing babies. Meraukes can be born with the webbing and it disappears as they age. You may be right with regular Indo also. They all look pretty similar at that age.

So what age would you say is best to identify? Sounds about right as their body will change as they fully develop. Maybe at a year old? Which leads me to a new question; I was told the skink is about 3 months old and I purchased in Feb, and I’ve read from some posts on this site that babies are usually born around August? Would that mean little Augustus is actually older than I was told?

No I wouldn't suspect it to be any older than what you were told. Captive bred Northerns are typically born here in the US during the summer months. Captive born and bred Indos are usually born here in the spring. I strongly suspect your baby skink was imported from Indonesia, as are the vast majority of baby Indos, especially those purchased at expos and pet shops. The breeding times are different in Indonesia. Post a few more pictures, and try to post one overtop with your skink on a white surface, like paper towels. I may have a better idea after seeing the feet and belly patterns.

So it was pretty much impossible for me to get a pic of him belly up. I tried to just take a pic from underneath him not sure if it will suffice. But here’s some additional photos:

Yes looks Merauke to me. As for the toe, you can place the skink in a large tupperware with a very shallow level of warm water. Also adding damp moss into the enclosure and creating a humid hide may help.

I really appreciate your help. I’ve been using bark and misting often. Also been giving a good assortment of food every 1-2 days. I’ll give you an update with new pics in a couple months so we can confirm. Btw I now think that white tie is actually just her actual color, not any stuck shed. Will still treat it with shallow water as recommended.