Skink Ownership

[ThatOneReptileNoob]

Hi! I’m worried about wether or not a blue tongue skink is really the right pet reptile for me. I’m pretty sure it is, but I was wondering if any keepers could give their pros and cons to help me please?

[rixusaku]

I can list my pros and cons with my BTS, but first, what are you looking for in keeping a reptile?

[ThatOneReptileNoob]

Something large enough that I can look away for half a second (in a safe area, of course), but doesn’t want to rip me to pieces. Easy feeding is a major plus, because it’s easier to leave a one sentence note than an in depth feeding schedule for if someone watches it while I’m out of town. Plus, something that I find truly beautiful/adorable/cool (basically, not ugly. )
Thank you for your help!

[Janella]

Hello there. So skinks are amazing reptiles. I always suggest doing your research before buying any pet. Read read and ask questions. So you are off to a great start. Our forum has loads of information. I have several different types of reptiles and by far my favorite is the skink. I like that they don't have to be fed live food. They do well on other protein sources. I like that most are super social and like to just hang out with me. Once you understand their husbandry and follow it correctly, skinks are relatively easy to care for.

[ThatOneReptileNoob]

Thanks! That actually clears up the decision a lot for me!

[rixusaku]

For my BTS -

Pros:

• Very easy to feed. They have a short list of what not to feed and a long list of what you can. Finding different fruit snacks every week is really fun and feeding a varied diet is fun too. They also only need to eat once or twice a week once they're adults depending on what portion sizes you feed them which makes preparing meals easy. You can even prep their meals in advance or even freeze it all for up to 6 months, which makes feeding only thawing out the food and then putting it on a plate. Mine does prefer fresh food over frozen though but eats everything I give him. Feeding them a varied diet helps them from not becoming picky eaters.
• You don't have to feed live food to help them thrive. You can feed canned food, dry food, or even powdered food that turns into a gel. There's even a few BTS diets out there for you to choose from which makes portioning the protein, veggies/greens, and fruit properly easier on you.
• They only go to the bathroom once a day, and when they're only eating once a week, they only go to the bathroom a few days out of the week. Way easier than taking a dog out every time they have to go or cleaning out a litter box twice a day.
• Mine is quite personable and very curious. When I go into the room now to make sure his water is good and to spot clean he'll poke his head out of his hide and watch me. Sometimes I can sit in front of the tank for a while and just talk and it looks like he's curious about me being there.
• Petting him is nice too. He seems to really like it and will close his eyes and let me pet him for a minute or two.
• His curiosity is fun to watch. When I let him out to roam about I like watching him inspect a lot of things, even me when he doubles back and decides to hide under my legs or in my sweater.

Cons:

• I knew taking care of a reptile would be more work than taking care of a cat or dog but it's more work than I thought. Not that it's necessarily a bad thing, it's just something to keep in mind. Once you've got a system going though it gets easier.
• Realizing that glass enclosures pretty much suck for these guys too late. The temperatures and humidity levels are difficult for me to upkeep, but I just purchased a PVC enclosure. Those hold in heat much more easily as well as humidity. I won't have to buy the more expensive higher wattage bulbs for it and I'm hoping I won't have to mist as much. If you live in a very dry place you might want to consider getting a humidifier for the room. I have a Northern, so they like it drier than the other BTS's out there, but it's still difficult for me to upkeep the humidity where I live since my state naturally sits around 25% but has gotten lower than 10% at times. He's got a humid hide now so I'm not as worried about it anymore, but I would still like to give him the option to roam about without the enclosure being so dry. He's in the humid hide a lot.
• Substrate can get pricey in order to fill the enclosure properly. I spend about $80 every two months on substrate.
• They don't shed all at once, so be prepared to have to clean up shed scattered everywhere in the enclosure.
• They poop wherever they happen to be in the moment they have to go, which usually happens when they're active or have been active for a while. That means you're probably going to have to clean it off of the decor, hides, or you'll have to dig around the substrate to find it. If you take them out of the enclosure when they haven't gone to the bathroom for the day yet, be prepared to get peed on or prepare for them to poop on your carpet. I'm just thankful they're not like bearded dragons who just smear it everywhere like a horror movie!
• It could take a while to tame them into trusting you. Even if you have a captive bred one with a succession of captive bred ancestors, by nature they are still wild animals, so getting them used to you isn't as easy as a cat or dog will trust you on their first day of meeting you. It could take months which could feel frustrating at times. I got mine when he was already two years old, and I don't think mine was handled very much in his life so going in the enclosure to pick him up always results in some huffing. He's never bitten me out of aggression but I understand that he's uncomfortable when I pick him up, which I would prefer it if he were comfortable when I do. He's getting better about it but it's taking quite a bit longer than I hoped it would. Just gotta keep at it!

