# berber skinks



## driff04 (Feb 5, 2010)

hey dose ne 1 no wots the quickest n the best way 2 get my skink 2 get used 2 me ive had it just over a week thanks :2thumb:


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## Cold blooded but prime (May 22, 2009)

hey driff04, Unfortunatley handling is something that needs to be built up slowly, you must be patient with your new friend. If you have only had him a week I would suggest leaving him a little longer to settle in, it can be very stressfull for a new animal to adapt to new smells, sounds, environment etc I would say give him another week and just get him use to your hands going in and out the viv changing the water and feeding etc Eventually you can build your way up handling maybe just 5-10 minutes in the first few weeks to 20 minutes and so forth. When it comes to the handling I alway try to think it is best to invision a giant hand grabbing you and how you would respond? you must take this into account if your pet bites, or skits all over the place its only natural and losing your patients with the animal will not help the situation. Try to establish a set procedure with your new pet, e.g. a time of day that you do your handling, this will help get your pet use to a structure than just random handling all over the place (leave this till he is tamer). You be please to know that berber skinks are relatively easy to tame and keep, which is why many people keep them, I would suggest slowly getting the skink use to your hands going in and out of the viv daily and gradually move closer and closer. It is best to secure the animal by placing one hand underneath the animal and one above incase your skink tries to jump away (which we dont want) dont approach the animal from above as this may frighten your skink, dont approach your skink from in front as this might incourage him to nip you (of course when tame you wont have this approach problem) it is best to approach your skink sideways so he can see you and this method is less threatening. You could try offering a favourite food of his to intise him to you/on your hand. Some handlers find is easier to just grab the lizard securing it firmly int he hands until the animal gets use to this system over time, I believe this is personal preference and can cause more stress than the gentle approach. I know its hard to hear these things take time when you want to get your new pet out and show your friends etc but patience is golden!

I hope this helps
You will find there are ALOT of online handling caresheets if you type berber skink handling into google.
Take care:2thumb:


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## driff04 (Feb 5, 2010)

thanks i can stroke him nw but i wa just getin 2 no the best way 2 sort im out n he comes up 2 the glass to me n follows my hand from the glass so i think hes getin used 2 me and he dosent seem to b eatin a lot of crickets wots the best other feed 4 him if e dont eat them thanks 4 replying 
:2thumb:


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## Cold blooded but prime (May 22, 2009)

If you can stroke him then gently and slowly place your hand under him and cup him in your hands, try to not to be to firm but enough to insure he doesnt run off, try handling im inside the viv first this may help.
(remember lizards can drop their tails so dont grab him by the tail)

Berber skinks are omnivores with the main part of the diet being insects, try not to deter from the veg side of the diet too.

Crickets are the best source of insect for your skink try offering maybe black crickets instead of brown or vice versia the color change mite encourage him. You could offer locust, or in smaller quantities mealworms/waxworms. Try mixing the worms with the veg if you have problems getting him to eat the veg. Try offering grated carrot, beans, sugar snap, soft fruits and leafy veg. 

(remember to offer food items of correct size, large food items can cause impaction/blockage, as a general rule offer food smaller than the size of the skinks head)

Another tip for you..... offer food for your insects before feeding like potato peel, carrot peel etc this will offer a better meal for your skink and decrease the chance of the crickets biting your skink, this is known as gutloading. keep an eye on the bugs you leave in over night as black crickets have been known to nip when hungry, you could place a large lump of carrot for them to nibble on (too large for the skink to eat) Wax worms are very fatty hence the keep the feeding of these to once a week meal worms may also cause impaction if fed to often.


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## driff04 (Feb 5, 2010)

ok thanks 4 the advice ill try all diffrent veg n all that now i feel a bit better thanks a lot m8 :2thumb:


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## LIZARD (Oct 31, 2007)

Great advise above

I found that handfeeding helped a great deal, i used this method about 20yrs ago when i had my first berber:2thumb: craking skinks LOVE THEM congrats on yours. They can seem narly and pretty evil when u fist get them, then they turn into long lived, very hardy "silly tame" lil dudes


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## anakaday (Feb 25, 2010)

*Burber Skink Food*

Some Burber skinks only eat meal worms and will not eat other insects.


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## crazyg (Feb 3, 2008)

just leave it alone for a week or 2 it needs to be able to trust ya before it let ya start grabbin it an holding it if u want sumthin to stroke get a cat interaction takes time with any reptile


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