keeping a Wild shingle back skink? (bobtail)

[kingofnobbys]

Okay thanks i'll keep doing my home work! Wow you really sound like a lizard whisperer, i once encountered a 3-4 inch skink in exmouth WA who had the heart of a lion and came up to me on the beach and licked a water droplet off my finger, it amazes me how people think they are such boring animals when in my opinion most of them are much more diverse/interesting than mammals! :lol:

And cleaver little buggers too.... they sure know how train their pet human slaves ....

They are definitely not just dumb animals governed by reflexes and instincts only.

 

[chameleon7]

agreed although,as pets i read an article which said that lizards and turtles/tortoises connect with humans and enjoy petting more than snakes and it has something to do with the way their vision works, i have to agree i see snakes as the cats of the reptile world in my opinion, although its not fair for me to say as i have never owned a snake (just my observation). :silent:

 

[Zombiepanda]

They really are adorable!!

King I just picture you as a Disney princes except instead of little birdies you are followed by skinks... much better in my opinion

 

[kingofnobbys]

They really are adorable!!

King I just picture you as a Disney princes except instead of little birdies you are followed by skinks... much better in my opinion

LOL ....Not familiar with her , but to fit that picture ..... anyone know where I can get a 13XL tootoo ?

 

[kingofnobbys]

This is for the yanks .... so they get a handle on how big bobtail/shingleback skinks get ....

not mine but a picture of one from an aussie herping board of one that is kept as a pet .... she's a BIG girl.... and reported to be fabulous as a pet .

George and Mildred as youngsters ...

I've scanned a couple of my pictures of George and Mildred, got lots of photos but all were taken with my old 35mm SLR and it's a pain to scan and upload the picture. I might post more later if I'm of the mood to scan and upload more.

George at about 4 months having a daddy snuggle.

Mildred down it goes (the big guzzle of water) and getting tongue ready for more action…. About the same age

 

[chameleon7]

had a look on blue tongue skink net and got a couple replies one guy said: "Personality wise shingles are definitely more people friendly then Centralians - Who are moody little dudes, despite how cute they are :hehe: and: "As for substrate, i personally recommend either some coir mulch from Bunnings (bake it in the oven on a low temp for an hour or so to definitely kill any nasties) or i have also kept my Zeke on the paper pellet cat litter you can grab for super cheap from like Big W - both options would be a lot less work then collecting enough gumleaves to provide a suitable amount of substrate for burrowing. I dont see a problem with Gumleaves as decor on top though~" what do you think? Holy mama that is a big sausage lizard! think i've decided to call my bts or bobtail sausage :lol:

 

[kingofnobbys]

had a look on blue tongue skink net and got a couple replies one guy said: "Personality wise shingles are definitely more people friendly then Centralians - Who are moody little dudes, despite how cute they are :hehe: and: "As for substrate, i personally recommend either some coir mulch from Bunnings (bake it in the oven on a low temp for an hour or so to definitely kill any nasties) or i have also kept my Zeke on the paper pellet cat litter you can grab for super cheap from like Big W - both options would be a lot less work then collecting enough gumleaves to provide a suitable amount of substrate for burrowing. I dont see a problem with Gumleaves as decor on top though~" what do you think? Holy mama that is a big sausage lizard! think i've decided to call my bts or bobtail sausage :lol:

I've a weeping bluegum 10ft from the front of my house, never a problem gathering fallen leaves and twigs for me, after a while the prevailing breezes makes them gather and cover my front path up to 1" - 2" deep.....

Either the options suggested by the other guy will work fine for either a bobtail or a BTS, when the feeder insects are large , and they are more into greens, fruit and salad vegs.

I found out the hard way that when they were little bubs and juveniles, and the feeder insects (I was giving crickets, mealworms, and silkworms) were small , especially the more mobile bugs, that my little BTS were loosing a fair few before they could corner and eat them, KK was a bugger for hiding the excaped buggies .... so I simplified things heaps for their first 8 months by having them on kitchen grade absorbent paper sheets , the bugs can still hide, but the little skinks are more likely to spot them (bug against a white background) and I found fewer bugs were showing up on tank cleanout days.
At about 8 months old I reintroduced KK + leaf litter in half of each of their tanks and they loved it.
They have 75% KK + leaf litter now with tiles under their water dishes and paper toweling under the water dishes to soak up splashed water ....

