My first terrarium settings...

[mv2sa]

hey guys, this is a pic of how my enclosure(40 G - 36 x 18 x 16) is looking like, if everything goes well I should be getting my Blue Tongue pretty soon...



-For subtract I am using aspen shavings from Premier Pet and on the botton I am using Zoo Med pet carpet(to avoid burning my skink with the UTH).

-For the basking area I used a little bit more of subtract for my ceramic tile be closer to my 150W CHE and the medium Zoo Med UTH is on the cool side(winter is harsh) and both of them are controlled by Zoo Med Repti Temp 500R(still adjusting to get the right temp), I am also using a temp gun(brought one from amazon for $ 16,00 if anyone is interested this is the link: http://www.amazon.com/HDE-Temperature-Infrared-Thermometer-Laser/dp/B002YE3FS4/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1320012736&sr=8-1

-On the cool side there is a large log, some fake plants and sphagnum moss on one of the corners, I hear that is good for shed.

-I have one Exo Terra Repti-Glo 2.0(for UVA and day light) and 10.0 for UVB.

-I created a small furniture for safety reasons(I heard that UTH can be very dangerous) that stays 2.5 inches above the carpet and gives a little more than one inch to allow the air to flow underneath the tank to avoid malfunction in the UTH.

I heard that might be a good idea to cover 2 or 3 sides of my enclosure, I am looking for ideas that doesn't involves spending a lot of money or even an idea that I could do by my self(like my small furniture =P) and also I think that I will need to work in more hiding places, but I heard somewhere that it is better to expose a little bit more the young skinks so they will be more used with people and noises and when older will be more tamed and less stressed(don't know if it is true, so I am asking for opinions on the subject).

Finally I would like to know if I got everything covered, first time doing this stuff so I feel a little insecure(I really like to offer the best that I can for my pets and my Blue Tongue will not be different).

Thanks!

[Katrina]

Looks like you are off to an excellent start! It is great that you are checking everything, it sounds like you have really done your research.

Do you really need the UTH? If you get a nice warm basking spot with just the heat bulb, then I wouldn't even worry about the UTH unless your house gets really cold at night or something. If you are worried about night temps, then try to get a Northern BTS, they will handle cool nights better than an Indonesian species. How cold does your house get?

Instead of raising the basking spot up on substrate, why not make a raised hide? It will be sturdier if it has legs and can double as a nice hide. See this thread: http://bluetongueskinks.net/forum/viewtopic.php?t=19016

To cover the sides, there are lots of options. Anything like poster board would work - it doesn't have to be expensive.

I'd add another snug hide in, but if you do the raised basking spot and have lots of substrate that should work fine. I also do a raised spot for the water dish, provides another hide on the cool side and prevents aspen from getting into the water dish. I always prefer to provide more hides and allow them to come out when they want rather than less hides to try to socialize them more, but people have had success with both methods. If you are getting a younger, captive bred bluey then you probably won't have any problems taming it if you are patient and gentle.

Good luck, I'm sure others will have different ideas and suggestions.

[Susann]

Wow, you are putting in a lot of hard work! Thank you for seeming to be a conscientious owner!

A couple of things. It would be great if you could add another hide on the warm side. So he can choose the temperature he needs, rather than staying too cold because there’s no hide on the warm side.

The moss will probably not do much for your skink. Since you use aspen substrate you may need to mist the tank once a day. The moss would be most useful if you make a moist hide with it around the time you notice a shed coming on. So either put some wet moss inside the hide you have on the warm side, or buy or make a plastic one and swap that with the warm hide if needed. Not all skinks NEED help during shedding with extra moisture, but it’s never wrong to OFFER it.

You will need a water bowl preferably big enough that he can soak himself in it. A big bowl will help raise the humidity in the tank as well.
It would be great if you could add a hygrometer to measure humidity.

What kind of BTS are you getting? Depending on which kind of BTS you get, you may need to make small adjustments in temps and humidity, but you already seem on top of doing your research. Thank you for that!

I KNEW Katrina would beat me! I should have known she was in the middle of posting an answer.... So, sorry for some duplicate info there. But hey, I think we both pretty much suggested the same things, and they are all pretty minor. So congrats to a good start!

