New Indonesian BTS questions

[Arlo2024]

I read through the care sheet and some of the other previous posts, but I wanted to send my own message too. We recently got our BTS from a pet store that didn’t know much and told us conflicting information since we’ve been researching. Since our boy got home, he’s been hiding 95% of the time. I know this is common and he may also be in brumation, but he was not like this in the pet store. He was underneath his water bowl last night - it took us awhile to find him. He does still eat, but we rarely catch him in the act.

We are struggling with keeping the humidity at 60-80%. We added a mister, put a wet towel on half of the top, and added a humid hide. He also has a large water bowl, but it consistently stays at like 30%. I did previously read to put the humid hide on the cold side, but am now seeing that it should be on the warm side. Should I move it to the warm??

I also saw something to add bioactive soil to his substrate and water, but then the care sheet said never to pour water in the substrate. I just want to make sure we’re doing the right things and he’s comfortable. We got him two weeks ago and I’m terrified we’re going to kill him since this is our first BTS. Any help would be greatly appreciated!

[Janella]

HI there and welcome to the forum. Could you post pictures of your new skink, so we can verify the species and make sure your temps/humidity are right. Hiding after they get home is completely normal. It is best to give them 2 weeks to settle in. The humid hide needs to be on the warm side. Think sauna. Moist the hide daily to at least every other day. What substrate are you using? Depending on the type you can add water to the substrate, but I don't suggest it unless it is a soil based. Once we know the species we can get you moving in the right direction.