New Owner need more guidance

[Neonn]

Hello guys!
I recently got a baby halmahera blue tongue skink that i named neon. The breeder i got him (unsexed, but im simply gonna asume it as a him) from said that he was about 2 months old, and its been about a week since i got him. I've done my research, by watching tons of videos, reading care guides and care sheets but im still just a newbie skink owner so please correct me if im doing anything wrong.

Neon currently lives in a 20 Galloon tank, i have a 75 gallon wooden enclosure ready but the breeder i got him from told me that it was better to keep him in a smaller enclosure until he got bigger. Im using 100% medium sized cocohusk as his substrate to match the substrate that his breeder uses. The average humidity my house is around 60-70% so im not really struggling in maintaining the humidity in his enclosure, i sprays daily to keep the humidity around 70-90% which peaks every morning to high 90s. The temperature might be a little bit of a problem though, the temperature in his enclosure range from 29°C (84°F) in the cool end and 31°C (88°F), and around 34-38°C (93-100°F) on his basking spot. Im using exoterra 50W intense basking bulb connected to a dimmer switch so i can control the basking temp. Im keeping the basking temperature from getting too hot so it wont affect the cool end too much because the enclosure is pretty small.

I got 2 hides of of them in the cool end and the other one in the hot end which neon like to use as a basking spot. Neon really loves to burrow, he spends most of his time burrowing inside his hide or basking. I feed him daily by leaving his food (i usually either gives him mealworm, chicken meat, raw/boiled egg and wet cat food) on his enclosure for him to eat, on the first couple days he refuses to eat anything as expected from a new skink but he's now always eat the food i gave him even though he didnt eat all of them and only taking a couple bites. he poops every other day and so far the poop looks normal (comparing to images ive seen online).

But what got me worried is the fact that i have never seen him touches his water dish, ive prepared a large water dish that big enough for him to soak but i havent really sees him soak or let alone drink from it, he still urates/*tick so i guess he probably drinks when im not watching?


Thanks for your time and im really expecting tips and ways to improve
sorry for my not so short thread with tons of grammar-error, here are some pics to get better idea of neon and his enclosure

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[Janella]

Everything sounds good. The key with these guys is humidity. In that small of an enclosure it is hard to maintain the temps you need, but it sounds like you are doing a great job. You could go slightly hotter at the basking spot, but I understand in your enclosure size you may not be able too. They grow fast so your skink will be moving into a bigger enclosure soon. As for water, they can be tricky. Sometimes you may not be able to actually see them drink. I would ditch the mealworms. They aren't very good. Try superworms, hornworms, silkworms instead. Also don't forget veggies. Please see the food chart for help. All else sounds really good. Welcome and good luck.

[Neonn]

Everything sounds good. The key with these guys is humidity. In that small of an enclosure it is hard to maintain the temps you need, but it sounds like you are doing a great job. You could go slightly hotter at the basking spot, but I understand in your enclosure size you may not be able too. They grow fast so your skink will be moving into a bigger enclosure soon. As for water, they can be tricky. Sometimes you may not be able to actually see them drink. I would ditch the mealworms. They aren't very good. Try superworms, hornworms, silkworms instead. Also don't forget veggies. Please see the food chart for help. All else sounds really good. Welcome and good luck.

Thanks so mush for the rensponse.
Hornworms and silkworms are really hard to find in my country as nobody actually sells them as food for reptiles. Hornworms are considered pest while silkworms are important commodities. Ive tried giving him superworm but he wont eat them, hell chase the superworm, bite it then swing it around like a toy but he never eats them. I mainly feed him with wet dog food now hopefully will cover both the protein and veggies he needs.

Ive kinda wondering how often do they sheds though, the breeder said he just finished shedding before the shipping, but its been almost 2 weeks now without anysign of shedding.. is it normal for a baby? Im sure theres nothing wrong with the humidty

[Janella]

Feeding a good quality dog food is just fine. As for shedding it is usually every 6-8 weeks. Hope that helps.