[mv2sa]

Wow that is a lot of valuable information, thanks guys.

I forgot to mention I do have a digital hydrometer and a thermometer(since I got a temp gun, now it is kind of useless).

Right now I am trying to get one Northern baby from aggiegirl.

For now my house still in good temperatures but in the winter it will be kept in 63 F, so I think that I will need the UTH, but if I can get the right temp with just my CHE it will be ok.

It might be a good idea, I am also thinking in making a cave that goes underneath the subtract, maybe using a box, what do you guys think? and also I think that I can put something in the middle later.

How high should the water bowl be and what about water level?

About the background I ll do some research and I have a few ideas that might work, but still I am open for advice and ideas!

thanks a lot for all the info(my enclosure is based on the care sheet of this site and it was the best that I could find in the internet).

[StaceyLeigh]

I live in Central NY (gets pretty cold here) and I use a red night light for heat. It keeps temps on the warm side about 78-82, and the cool side gets down to 64-67. So far so good we have already had some very cold nights low 20's and the red light is doing it's job.

I have a bts from Aggiegirl, her name is Ember, and we love her




Aggiegirl raises great babies!

[Susann]

I forgot to mention I do have a digital hydrometer and a thermometer(since I got a temp gun, now it is kind of useless).

I don't think they're useless. I have a temp-gun too, but once you get everything set up, and day to day with your awesome animal (!!!!) sets in, you aren’t going to be checking temps a couple of times every day. I feel like the thermometers I have in their tanks serve as a “heads-up” if the UTH quits—or overheats, or the CHE's broke. I would notice right away if it’s a bit too hot or too cold in there. Same with the changing of seasons, the changing temp in your house will affect the temp in the tank too. More peace of mind for me that I'll notice changes soon enough to fix the problem.

How high should the water bowl be and what about water level?

The bowl shouldn't be too high; your BTS needs to be able to easily lean in to drink, and also get in it to soak, and then easily get out again. I use glass pie-plates. They are heavy enough empty that a full-grown skink would likely not tip it. But neither is a pie-plate going to ever be too deep for a BTS to drown in, even full. I don’t fill it to the brim, just in case my skink decides to take a bath--it would flow all over. But pretty full still, because you’ll notice with one side of the tank being in the nineties and the other side in the eighties, the water will evaporate quickly.

[Katrina]

For Northerns for nighttime, 60-70 is fine. I wouldn't bother with a heat bulb or UTH, there is no need for a temperature gradient at night and then it is less to worry about.

For the water dish - it doesn't really matter, any large dish will work, depth of water isn't really important. I wouldn't make it more than a couple inches deep, less if the BTS is really small. I use I think the Exoterra brand large water dishes, but you really don't need to buy pet specific water dishes. Any large dish will work, like a ceramic pie dish or something.

[mv2sa]

I got an idea to cover some of the sides that will be kind of cheap, I was thinking in using contact paper, stone( http://www.amazon.com/Kittrich-Corp--Ta ... 608&sr=8-7 ) wood( http://www.amazon.com/Kittrich-Corp-Tac ... y_hi_img_b ) or just black... do you guys think that it will look good?

[Susann]

do you guys think that it will look good?

I love that black marble!
Would you glue it to the outside or the inside of the tank? If you glue it to the outside, you would effectively cover the sides, but you would only see the glue-side when looking at the tank. Gluing it to the inside would look awesome, but hard to get it glued in, I would think. And then the sides of your tank would only show the glue-side from the outside. Unless you glue it on both sides.

Out of fear of it not turning out great, I personally would stay away from gluing anything to the whole surface of the glass.
I bought aquarium background paper, covered two sides of the tank. Just taped it in a few spots along the top. Not the most original idea, but it looks great from the inside and the outside.

[mv2sa]

Your background is looking amazing... I will see what I can find on aquarium background paper =)

[Bird_Brain]

When I was using all glass cages, I just purchased some wallpaper that was on clearance for a couple $ a roll and taped it on. The paper I got was a neutral tan color that looked like rock. It was rather ugly for wallpaper, but it worked great to cover back and sides.

For the contact paper, that would also work. I would just tape it on like you would an aquarium background.