Out of everything, I'm still very happy I got a BTS. They're so fun and entertaining and they're not as difficult to keep as some other reptiles can get. They're a very good and fun beginner reptile keeper pet.

[ThatOneReptileNoob]

Thanks! I think I’ll probably get one. You’ve both really helped me!

[rixusaku]

Yay! A future BTS will thank you

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[ThatOneReptileNoob]

Haha

[ThatOneReptileNoob]

I have another question, but it’s relatively on the same lines as the first question so I figured I’d just add it on here. There are times when humidity spikes up to 50-60% for a week or two where I live. The rest of the time it’s around 40%. I want to get a northern, but I’m not sure if I’ll need a dehumidifier for those times? I don’t wanna get it and give it a respiratory infection!

[rixusaku]

You could always hold off on getting a dehumidifier until you observe your room getting higher than 50%. I'm pretty sure they can withstand up to 60% but not much more than that, so 60% is the cap. Aiming for between 35%-55% would be a good range. 30% is the lower cap I believe so 35% is safer than 30%. I'm sure someone here will correct me if I'm wrong x.x

[ThatOneReptileNoob]

I actually had no idea our humidity ever spiked that high until I ordered some hygrometers and it rained a ton.
I checked them against the weather app on my phone, and in all my room’s only a little more humid than what it was reporting (which makes sense because I keep inverts that need high humidity). I think 60% was the highest I’ve seen, there’s a lot of rain in the forecast for about a week, so I’ll make sure to keep an eye on it. Thanks for all your help!

[rixusaku]

You're welcome! :3

[IvanDanko]

To add to Rixusaku's post:

They are an amazing pet to own and in many ways very rewarding. They will bring joy to your life as a keeper and more than many people would think. However do note:

- The taming process may never result in the skink that you imagined and the outcome may not always be equal to the time you put in. Particularly if you are limited in the time you can devote to this task. Not saying this is indicative of all skinks, but consider a shy skink may stay that way despite persistent effort.

- Mentally committing to a pet which may live 30+ years if kept properly. Understanding that yes, sometimes it may be untenable to keep the skink if its best interests cannot be maintained for any reason and it needs to be rehomed. However you should not get one if you don't intend to care for it its entire life.

[rixusaku]

Very true, Ivan. I always stay devoted to any animal I get no matter what happens to them (unless I can't provide the proper care but I've always stepped up to meet those demands). Because of this I never consider mentioning the life span of animals to people since not everyone is willing to, or in some cases capable of, putting in time to a pet that turns out to be different than what they expected. It's a sad reality, but a reality nonetheless. Not that I'm necessarily doubting you, ReptileNoob, but it's definitely an important detail to keep in mind.

[ThatOneReptileNoob]

Funnily enough, the lifespan is something that was a major plus for me when I was researching them. I get... very attached to animals, so the longer I can go without a shoebox, the better. Luckily I don’t mind too much if it’s shy either. I have a dog to give me constant attention whenever I need it.

[mb606587]

As far as humidity goes for Northerns, yes they can handle periods of higher humidity. I'll post a link as to weather trends in Darwin, Australia where these skinks can inhabit. Also, attached is a screenshot of the humidity level today, in what is considered the dry season.
https://www.australia.com/en-us/facts-a ... ather.html

Screenshot_20210605-172925_Samsung Internet.jpg

[ThatOneReptileNoob]

Yipes! If that’s the dry season, I’d hate to see the wet season!

[sassyp666]

Hi everyone, so I am researching on owninga BTS. I have was various posts, care sheets etc but following on from this discussion I can see some cons but I have already owned bearded dragons for about 10 years, ackie monitors for about 5 years, and I am just looking for some possible cons that factor in that I already have experience with a couple of reptiles and aware of some of the hardship with owning any reptile.

Bearded dragons are quite easy but ackie monitors are a bit of a hand full which I over come quite quickly. The home I built for one took me like a year to finish with custom frame background and a lot of hidy holes, so I also know how time consuming owning reptiles can be.

I live in the UK, not many of them to pick up so I want to be ready if I decide to get one.

The pros are just fab and totally fell in love with them but I really just want to know the worst possible cons so I can judge if they are right me. I was looking to get a big lizard but I think the room they need and a few other points about them are abit out of my reach at the moment. Thanks in advance for any replies.