Scincopus fasciatus (Peter's Banded Skinks)

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Scincus
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Scincopus fasciatus (Peter's Banded Skinks)

Postby Scincus » Wed Jan 18, 2017 9:47 pm

Who else keeps Scincopus fasciatus (Peter's Banded Skinks)? :D

I have two males; one I have had for over a year that I affectionately call "Mr. Diggins" and a newer one I got a month ago that I call "Not Diggins".

Since there is such little known about this species, I'll describe my experiences in hopes that it may help someone else care for theirs. Ideally, I'd love to see some of these produced in captivity.

With Mr. Diggins, I have tried keeping him on pure playsand and a mix of playsand and soil. So far, it seems he has done best on pure playsand that is several inches deep. I have offered a little over half a foot deep of playsand, but I have never found him near the bottom of the sand, mostly within the top few inches. I'd say the minimum size enclosure should have the floor space of a 20 gallon tank or larger. I've kept them using both tanks and tubs, and both seem to be fine options. I provide a small water bowl for each skink. They seem to be exclusively nocturnal; I have never seen them active during the day at all unless I wake them up. For heating, I've used heat tape, lights, and ceramic heat emitter, and they all work fine. I personally like the heat tape best since they can burrow down to change the temperature they are exposed to. I keep the surface temperature created by the hot spot at around 95. Humidity is kept low. For feeding, I have tried crickets, dubia, superworms, and beetles. They have eaten them all, but beetles are an extreme favourite. My older skink has always been a bit of a terrible eater whereas my newer skink is a terrific eater. The IUCN redlist suggests that they may eat vegetation, so I have offered strawberries, green beans, and bell pepper to the skink that eats well. He took several pieces of strawberry but not the vegetables. I occasionally dust the food with calcium with D3. This species seems to have a very docile temperament with some individuals being more skittish but still tolerant of human interaction. From my experience, one of mine is unwilling to bite, and my newer one is reluctant to bite but will do so if stressed enough.

One thing to note with this species is that many do not acclimate to captivity well. I and others have dealt with acclimating imports, and it is very frustrating to try and get them to survive. For this reason, I would recommend purchasing a long-term captive if possible. Even then, I have heard that even healthy captives will sometimes start deteriorating for unknown reasons and end up dying. All of this species is wild caught as far as I and others are aware. Captive born/captive hatched individuals seem to be unheard of, and imports seem to only consist of adults. I have not heard of breeding behaviour seen in captivity which is rather discouraging.

I'd like to hear from anyone else who keeps these skinks and your experiences with them. :D
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mrhoyo
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Re: Scincopus fasciatus (Peter's Banded Skinks)

Postby mrhoyo » Sun Feb 12, 2017 2:49 pm

I've nothing to contribute other than that I've had my eye on these a while and will hopefully get some in the future. They look like they might behave similarly to our berber skinks.
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Re: Scincopus fasciatus (Peter's Banded Skinks)

Postby Jelandusn » Sun Mar 19, 2017 5:15 pm

I just got two the other day! They are my first skink and I adore them! They are super calm a so cute! The only thing I'm bummed about is I never see them. I've moved them to my room so hopefully I'll catch a glimpse of them more often. How can you tell the sex? I want to name them but I don't know if they are boy or girl.
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Re: Scincopus fasciatus (Peter's Banded Skinks)

Postby potey13 » Sun Jul 09, 2017 9:42 pm

Jelandusn wrote:I just got two the other day! They are my first skink and I adore them! They are super calm a so cute! The only thing I'm bummed about is I never see them. I've moved them to my room so hopefully I'll catch a glimpse of them more often. How can you tell the sex? I want to name them but I don't know if they are boy or girl.


the right one is a male, left is a female
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Re: Scincopus fasciatus (Peter's Banded Skinks)

Postby Hannahsammeli » Sun Sep 17, 2017 1:07 pm

potey13 wrote:
Jelandusn wrote:I just got two the other day! They are my first skink and I adore them! They are super calm a so cute! The only thing I'm bummed about is I never see them. I've moved them to my room so hopefully I'll catch a glimpse of them more often. How can you tell the sex? I want to name them but I don't know if they are boy or girl.


the right one is a male, left is a female



Indeed, the shorter snouted one identifies as female! They are incredibly cute! Congrats :ohyes: :D
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Re: Scincopus fasciatus (Peter's Banded Skinks)

Postby herpivore » Tue Nov 21, 2017 1:48 pm

So, the accepted method of determining gender in Peters' Banded Skink is comparing the length/angle of the snout? Or am I missing something?
I recently acquired some, and the seller informed me he had probed them to determine the gender, but wasn't positive.
I'm wondering what the consensus is. Thanks.
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Re: Scincopus fasciatus (Peter's Banded Skinks)

Postby herpivore » Thu Feb 22, 2018 11:03 pm

Wow. Okay.