 

[chameleon7]

I didn't see those photos of george and mildred before, so cute! :mrgreen: good to see i have some good options with subsrait tho, ill probably mix that bunnings mulch and gum leaves together with a big branch/log, A big flat rock, A thick flat tile and two hides (if i were to keep a bobtail outside.) Also what did you do to sanitize your leaves and how often do you change them?and would it be safe to have a heat pad in an outdoor enclosure or in an indoor enclosure under a shoebox? Cheers

 

[kingofnobbys]

Not trying to discourage you about the shingleback skink , have you thought about smaller and medium sized skinks such as sandswimmers, pinktongued skinks and the like.

Smaller but still great pets : smaller and medium sized skinks like my Wriggles the Water Skink.
Here is my little thread about Wriggles .... for your enjoyment....
viewtopic.php?f=26&t=217016

 

[kingofnobbys]

I didn't see those photos of george and mildred before, so cute! :mrgreen: good to see i have some good options with subsrait tho, ill probably mix that bunnings mulch and gum leaves together with a big branch/log, A big flat rock, A thick flat tile and two hides (if i were to keep a bobtail outside.) Also what did you do to sanitize your leaves and how often do you change them?and would it be safe to have a heat pad in an outdoor enclosure or in an indoor enclosure under a shoebox? Cheers

I simply gathered them, mixed them with KK and in they went.... any little bugs and critters on them were soon eaten ....

Local wild BTS and water skinks cope with the same little bugs and critters , and so I figures my pair would be fine . If you choose species that are found in your general area wild , they will be fine with local leaf litter.
I replaced all my KK and leaf litter at least monthly , as they will get a wee bit smelly , dusty and you want to avoid fungi and mould colonizing the bedding.

I housed inside , heatpad between two layers of ceramic tiles and hide ( initially a cardboard box )sitting on top..... Outside .... I'd dispense with a heatpad, infact I wouldn't keep the baby or young skinks outside until they are adults ....

 

[chameleon7]

yeah i was talking about if i got the sub adult bobtail (sorry i didn't mention that previously) if i got the baby he would be inside. so your not worried about ticks or parasites in the leaf litter cos i know thats a big problem down here with bobtails, what about chuckin it in the oven to kill everything? For a bobtail how does a diet of blue tongue pellets (veta farm) capsicum, cucumber,butternnut pumpkin, celery, blue berries, strawberries, cherry tomatoes and meal worms sound? :?: :study:

 

[kingofnobbys]

yeah i was talking about if i got the sub adult bobtail (sorry i didn't mention that previously) if i got the baby he would be inside. so your not worried about ticks or parasites in the leaf litter cos i know thats a big problem down here with bobtails, what about chuckin it in the oven to kill everything? For a bobtail how does a diet of blue tongue pellets (veta farm) capsicum, cucumber,butternnut pumpkin, celery, blue berries, strawberries, cherry tomatoes and meal worms sound? :?: :study:

More likely to find ticks in grass clippings and harvested tuffs of spinefex I think.
If worried - toss the leaf litter in a BLACK PLASTIC BAG and leave in the hot sun for a few days , that'll kill off the bugs and wont cook the leaves much.

Never seen a wild skink here abouts with a tick on it.

Vetafarm pellets are OK as a supplement softened and mixed with grated veg. I've used them mixed with repcal juvenile beardie pellets and softened and then mixed with veg for the wild skinks and my BTSs and water skinks, weren't real keen on them (but ate them). The wild skinks being very opportunistic made fast work of them (the left overs from the BTS and water skinks and beardies).

Berrys and tomatos sparingly - very sugary .
\
Cuccumber is worthless in a lizard's salad.

Mealworms = treats , as are superworms.

Essentially I think you wont go far wrong if you feed it like you would a BTS or a beardie of similar age.
Some caresheets for shinglebacks

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

 

[chameleon7]

The amount of times you have helped me out really thanks so much i really appreciate it! yeah ill do some study of my own and see if i can get one, still not sure what i'll get tho im still keen on those centrals...

 

[kingofnobbys]

The amount of times you have helped me out really thanks so much i really appreciate it! yeah ill do some study of my own and see if i can get one, still not sure what i'll get tho im still keen on those centrals...

You're welcome.... excellent idea to do lots of research on the species you decide on and to be setup completely before you bring one home....

Only issue with buying a subadult is you may be getting a skink who has been fed horribly imappropriate food since it was born , ie cat or dog food and little else , and comes with serious / life threatening hidden health issues (ie fatty liver desease or early stages of MBD or excessive VitA in it's blood ).... so be careful to check how it's been raised by the breeder and ask what they have been feeding it (in detail).

 

[chameleon7]

true, hopefully ill have a trustworthy breeder and i don't have to worry about that! :mrgreen: