BLUE TONGUE SKINKS

Hey good folks, bought my first ever bluey, Jasper, over the weekend. I admit I broke the rules and bought him from a pet store, but it was a local store in South Philly (rather than a PetSmart) that I browse from time to time since it's near my job. A couple weeks ago they got in a bluey for the first time, and they knew enough to identify him as a Halmahera. He looked young and healthy, so I was hoping he'd still be there come payday. Fortunately he was when I went in this past Friday. Even though I've only had him for a couple days, he already likes being held and I've got him eating pate dog food and minced apples. I've included some pics. I'm aware that his tank is way too small; it was a curb find, and I plan on buying a proper 48" tank next month. Since I'm new to blue-tongued skinks, I'm open to any protips.

Edited to add: This is my first bluey but not my first reptile in general. I had a Hermann's tortoise for 7 years that I sadly had to rehome before moving, so I have *some* experience with pet reptiles. However, I already like skinks better since they're way more personable. My tortoise hated being held and I never could get him to stop biting me lol

Welcome from a fellow Philly keeper

You're gonna want to change the substrate. Looks like you have aspen. That's too dry and won't hold humidity. Change to something like Eco Earth to maintain the high humidity a Halmahera will need.

mb606587 wrote:You're gonna want to change the substrate. Looks like you have aspen. That's too dry and won't hold humidity. Change to something like Eco Earth to maintain the high humidity a Halmahera will need.

I'm familiar with Eco Earth, I used it for my tortoise. How wet should I keep it?

Best thing to do is to pick up a cheap digital hygrometer from the hardware store and spray just enought to keep the humidity around 80%. Halmaheras are a tropical species and it's not exactly easy to keep them as such during the dry winters we have. Taping off the screen top to keep the humidity trapped in the tank will help.

mb606587 wrote:Best thing to do is to pick up a cheap digital hygrometer from the hardware store and spray just enought to keep the humidity around 80%. Halmaheras are a tropical species and it's not exactly easy to keep them as such during the dry winters we have. Taping off the screen top to keep the humidity trapped in the tank will help.

Makes sense, but for the substrate itself, should I keep it muddy or "factory default?"

Definitely not factory default but not so overly saturated that water pools either as that can cause fungal infections if it's too "muddy." You want it nice and damp.

And out of curiosity, what was the pet store? I know IllExotics on Passyunk and Monster Pets on Columbus Blvd. have sold these guys in the past. Worldwide Aquariums off Ridge in Roxborough closer to me has them too.

mb606587 wrote:Definitely not factory default but not so overly saturated that water pools either as that can cause fungal infections if it's too "muddy." You want it nice and damp.

And out of curiosity, what was the pet store? I know IllExotics on Passyunk and Monster Pets on Columbus Blvd. have sold these guys in the past. Worldwide Aquariums off Ridge in Roxborough closer to me has them too.

Monster Pets. They also have uros and I was tempted to get one of those instead since they're way less expensive, but my heart had been set on a bluey for months (also one of their uros looked sickly as hell).

Update: So I bought some coco coir and gave most of the aspen to my snake-owning housemate, but I kept about a third of it and mixed with the coir, thinking the coir will be less messy that way. I've noticed Jasper is a lot more active now. Previously, he would just burrow into the aspen and sit like that all day, but now he's up and about. Does that mean he's *more* comfortable in it, or less? Also, is mold going to be an issue? I'm told aspen gets moldy if it stays wet, but it's only mildly damp.

Aspen will mold. Get rid of it all. You will not be able to prevent mold with the humidity requirements of your lizard.