r/skinks

Hey all! I have a spare 40g enclosure, and am looking to get a handle able lizard. Right now I have a crested gecko and a bearded dragon, and skinks seem like a lot of fun! From the bit of research I did, the 40 gallon would be much too small for a blue tongue, but would potentially work for a zebra skink, which appears to be a nice middle ground between the blue tongue skink and some of the smaller skink species? Would appreciate any advice or just talking about your experience with skinks (and zebra skinks for anyone who keeps them) for someone who is potentially interested in exploring a new type of lizard!

I'm loving skinks more and more and I saw these . Does anyone have them and can tell you something about them? How are they cared for (temperature, humidity, feeding, etc.)? How are they handled? Are they visible in the terrarium?

love these guys! so curious and silly

Hello! Today I picked up a schneider skink, he was being sold on Craigslist because they “needed the money” the set up did not seem the best and I’ve always wanted a skink, I figured I should pick this guy up and give him a better life. Ive been trying to do as much research as I could these last two days since I saw the ad. I just picked him up today for 100 including all his setup. However I can clearly tell his set up is not adequate and I would like to give him a better life. I feel bad keeping him in this but its just for today, tomorrow Im going shopping for upgrades.
My current list of things I will be getting tomorrow:
- 36 x 18 x 18 Thrive tank that comes with a 100 watt Golden Light Basking Spot
- Arcadia T5 12% 24” uvb.
- Topsoil/play sand mix for substrate (4-6”) and multiple more hides.
- Govee Thermometer/Hygrometer
- Unsure if a dimming thermostat is needed but its on my list just incase.

I just would love any advice or direction into what else I could be needing! I want to give this guy the best life and set up. I’m pretty familiar with reptiles I have a Tokay and a Leo (and 2 tarantulas). I understand the feeding and variety + calcium and dusting/gutloading feeders. I just have no experience with skinks specifically so any advice is welcomed with his new set up. Thanks so much!

I got a red-eyed croc skink 4 months ago and it went from orangeless (pic 1) to 50% orange to its eyes (pic 2) in the short period I had him. I'm not too sure if it's a juv or an adult, hence grappling with how often I should feed it.

As of now, I offer it 4 small dunia roaches/ 3 mealworms (on treat days) every evening and it gobbles them up. Should I cut down on the feeding frequency or just keep at it until all its colouration develops?

Not the best maternal instincts, but she did bring her two little eggs into the world and they are now safely in the incubator.

Hello bloopers

I just brought home these two very tiny Kenyan zebra skinks and introduced them to their new absolutely oversized enclosure today. They’re siblings that were born in January of this year and only around 4” at a stretch. I didn’t think to weigh them but they can’t be more than a medium-sized sharpie pen!

The enclosure they’re in is a 6’ long, 2’x2’ homemade setup with one temperate-humid side and arid-grassland side. They both found their basking spot pretty quickly and aren’t too shy about laying out on it so long as not too much is going on around them outside the enclosure. Both have eaten around 3 Ca+D3 dusted crickets too.

I guess I’m generally posting for any advice a more seasoned keeper could give me on these cuties, and what I can do in the next few months to have them get used to my big smelly ape self and tame them enough that they don’t think I’m trying to catch them when I change their water dish! :)

I don’t know their sexes yet but I have my fingers crossed that they’re sisters. If I end up with two males or a male and female, I’ll split them up. I don’t know if males tolerate one another well, but if they’re 1:1 I don’t want any inbreeding to occur either.

About a week ago I noticed that one of my two occelated skinks Mushu had a weeping eye, I put him in isolation and treated it with antibacterial gell for eyes that stopped the swelling and weeping. It looks alright so I let him back into his regular tank, but today I noticed his cheek was swollen up. I cant take him to the vet because he is too small and I called all the vets within a couple of hours from me and none of them were comfortable working with lizards, especially this small. He is 5 cm from nose to vent with a slightly short tail cause he dropped it at some point (before I got him). I am waiting on reply from some people who might be able to help but I the meantime is there anyone who knows what's going on or might help?

Is there any advice?

He is definitely blind and there isn't anything I can do about that, but he lives a cushy life so shouldn't be a problem, and he is acting completely normal, other than compensating for vision with his other eye.

I'll add some photos in reverse chronological order, so you can see what he is like now vs a week ago.

Also don't worry about the damaged scales on his head, he's had that for years, since I got him and it hasn't seemed to be a problem for him.

Him lying on my finger is after treating him with the eye medication, and the first photo is today after I let him back in the cage 2 days ago.

Last photo is when I first noticed the issue.