Another Help ID Merauke or Halmahera Skink

[Coralyns]

I Cant Determine and I am Leaning towards Halmahera

But the Belly is more orange/Pink than the pics look which is Making me think Merauke

[mb606587]

Definitely looks more Merauke than Halmahera to me. I'm always hesitant to definitively ID such young skinks but I'm confident that's not Halmahera.

[Janella]

I was thinking Merauke too :-)

[Coralyns]

Oh ok!

I'm having a hard time narrowing it down as well I have been keeping the humidity up to the 65-75 range with some spikes at night to the 90's

A backstory on how I ended up with Bluey:

I have always been an avid Herp Lover, as a Kid I had all different types of reptiles, Amphibians, Insects and Arachnids. To many different types to list! Drove my Mom Crazy, Dad loved it. I had memorized all the Field guides of the US by the age of 10, and every vacation in the US turned into looking for Herps and insects. Always flipping rocks, logs and going out at night searching for nocturnals

I wanted to Be a Herpetologist.....and somehow became a wildland firefighter for the US Forest Service for 15 years

From the age of 20-38(now) I haven't kept any reptiles. My main focus while traveling the nation on wildfires was to look for all the different Herps I knew lived in the areas we would travel to. The fires would take me to all the places I wanted to find interesting Species. I then could inform the others on the crews about what kind of Birds, reptiles, ECT we would discover in these remote areas. I was always gone from home with the fire job and could not have any pets for over 15 years

Long story short, I became a Dad a few years ago.

I have ALWAYS loved blue tounged skinks. Always wanted one but could not because of my demanding schedule

I took my daughter to a PETCO and there was Bluey, a new arrival. I HATE PETCO because they dont have the animals best interest IMO and rarely sell the animals to people that know how to care for them. I am now in a position that i can have pets and I wanted to teach my two year old about reptiles. So I got/rescued Bluey.

My main concern is that I had no idea that these animals could still be wild caught and sold in the US. I am concerned now that Bluey from this trade, and I completely disagree with it. I considered taking him back but then came to the conclusion that he would be better off with us than 99% of petco reptile shoppers



The store manager has claimed that this animal is a Captive Born and Bred animal, I truly do not believe this.


Question:

Bluey is eating just fine, isnt aggressive at all and seem to be healthy. No vets in my area take Reptiles. Do you guys think its necessary to have him checked for worms or parasites, because here in Idaho that could prove to be a challenge to find a Vet:)



Thanks for any opinions or answers, and for making it through this long post!

[mb606587]

Yeah you already know this but it's not CBB. I'm actually leaning more towards classic Indonesian over Merauke but that should become more apparent as the skink ages. As for a fecal test, look into mail in testing kits. You can simply collect a sample and mail it directly to a veterinary lab for testing. Testing for parasites is usually recommended for all imported reptiles. They tend to be very good at masking signs of being ill until it's too late.

Also if you know finding a quality vet will be difficult in your area, it's imperative you begin searching NOW as you don't want to make that search in an emergency when time is of the essence.

[splashy07]

Not to add to the confusion but to me it looks like a cross of them both, not unheard of the way they are kept at 'breeding farms'. Regardless, it is a beautiful lizard and deserves a caring and loving owner like you. I share your opinion of petco and other chain stores, buying from there is the equivalent of pulling one out from under a rock in the backyard.
Your childhood mirrors mine, with the exception that I think I drove BOTH my parents insane.
Plus the fact that I am female, and little girls back in the 60's were not supposed to like such things. My apartment now is a breeding facility with about a square foot of space for me. (!)
As with any recent purchase of an imported animal I'd recommend a vet check, but if that is not possible so be it. Enjoy your new guy/girl, I'm sure he'll enjoy being with you.

[splashy07]

Good point brought up by mb, I was unaware of the mail in type testing.

[Coralyns]

Bluey took a nice poo this morning and am looking at local vets to do an exam on it, I would also be into mailing it in to a place that does this sort of thing

I am also leaning towards a cross between Classic and Merauke.

This leads me to believe that it quite possibly came from on of the Skink Farms in INDo. Such a bad trade.

I am going to do whats best for this individual and keep it, I strongly considered taking it back after I learned it could be wild caught....I figure Its best left in my hands because I am going to care for it much better than 99% of folks who buy reptiles from PETCO

Thanks for the info so far!

[Coralyns]

Any places you can recommend sending the stool sample to?

[mb606587]

I don't have a recommendation as I've never used that type of service. There are several kits online you can look into via a simple Google search. Even Chewy has a kit. I'd imagine the instructions regarding where to mail to each individual lab associated with the brand are included

[splashy07]

I am lucky to have the best exotic vet in the country 15 minutes away from me. Dr. Robert Monaco of Old country animal clinic in Plainview, NY is the best in the business. You may want to contact the clinic and see if they have that type of service. If you have to mail it anyway, why not use the best.

[Coralyns]

Heres a few more pics. Bluey appears to be in decent shape after a good personal exam, no tick mites or obvious parasites.
I found a local vet that will do a fecal exam and i have that scheduled.

It appears to be a bit slender around its hips but is eating well so that should change soon

Bluey is 14" long as well. Any clue of how old it could be?

[mb606587]

Ok better pictures. Looks to be Indonesian. At that size, I'd guess somewhere between 6-12 months old