New Skink Owner, Questions after 2 Months

[DracoDussumieri]

Hello fellow BTS Owners,

I have had my eastern bts now for around two months now and the skink is a bit more than three months old. So far most things have been great. The Skink eats well, every 2-3-4 days (i offer food every two days) most of the time with occasional insect treats on nonfeeding days. The skink burrows and basks sometimes it stays burrowed for a few days. It poops regularly. When I take it out it hisses a bit but once settled on my hand or lap it is calm but still agitated and usually starts crawling around to explore, sometimes it takes small treats while being handled. It shed twice til now and both times the skin came of very well within two days. So so far most things are as researched and expected.

What concerns me is that the skink is quite skittish. When I approach the terrarium it often runs into the next hide from where it observes what I'm doing. It does that even if I simply sit quietly in front of the terrarium. When I open the terrarium most of the time it seems pretty scared and runs off into the next hide. It can take up to 30-60 minutes until it comes out again. I don't want to stress my skink and disturb its normal behavior but also I also want to observe my animal. The terrarium is in my living and I just moved it quite far away from the area where I spent most of my time because I thought it might help if the skink cant see me all the time. I also thought about placing the terrarium higher so that I don't approach the skink from above. Do you think this might help? Is there anything else I can do? Do I just need to give it more time and it is going to be not so skittish when it is bigger? I just feel so bad and sorry for the animal when it seems to be scared by my presence.

The other thing is growth. Tbh I have not done much research on the growth rate and I haven't done any measurements or weighing. I ad some pictures of the terrarium and the enclosure. Is the size good for a skink that is 3 months old? Feedback and suggestions are appreciated . I know that the terrarium isn't ideal for a skink but from my understanding is a smaller enclosure often better for baby skinks. I will change the enclosure to a bigger size after around one year or once the skink is bigger.

Thanks in advance!

[LeapingLizards]

What a little cutie!

Baby skinks tend to be skittish as babies, because their instincts tell them, "Everything is bigger than me, everything is a potential threat to me."

When you come up to your lizard's enclosure, approach slowly and speak softly... it takes time for them to calm down. My 6 month old Northern still is a little huffy, but not as much as he used to be, and doesn't hide as much either (depending on when he's shedding too, he's more hidey during then.)

In terms of size, it should be okay for now, hard to tell the size without much reference, but when it's bigger you should opt for a 4x2x2 foot (122x61x61cm) enclosure.

[Janella]

Wow what a beautiful enclosure. What are the dimensions? Ideally as adults skinks need more floor space of at a minimum of 4ft. Ideally 6ft is the best. As for your skink it looks perfect by the pictures you sent. As for taming...it takes time. Just speak gently, offer tasty treats, and earn its trust. Then, keep handling as well. Hopefully it will come around.

[DracoDussumieri]

Wow what a beautiful enclosure. What are the dimensions? Ideally as adults skinks need more floor space of at a minimum of 4ft. Ideally 6ft is the best. As for your skink it looks perfect by the pictures you sent. As for taming...it takes time. Just speak gently, offer tasty treats, and earn its trust. Then, keep handling as well. Hopefully it will come around.

Thanks! The Enclosure is 100cm x 50cm x 100cm. I plan to rebuild it so that the enclosure is 100cm x100cmx 50cm. Basically, flip the whole enclosure so that the part which is now the back becomes the ground.

[Janella]

I would recommend going a little bigger on the enclosure. 100cm is just slightly over 3ft. They need a minimum of at least 4ft long floor space. Skinks like their floor space to roam and explore.

[DracoDussumieri]

I would recommend going a little bigger on the enclosure. 100cm is just slightly over 3ft. They need a minimum of at least 4ft long floor space. Skinks like their floor space to roam and explore.

Correct me if im wrong: We are talking about squarefeet, so 4 squarefeet would be 0,371612qm, the floor space would of my enclosure would be 10 squarefeet (1qm)(100cm long and 100cm wide).

[Janella]

So I am talking cm to foot. So 100cm is about 3.28 foot. Ideally in the USA we recommend doing a minimum 4 foot enclosure in length. Ideally 6 foot in length are the best. It doesn't mean you can't do different, it is just what is recommended. Hope that explains it better.

[Y33T]

I’d recommend adding a bit more covering via more plants so the little guy can feel a bit more secure in an enclosure this size. Maybe cover the side panels too with black paper. Also do you have a room with carpet you can house him in temporarily? I noticed significant improvement in my skink’s behaviour after moving house from wood/laminate floors to carpet. He was very skittish too and used to hide as soon as he hears footsteps or other noises echoing throughout the room.

[rixusaku]

I would highly recommend that you never hang electrical items by their cords (unless they're actually being hung by a chain the cord has been threaded into like you see with some hanging light fixtures in houses). It can create malfunctions that can lead to electrical problems with the item eventually not working properly and in extreme cases can be a fire hazard. The cords are not made to let the items they're powering dangle off them. This would be the case for any electrical item.

[DracoDussumieri]

I’d recommend adding a bit more covering via more plants so the little guy can feel a bit more secure in an enclosure this size. Maybe cover the side panels too with black paper. Also do you have a room with carpet you can house him in temporarily? I noticed significant improvement in my skink’s behaviour after moving house from wood/laminate floors to carpet. He was very skittish too and used to hide as soon as he hears footsteps or other noises echoing throughout the room.

Yes i could but some carpet in the area of the enclosure. i might try that.

Do you think the enclosure has not enough hiding spots? There are three hiding spots in which the skink fully disappear, the substrate in which he can burrow and the leaflitter, i don't see how i can add more hides without fully covering the floor of the enclosure. In my opinion the enclosure already offers more hides than most enclosures i see on the internet or some books. i even thought that i offer to much coverage in the enclosure.

I also thought about covering the glass, might try that as well.

[DracoDussumieri]

I would highly recommend that you never hang electrical items by their cords (unless they're actually being hung by a chain the cord has been threaded into like you see with some hanging light fixtures in houses). It can create malfunctions that can lead to electrical problems with the item eventually not working properly and in extreme cases can be a fire hazard. The cords are not made to let the items they're powering dangle off them. This would be the case for any electrical item.

Thanks for the advice! Will add a chain asap.

[Y33T]

Do you think the enclosure has not enough hiding spots? There are three hiding spots in which the skink fully disappear, the substrate in which he can burrow and the leaflitter, i don't see how i can add more hides without fully covering the floor of the enclosure. In my opinion the enclosure already offers more hides than most enclosures i see on the internet or some books. i even thought that i offer to much coverage in the enclosure.

I’m mostly referring to plants and foliage. They like to get to one place or hide to another and that they want to do so without being seen. Large plants like a fern for example create a lot of coverage without taking up space on the floor. They also help break up the light to aid in them regulating how much UV they need without being fully exposed.

[DracoDussumieri]

Do you think the enclosure has not enough hiding spots? There are three hiding spots in which the skink fully disappear, the substrate in which he can burrow and the leaflitter, i don't see how i can add more hides without fully covering the floor of the enclosure. In my opinion the enclosure already offers more hides than most enclosures i see on the internet or some books. i even thought that i offer to much coverage in the enclosure.

I’m mostly referring to plants and foliage. They like to get to one place or hide to another and that they want to do so without being seen. Large plants like a fern for example create a lot of coverage without taking up space on the floor. They also help break up the light to aid in them regulating how much UV they need without being fully exposed.

I understand and will look into it. Thanks for the advice.