New to BTS not to reptiles

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gunkle
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New to BTS not to reptiles

Postby gunkle » Tue Apr 16, 2019 4:31 pm

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So as you can see the poor one is missing some toes. I was just given him(?) on Sunday and have been scrambling to get everything setup correctly. It is approximately 1 year old and I haven't weighed it yet. Can anyone help me identify the species? The owner doesn't remember. I'm thinking it is Indonesian which explains the shed issues leading to toe loss as they didn't pay attention to humidity. The previous owner was a 10 yr old and the mother was kinda afraid so would only feed but not try to help with stuck sheds. They did the best they knew but unfortunately not quite enough. We have been giving 15 minute baths with a tiny bit of Epsom salt and a light rub of the toes with a damp paper towel. We have gotten about half the stuck toe shed off but its gonna take a bit to get the rest as we need to go slow and easy as not to further damage the toes. Some look like recent losses. Right now its on paper towels with a hot side of 100 and a cool side of 78 with an ambient a few degrees cooler. I have the humidity up to 70 at the moment but struggling. Its in an exo-terra enclosure about the size of a 20 gallon long with 2/3 of the screen covered with a damp towel and a heat lamp (on a dimmer) on the open side with a water bowl and a tub full of damp sphagnum moss and 2 hides plus a log to climb on/under.

I have started a new Forever Home for this poor one. It will be 4X2X17.5". Making it out of hardwood plywood that I will seal with Pond Shield on the inside for protection and stain on the outside. I just built 2 similar ones for my 2 Ball Pythons. It should take me about 2 weeks to complete. Then a week or so to air out good.
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Re: New to BTS not to reptiles

Postby mb606587 » Tue Apr 16, 2019 8:09 pm

Your picture isn't displaying but everything else you are doing is textbook. Hopefully you can get it out of quarantine healthy with just the shed issues. Keep in mind, your skink is almost certainly wild caught and probably never vetted by the previous owner. It's possible you may need to have it dewormed and checked, especially if it doesn't acclimate well to the change.
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Re: New to BTS not to reptiles

Postby gunkle » Wed Apr 17, 2019 2:41 am

Here's a link to the photo, not sure what happened it was displaying last night. https://photos.app.goo.gl/AJp3eeHTnQbZaN6v8
The previous owner got it as a baby from a "breeder" specialty shop they drove 2 hours to get to about a year ago. But I know that doesn't really mean it was captive breed. They also said it was missing a couple toes to begin with and we're told it was normal and not to worry about it which is why they didn't act when it happened again. We are able to handle it without issue. A hiss or two is all even when rubbing the stuck shed on bad toes. The kid used to handle regularly until about 2 months ago. In almost positive it hasn't been too the vet but we have a great herp vet next town over so once it's doing better I will see about a visit with a stool sample. I don't think it's under weight. Was on very fine Coco fiber substrate not is on paper towel till it heals up. Is acting in is enclosure moving from hot to cool and hide to open. Have seen it eat and drink since we got it.
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Re: New to BTS not to reptiles

Postby gunkle » Wed Apr 17, 2019 2:42 am

so the original picture is displaying for me on the computer but not on my phone. interesting
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Re: New to BTS not to reptiles

Postby mb606587 » Wed Apr 17, 2019 5:29 am

That's a Halmahera Blue Tongue Skink, a specific type of Indonesian skink. Typically they need the highest levels of humidity of any BTS, which is why unsurprisingly it's missing digits. Most keepers recommend no lower than 80%. And 99.9% of these guys are fresh imports. I'm sure somebody somewhere has managed to breed them in captivity but I have yet to find that person.
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Re: New to BTS not to reptiles

Postby gunkle » Wed Apr 17, 2019 5:49 am

mb606587 wrote:That's a Halmahera Blue Tongue Skink, a specific type of Indonesian skink. Typically they need the highest levels of humidity of any BTS, which is why unsurprisingly it's missing digits. Most keepers recommend no lower than 80%. And 99.9% of these guys are fresh imports. I'm sure somebody somewhere has managed to breed them in captivity but I have yet to find that person.


That's what I thought as well but was hoping for it to be a slightly less demanding one. Oh well I will work faster on it's new home as there is no way I'm maintaining that humidity in it current setup. I appreciate the help and advice. I'm sure it gets tiring getting a ton of "help identifying" threads. I don't doubt it was an import or hatched from a gravid import. Now to read up on the UVB and dog food debates.
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Re: New to BTS not to reptiles

Postby gunkle » Wed Apr 17, 2019 4:02 pm

Started the enclosure today. Got the top, bottom, back and both sides on.
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Re: New to BTS not to reptiles

Postby Janella » Wed Apr 17, 2019 5:26 pm

Thank you for taking on your new skink. I definitely hope it improves in your new enclosure your building. Definitely show us pictures when you get it done.
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Re: New to BTS not to reptiles

Postby gunkle » Wed Apr 17, 2019 5:44 pm

Will do. I like showing off my work... And helping reptiles.
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Re: New to BTS not to reptiles

Postby gunkle » Fri May 10, 2019 7:56 pm

So Tootsie is doing great. Had a great shed and completed the antibiotics. The remaining bad toes have fallen off and look good and healed. He is eating well and is good during handling. I think its time to start some other substrate then paper towel. Will be putting something together this week. The cage is built and waiting for dry weather for staining and sealing the inside.

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Re: New to BTS not to reptiles

Postby mb606587 » Fri May 10, 2019 9:17 pm

The cage looks great. Glad it seems to be working out for you and Tootsie.
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Re: New to BTS not to reptiles

Postby Janella » Sat May 11, 2019 4:43 am

Wow, that looks great! I am also glad to hear that Tootsie looks and is doing so well. Yeah!
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Re: New to BTS not to reptiles

Postby gunkle » Thu May 30, 2019 2:47 pm

So Tootsie had his sucessful 2nd shed. This was even better then the first one. A lot of large sheets and only 1 toe needed some assistance. All came off in one night.
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Re: New to BTS not to reptiles

Postby Janella » Thu May 30, 2019 8:15 pm

Glad to hear that all is going well :ohyes:
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Re: New to BTS not to reptiles

Postby gunkle » Sun Sep 01, 2019 5:16 am

3rd (maybe 4th might have not recorded one) shed on the books. No assistance needed. Tootsie has gone from 240G when we got him a few months ago to 460G as of 3 days ago. We are starting to cut back a bit on his feedings as he is starting to look a bit "well fed". Finished his cage a few weeks ago and he took to it instantly. Decided to go bioactive but still need the plants. He uses the whole cage. I find him burried on the cool side or basking on warm side. Humidity is soooo much easier to maintain now then it was in his glass enclosure.
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Re: New to BTS not to reptiles

Postby gunkle » Sun Sep 01, 2019 5:18 am

Here he is on the day we put him in the new cage.

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Re: New to BTS not to reptiles

Postby Janella » Sun Sep 01, 2019 5:39 am

What a great looking enclosure! Glad all is going well. :thumbs:

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