Skinks!

[Jheuloh]

Bit of a vent fest here, and an official "Guess who!" Thread, along with a gecko update thread. Many topics in one.

Skinks.

Ever since my step-dad brought in 5 skinks which one of his friends caught from the woods of Louisiana, Thursday and Today have been completely insane as we get supplies for them. As nobody asked or planned for any additional pets either, we were all completely unprepared for this. Originally, there were five skinks total, 3 of which babies, one of which an adult, and another being a sub-adult. 2 terrariums were purchased today, however, so each skink could have its own living quarters, so the 2 skinks which we never chose to keep were released into the woods (the skinks are native to this portion of the U.S. - no exotic animals were introduced.)

I adopted the sub-adult, sister adopted one of the babies. Step-dad took the only adult skink in the terrarium. Went and bought supplies for them today, such as substrate (bedding), terrariums, lights, etc; still need heat-lights, timers, and an additional UV light, however. Step-dad freaked out about the 19 $ price tag of the ultra-violet lights they need for vitamin D creation, and decided to proclaim that they "Don't need" an additional heat-light, as they were previously "living in the outdoors and not dead."

It's no mystery to me that the claim was most certainly being made to avoid buying a second set of lights & hoods, however (heat lights and 'UV' lights are not the same thing, packaging attempts to fool you this way, and both are needed.) Thus, I ended up speaking to my mother about purchasing heat-lights, thermometers, and hoods to accompany the lights (she's proven more reasonable about getting pets what they need.) Also rolled out 70 $ from my money box to pay for heat-lights & other necessary equipment, seeing that parents have essentially paid for everything else regarding the surprise skinks. Asides from helping ease the undeniable expenses of their care, the skinks absolutely need the lights, else they'll face death in the later months.

Once the skinks receive proper lighting, get dewormed & get the mites removed, however, they'll be set to live out the rest of their potentially 10+ year lives with us, and the needed lights will be purchased tomorrow. Fortunately for us, the pet who was here before the skinks (Khalil) has multi-vitamins, calcium, and vitamin D which can be used to keep all of the animals healthy. The young skinks will also grow to be about equal to Khalil in length, so they all will be able to share a food source as well. I will name my own skink "Raymond" if it proves to be a male, or "Sophia" if it proves female; my sister called her pet "Raindrop" because of its bright blue tail; my step-dad hasn't thought of a fitting name for his skink yet.

Anyways...

Picture time!

Pictures are too big for normal forum dimensions, so they're in a spoiler folder.

Step-dad's terrarium & currently the only adult skink of the collection. Based on the coloration, I believe his skink is a female. Picture is so blurry because my camera was out of focus. The skink is almost as big as Khalil is. (Khalil has the girth which gives him additional size.)

Sister's terrarium. Her skink was hidden under the bark & dirt when I took the picture. My sister has the smallest (more than enough space for 1 skink though) but prettiest of the 3 terrariums. The skink is still too young to determine its gender.

Terrarium of yours truly. I got the only sub-adult animal in the group, though I will have to wait longer before I can identify its gender. It's bigger, but the lack of greenery would explain why my sister's terrarium wins the beauty contest at the moment.

[Glaedr]

holy fricken crap. you really need to downsize those pics. i cant even tell what they're of...

ya, my dad pulled the same light thing, in they end, that was what caused some of the diseases that my pythons acquired, something confirmed by their vet. my dad had to concede that i was right and he was wrong. something he hates to do.

[Jheuloh]

holy fricken crap. you really need to downsize those pics. i cant even tell what they're of...

ya, my dad pulled the same light thing, in they end, that was what caused some of the diseases that my pythons acquired, something confirmed by their vet. my dad had to concede that i was right and he was wrong. something he hates to do.

In this case I think it was less of a right-wrong ordeal, and more of a money spending ordeal. They're going to get the lights, however. Having a second parent who I can cooperate with is beneficial in my situation.

And I've resized those pictures down to a comfortable 1024x768.

[_echo]

booo! low res images! booo! discriminating against us with big monitors!

Awesome thingies you got there!

[Jheuloh]

Edit: Tip, plastic screens on a terrarium will burn when a heat-light is placed over it.

I finally figured out how to use the light clamps, however.

