Buying a bobtail/shingleback lizard and uvb question

[chameleon7]

Hey guys, this is basically an update from my "keeping a wild shingleback/bobtail lizard" post, so basically I'm most likely going to buy a bobtail skink in the next month or so and since its just about winter here in Australia I'm planning on buying a baby and keeping it it in a 22 gallon tank over the winter and then putting him in the large outdoor enclosure over the summer. but for uvb in the 22 gal i remember kingofknobbies telling me to put in a 5.0, but i was wondering if a 10.0 uvb tube is too much for bobtail, (i've heard mixed opinions about uvb for bobtails and blue tongues).
For food i was thinking something like this: insects-kingworms,silkworms and mainly snails. pellets- Veta farm lizard pellets and the occasional high quality dog pellets. Fruit- (occasional treats) cherry Tomatoes, grapes, blueberries,strawberries, watermelon. vegies- grated carrot, sweet potato, butternut pumpkin and celery. for heating i thought i would stack a couple of flat rocks/ tiles under a basking light and a heat pad on the cool side under a hide? maybe some very thick branches? bit confused on what i would put in? Thanks

 

[kingofnobbys]

Hey guys, this is basically an update from my "keeping a wild shingleback/bobtail lizard" post, so basically I'm most likely going to buy a bobtail skink in the next month or so and since its just about winter here in Australia I'm planning on buying a baby and keeping it it in a 22 gallon tank over the winter and then putting him in the large outdoor enclosure over the summer. but for uvb in the 22 gal i remember kingofknobbies telling me to put in a 5.0, but i was wondering if a 10.0 uvb tube is too much for bobtail, (i've heard mixed opinions about uvb for bobtails and blue tongues).
For food i was thinking something like this: insects-kingworms,silkworms and mainly snails. pellets- Veta farm lizard pellets and the occasional high quality dog pellets. Fruit- (occasional treats) cherry Tomatoes, grapes, blueberries,strawberries, watermelon. vegies- grated carrot, sweet potato, butternut pumpkin and celery. for heating i thought i would stack a couple of flat rocks/ tiles under a basking light and a heat pad on the cool side under a hide? maybe some very thick branches? bit confused on what i would put in? Thanks

If it's anything like my Eastern BTs and my past Eastern Water Skinks, when it's had enough UVA and or UVB it'll simply retreat to a shady spot.
I'd ask the breeder for his advice when you buy the little nobly sausage .... I think he'll be fine with a 10% tube , the 5% is a guide only and I interpret that as a minimum.

No celery or watermelon , these are worthless to reptiles from a nutritional standpoint as (very low in protein or anything else other than water).
I'd also go easy with the tomato very high phosphorus (Ca/P = 1/5 , phosphorus binds calcium).
My BTs and water skinks love banana , raw and hard boiled egg as a treat , don't mind softened mixture vetafarm lizard pellets and repcal juvenile beardie pellets mixed with grated carrot and grated sweet potato.
Snails are to kill for when my BTs see them they actually see the snail tub come out - they love them. I buy live escargote occasionally for them from a heliculturist the valley who farms these for the restraint trade (pricey but hey the BTs are my children and nothing is too good for them). (I wont risk wild snail, too many dogs around here.) They are the same when they see silkworms too.
I do not give my skinks dog food of any kind , never have , never will. I want to know exactly what is going into their mouths and to be sure it's preservative and garbage free.

My BTs have a mixture of course grade Kritter's Krumble mixed with bluegum leaf litter (come from my big shady 40 yr old bluegum = free and easy for me to get and always available).
Indoor as a baby juvenile and for first year or so, this will be fine as their substrate, with some big twigs thrown in for them to scratch on and crawl under and over especially when shedding. I expect something similar will do for a shingleback.

I started off with a brick and some large floor tiles (as ramp) to get a basking spot for George and for Mildred this worked OK and was dirt cheap (I had the a spare tiles and brick laying about in the shed).
They now have a paver each for their basking spot and jumbo hubbahut each for their hides (each in a 4ft x 2ft x 1.5ft tall tank each (DIYS from plywood). I use 26W UVB150s in NanoHoods for my BTs.

http://www.vhs.com.au/keeping-reptiles/shingleback-lizard/
http://www.pilbarapythons.com/bobtailcaresheets.htm

 

[chameleon7]

Thanks for the reply, whats your view on feeding broccoli ive heard mixed opinions, also i remember you telling me you used coil uvb lights, i thought they were bad?

 

[kingofnobbys]

Thanks for the reply, whats your view on feeding broccoli ive heard mixed opinions, also i remember you telling me you used coil uvb lights, i thought they were bad?

Yes in my two current rearing tubs (100L) I have a 26W UVB200 for each beardie. And Puff and Rex had 26W UVB200s in their 4ft x 2ft x 1.5ft(T) tanks.
My BTS George and Mildred each have a 26W UVB150 in a NANOHOOD in their 4ft x 2ft x 1.5ft(T) tanks....not had a problem.

I had heaps of issues when I used those horrible things sold as Reptile-One and Natural Selections (in green boxes) for the first year or two, became fed up with these dying as soon or very soon after the first time I turned them on and then I discovered this board and informed myself, and have been hell bent on informing others so they can avoid my mistakes.
Choose a high quality brand (Arcadia, ExoTerra , Zoomed) for your UV source and you should be fine irrespective if the type - compact, T8 or T5. The keys are good quality quartz, good quality phosphors and manufacture quality control in manufacture.

I will be changing over to t5 12uvb Arcadia tubes for my beardies when I build their new dual enclosure , but will be staying with 26W UVB150s in Nanohoods for my BTs since they seem to work quite well.