Anyway, two of the four have died ( I believe I got the seller's rejects) but the other two are improving and seem to be getting accustomed to captive life. I'm assuming they were wild caught as it seems most are, and these took some time to adjust.
I have talked to numerous people, and one fellow said you can't know their gender without x-raying them!
My two (and the other presumed pair who are deceased) definitely have differences, so I am rather confident they are opposite genders.
The "male" prefers more damp & cool conditions, is more easy-going, is thicker/blocker - especially about the head and neck, prefers wiggly food but also likes seafood.
The "female" likes it hot and dry, likes climbing, is more alert, doesn't like (or maybe it's "tolerate") being petted, likes greens/veggies, and tunneling in the sand portion of her tank.
I'm setting up a large enclosure and hope to introduce them both. Hopefully they are social (I've heard they are).
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Re: Scincopus fasciatus (Peter's Banded Skinks)

Postby Skinklet » Thu Apr 05, 2018 11:23 pm

Has anyone had any luck breeding these cutie pies yet? I'd love to get sone captive born babies happening but I can only find evidence of one person being successful with them.
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Re: Scincopus fasciatus (Peter's Banded Skinks)

Postby Omar24 » Mon Jul 02, 2018 10:58 pm

I have a question please answer ASAP . What is the lowest Basking Temp For A Peters Banded ?
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Re: Scincopus fasciatus (Peter's Banded Skinks)

Postby Omar24 » Mon Jul 02, 2018 11:01 pm

herpivore wrote:Wow. Okay.

Anyway, two of the four have died ( I believe I got the seller's rejects) but the other two are improving and seem to be getting accustomed to captive life. I'm assuming they were wild caught as it seems most are, and these took some time to adjust.
I have talked to numerous people, and one fellow said you can't know their gender without x-raying them!
My two (and the other presumed pair who are deceased) definitely have differences, so I am rather confident they are opposite genders.
The "male" prefers more damp & cool conditions, is more easy-going, is thicker/blocker - especially about the head and neck, prefers wiggly food but also likes seafood.
The "female" likes it hot and dry, likes climbing, is more alert, doesn't like (or maybe it's "tolerate") being petted, likes greens/veggies, and tunneling in the sand portion of her tank.
I'm setting up a large enclosure and hope to introduce them both. Hopefully they are social (I've heard they are).

What Is The Lowest Basking Temp For these guys
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Re: Scincopus fasciatus (Peter's Banded Skinks)

Postby tonyabruzzi4 » Mon Apr 29, 2019 1:52 pm

I'd have to disagree with anyone saying they are fragile - I have had my group for 3 years now and they are all as hearty and healthy as ever
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Re: Scincopus fasciatus (Peter's Banded Skinks)

Postby Suzle87 » Tue Apr 30, 2019 12:56 am

Can these be housed together or do they need to be housed separately like BT’s?
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Re: Scincopus fasciatus (Peter's Banded Skinks)

Postby mb606587 » Wed May 01, 2019 4:07 pm

From what I have seen, many keepers have had success cohabitating these guys. It appears they do well in groups.
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Re: Scincopus fasciatus (Peter's Banded Skinks)

Postby SilentHill » Tue May 28, 2019 3:54 pm

i have just obtained 4, one was not well and expected to die...which it has. the others don't look particularly well. i suspect very recent imports. would soaking or misting help? they are on several inches of sand, hot spot around 110-120, water dish provided.
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Re: Scincopus fasciatus (Peter's Banded Skinks)

Postby Kahlua » Mon Jul 08, 2019 9:28 am

We had one named Gimlet in the exact same enclosure and set up, and has since unfortunately passed away.. we think he may have had septicaemia. His feed turned dark red and his nose did and then his belly had tons of red splotches. Vets couldn’t do anything about him and he unfortunately passed. Very sad because he was so cute. Poor gimmles.

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