Show Off Your Skinks

Omg! I thought i was the only one who is in love with California Aligator Lizards. :smiling_face_with_three_hearts: I miss them and Blue-Bellied Fence lizards. I live in Wisconsin now but grew up catching both of those in the Sierra Nevada.

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These are my two :smiling_face_with_three_hearts:


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The Evil Stink Eye





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C’mom! He’s waaaaayyyyyy too cute to be an evil eye! Oh if I I had the room! :pray::heart:

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How large of an enclosure is he in?

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18x25x6 i rounded up. Basicaly 30 qt. They are growing fast. Born may 20 2024. They move into 21x45x6 around six to eight months which depends on rate of growth. I dont mind throwing them in full size tank earlier as long as set up properly. That is usually vip acces for hold backs. 21x46x6 can be permanent home and short rather than tall works better. Taller if you have climbing surface. You can increase square footag in tank by throwing logs or low long hides inside as well as thick substrate for digging/climbing. I would not keep in anythin narrow or to tall.

Cleaning and fresh water so why not show another.




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So they are basically in tubs as adults with the added items/footage as adults……

What about heat and uvb?

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Plenty of natural light in my room. I also give supliments like calcium/vitamins. I use heat mats. Exersize is good. Example make them chase there food. They come out of cage every day as well. Uvb is not necessary but others use with success. You could get away with v70 size tub but i think that to narrow and just shy of required length/width if you get some larger growing genetics. All of my skinks grew out of v70 by 6 to 8 months. You can tell by the size of my 2month skinks.

I like using large pvc pipes cut in half. They love them or you could keep it plane with lots of leaves. The base of palm tree branches or bark works as well. They will crawl through them searching for isopods or dubai roaches all day.






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Oh my goodness thank you so much for all of this information! I did not realize they were fairly easy to keep! Do you ever let them roam around the room?

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This really isn’t true. I had to keep my skink without UVB for a couple months due to construction and there was a drastic change in his behavior. He didn’t have his usual attitude, wouldn’t eat much, and actually seemed to not be quite as healthy. Once I added his uvb back everything went straight back to normal after a week. They are active, diurnal lizards that don’t just sit and hide like a crested gecko or something does.

Can a skink survive without UVB? Yes. Can they live their best lives without it? No.

To me keeping them past the 6 month mark without it really shouldn’t be done. It is $10 a year for one lizard. That really isn’t unreasonable.

Please refrence the whole message. Taking a snippet of a larger more truthful statemen is misleading.

My room gets plenty of natural light and i supliment calcium, D3 and other high grade vitamin. They come out of cage and get natural light in addition to exersize. Uvb is not necessary if calcium D3 and other vitamins are used.

Yes they are active during day and like to bask under sun for part of the day which is why keepers use uvb. However, Plenty keep without uvb and have healthy active animals that breed successfully.

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I read through your whole entire post multiple times before I responded, like I always do.

UVB can not pass through glass. It doesn’t matter how much light your room gets if there is a window in between.

The D3 found in supplements is much less effective than having proper uvb lighting. There is a reason it is called a supplement, not a replacement.

There is a difference between an animal that is doing what it is biologically programmed to do and having the best possible life.

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I must of Missed the part where they come out and get natural light and exersize. I feed frozen thawed mice anywhere from 14g to 28g or occasionally 32g .I think the pictures showed up as well. Dont wory no feeding. Unless its allowed and you dont care. Love seeing them run through the cage full speed. The pictures also shows starilite plastic not glass.

To use or not use UVB has been around since i was young boy in the 90’s. Extreams on both sides and probably plenty of information out prooving both sides. But, there are nuances that we should consider.

Is the animal thriving? Thats number 1.

Skinks that are properly kept without UVB and have calcium d3 and other supliments are just as healthy and live just as long as skinks with UVB. I am sure you can find information to suport this statement as well as bash it. However, reputable sources do support the no uvb statement i have made.

Several reasons why a skink can get moody and refuse food. Stress is a big one.

Skinks dont breed because they are programed to reproduce. They have requirements to get them healthy enough to breed in addition to proper husbandry and other conditioning preparations.

My animals are thriving and produce healthy babies.

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No i keep an eye on them. They are faster than you think and get flat to fit in thin cracks. They will chill out and post up on you or inside hoodie front pocket and improve once you socialize them. They love socks and warm blankets. They can get big. I have some close to 23inches. They start around 5 inches as baby and grow quickly. I work with them every day and all are healthy. I deleted other post because older pictures.

tip dont throw away old socks. Use them for kids arms or when you dont want yours cut up by your skink. I normally dont use them but thought you guys would like to see.



Kids getting wet and skink posting up while enjoying head/chin rubs. Ill get the male next.





Papa bear in shed and trying to hide. He will look more perky in a few days.





1 more female swollen back up. I did not mess with her because she is a spicey girl and i just gave her a 32g xl mouse. Probably the max size prey item i would give xl skink like her.


Take care and enjoy!

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Oh my goodness those guys are gorgeous! It certainly looks like they are thriving with the D3 and vitamins! And your young man in the photos is very handsome!

They certainly look like they are thriving with the way you are keeping them!!! :+1::+1::+1::+1::+1:

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The male has new paint job. As promised, more pictures.








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He is stunning :star_struck: Love those fresh colors! :+1:

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How did he manage to get so much food on his face? And of course I feed him in his open area so I have to clean all of the food off the floor as well :triumph:

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I love this face.

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I love when she pokes her little head over the rocks

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