[Arthmoor]

I had an entirely different picture in my mind of what a skink was. Those look like what we call Alligator Lizards or Snake Lizards out here in California. Not very many of them around, not even sure if they're native here. They spend most of their time under rocks in mucky areas.

[greenwarden]

Aw, they're adorable!

[Jheuloh]

I had an entirely different picture in my mind of what a skink was. Those look like what we call Alligator Lizards or Snake Lizards out here in California. Not very many of them around, not even sure if they're native here. They spend most of their time under rocks in mucky areas.

Out here in the gulf, skinks do indeed take the place of Alligator Lizards.

When you pictured a skink in your mind; were you thinking of the massive australian blue tongued skink? Or did you have something else in your mind? There's many, many different types of skinks in the world.

Edit: and thanks, GW!

[Jheuloh]

Made another pet-shop visit, though it was massively more stressful than it needed to be. Shopping 30 minutes from closing time & parents butting heads about what to get & how to set it up made the trip a pain. We do, however, have only one more light to get, and need only one hood, and the skinks will finally have their setup completed.

[Arthmoor]

When you pictured a skink in your mind; were you thinking of the massive australian blue tongued skink?

Yes, something along those lines. I always figured skinks were much larger than what you've got. None of the reptile shops out here ever carried any.

[Jheuloh]

Oh. Most skinks are very small lizards, the blue tongued skinks are one of the world's largest skinks.

[Glaedr]

In this case I think it was less of a right-wrong ordeal, and more of a money spending ordeal. They're going to get the lights, however. Having a second parent who I can cooperate with is beneficial in my situation. And I've resized those pictures down to a comfortable 1024x768.

ah, thankyou. now i can see whats going on. i like your sis' setup, and by the looks of things you and your dad have decent setups as well, although im just going off of common sense, since my knowledge lies in that of pythons, not skinks, though i did consider getting a blue-tounged skink for a while.

booo! low res images! booo! discriminating against us with big monitors! XDAwesome thingies you got there!

not my fault this pc is a dino.

Oh. Most skinks are very small lizards, the blue tongued skinks are one of the world's largest skinks.

yep, most skinks you come across anywhere are rather small in size. If i were to get one, i'd get a blue-tounged skink.

when i get the money, im going to get myself a Columbian Red-tailed boa, and a watch alligator when i get my own place and the $$$. I like big reptiles.

[Jheuloh]

ah, thankyou. now i can see whats going on. i like your sis' setup, and by the looks of things you and your dad have decent setups as well, although im just going off of common sense, since my knowledge lies in that of pythons, not skinks,

From what I've been told, step-dad would've got the stuff initially, if it weren't for the fact that we were approaching 300$ in expenses. (Forewarning for those of you who want a reptile pet; do your research! Avoid spending exorbitant amounts of money on things you don't need or things which don't work right.)

though i did consider getting a blue-tounged skink for a while

People who keep blue tongued skinks have many good things to say about them. They're supposed to be smart & friendly reptiles - smart as in able to acknowledge direct eye contact, and bearded dragon, attention seeking friendly.

when i get the money, im going to get myself a Columbian Red-tailed boa, and a watch alligator when i get my own place and the $$$. I like big reptiles.

"When I get the money" read: "When I win the lottery".

[Glaedr]

lol, no, more like when i get a fricken job and after i get out of college and buy my new computer. then i'll get them.

my female python was incredibly friendly. she was a Royal Python, better known as the Ball Python, because of their habit of curling up into a ball to protect themselves. she never tried to bite me, ever. i used to handle her all the time. i'd sit on teh computer or gamecube w/ her around my neck. i would eventually have to start paying attention to her because she would warm up and fall asleep, then slide off my neck. one time, i was sittin on the couch when this happened, she immediatley woke up, rolled into a ball, which caused her to roll down my arm, and down the couch arm. she shot off the couch arm and landed on the soft carpet (thank goodness!), where she proceeded to uncoil and wrap around my ankle, after which she tried to crawl up my pant leg.

most adorable snake I've ever seen. i miss her.

[Jheuloh]

Sounds like your python would've been a total trip for any reptile enthusiast to meet face to face.

[Glaedr]

oh, she was. i loved her to death. too bad she's gone. died from an undocumented disease. In order to save her i would have had to take her to one of those huge pet hospitals, or an exotic specialist, but i just didnt have the cash... Verdi.