I don't eat broccoli (I have never liked it and refuse to eat it), so my lizards don't get it. Looking here http://www.beautifuldragons.com/Nutritionframeset.html , broccoli is not flash.

 

[label]

I just got a pair of shinglebacks a week ago here in Melbourne; they moved into the old house of my much missed northern blue tongue. I got Dr. Danny Brown's book "A Guide to Australian Skinks in Captivity"; his dragon book is also excellent. He notes that cooked broccoli has a better calciumhosphorus ratio than the raw (and as I like it, I'm now keeping offcuts). I'm still working out what they like; snails are of course a big hit (I collect them near some commission flats where I'm sure there's no chemicals (or anything else) used in the year). He also says that either 5 or 10% UVB lighting is OK; as they're an arid zone lizard I've stayed with the 10%. One big difference from other blue tongues is that humidity can be a killer; the husbandry seems much closer to what I do for my beardie. I used fine Kritters Krumble with my blue tongue but need to dry it out first before putting it in with my shingles. Danny Brown likes desert sand but not the other sorts (such as calci-sand or builder's sand).

They're very cute critters but not nearly as active or as interactive as my beardie. I'm hoping my pair are bonded or will bond but we'll see come springtime. I'm trying to gradually make friends with them without overly stressing them. Good luck with your coming acquisition!

 

[chameleon7]

Kingofknobbies, i have always used reptile one as my brand for lights (the t8 reptiglo 10.0, they are in orange packaging). i put them in those reflector hood things and for my basking lights, haven't had too many problems but now i'm worried is reptile one a bad brand? and thanks label, im reallly exited to get one as they are the best handling type reptile we can get in WA there isn't much choice, i love my western bearded dragons but in the arvo its hard to handle them as they are like young children with ADHD, like to run and LOVE to climb (they are smaller and more agile, about 35cm long.) so having a slow little sausauge loking bobtail will be great, i might actually be able to take him outside in the sun on a leash with out worrying too much! :mrgreen:

 

[kingofnobbys]

Kingofknobbies, i have always used reptile one as my brand for lights (the t8 reptiglo 10.0, they are in orange packaging). i put them in those reflector hood things and for my basking lights, haven't had too many problems but now i'm worried is reptile one a bad brand? and thanks label, im reallly exited to get one as they are the best handling type reptile we can get in WA there isn't much choice, i love my western bearded dragons but in the arvo its hard to handle them as they are like young children with ADHD, like to run and LOVE to climb (they are smaller and more agile, about 35cm long.) so having a slow little sausauge loking bobtail will be great, i might actually be able to take him outside in the sun on a leash with out worrying too much! :mrgreen:

Reptile One are a Chinese made and boxed / rebranded for the shop .... I wouldn't touch any of their UV lights with a barge-pole , same as the green boxed Natural Selections Brand clones from that ebay store in Sydney.

My friend's bobtail is a super sweetheart .... it loves cuddles and having his nose rubbed tickles under the throat.... very gentle and sweet disposition and follows her around like my BTs follow me about the house. Think puppydog....

 

[chameleon7]

Sorry i stated the branding incorrectly before the uvb tube is actually a 10.0 reptiglo exo terror tube. the basking lights i had were reptile one in the green box but i had bought some exo terror intense basking spot bulbs and it tells you on the bulb how hot it will roughly be compared to how close it is to your animal which is great, i guess i better install them now and chuck out the reptile one globes! but it was a bonus that the uvb lights are exo terror as i thought they were reptile one! Also i have heard a bit about MVB'S and those lights which provide uvb and heat can you explain what these are please? Thanks!

 

[kingofnobbys]

Sorry i stated the branding incorrectly before the uvb tube is actually a 10.0 reptiglo exo terror tube. the basking lights i had were reptile one in the green box but i had bought some exo terror intense basking spot bulbs and it tells you on the bulb how hot it will roughly be compared to how close it is to your animal which is great, i guess i better install them now and chuck out the reptile one globes! but it was a bonus that the uvb lights are exo terror as i thought they were reptile one! Also i have heard a bit about MVB'S and those lights which provide uvb and heat can you explain what these are please? Thanks!

You are referring to mercury vapour globes , these are a very good option as they provide very bright yellowish (sun-like) light, heat , excellent levels of UVA and of UVB . You will need to install a good quality ceramic e27 socket for one of these .

They are selfballasted and have protective control firing circuitry builtin which means you can not use a dimming thermostat or a dimmer or a switching thermostat to vary their output, they must completely cool down before you restart them if they are turned off.
Some consider this a big negative.

Another possible negative is the UVA and UVB from them is emitted in narrow focused beam. http://www.uvguide.co.uk/lightingsurveyintro.htm

Good MVB brands are Arcadia, Exo Terra and Zoo Med. Some shops sell cheaper Chinese clones but again like the UV compacts and tubes, they are of dodgey quality.

 

[chameleon7]

i heard that those mercury bulbs and compact bulbs are bad for reptile eye sight? and referring to labels post I'm hoping humidity wont be a killer as the bobtails over here live in my area (coastal area) it seems the dwarf beardies and shingles have both adapted to high humidity down here, my beardies have been fine in reasonably high humidity so I'm hoping all will be well.

 

[kingofnobbys]

i heard that those mercury bulbs and compact bulbs are bad for reptile eye sight? and referring to labels post I'm hoping humidity wont be a killer as the bobtails over here live in my area (coastal area) it seems the dwarf beardies and shingles have both adapted to high humidity down here, my beardies have been fine in reasonably high humidity so I'm hoping all will be well.

If they are found in the wild in your area - I think you'll be fine.

Not all MVBs, compact UVB globes, T8 and T5 tubes are created equal. Stick with quality manufactures and you'll not have any problems.

 

[Drache613]

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