# Golden skink



## deedee71 (Mar 28, 2010)

Hi

Got a golden skink today, he or she is beautiful, not seen them before, very pretty little thing, I got him out of the cricket tub the shop put him into for transportation and he just sat in my hand letting me stroke him, really tame or too scared to move? I think tame. 

I have a substrate a couple of inches of orchid bark with small dish of water and small dish with grated carrot, shredded lettuce and chopped cherries with mealworms in there.

I read they also eat wax worms, spiders and earthworms and crickets but I'm reluctant to feed spiders as they are venomous? Will get some small earthworms tomorrow from the garden or fishing bait shop maybe, dunno, what does anyone else feed theirs?


Appreciate any advise xx


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## bash_on_recce (Jul 31, 2011)

Welcome to the wonderful (if a little quiet) world of Skinks! :welcome:

I keep Olive Tree Skinks and since I couldnt find a single person who keeps these in the UK, I'm possible the only one xD

Olive Tree Skinks are mostly arboreal but still like to have a deep-ish substrate to disappear into to feel safe. Took my three a few months to really settle in, I had had them from a pet shop closing down and they were in a bad state but doing ok now 

I find mine like crickets,waxworms and mealworms. I've tried them with various types of fruit and veg to no avail (yet).

Do you know the scientific name of the species, are they the same as Sun Skinks (_*Eutropis multifasciata*_)?


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## deedee71 (Mar 28, 2010)

hi 

thank you for your reply, i am afraid there was no scientific name on their enclosure, just said golden skinks. the pet shop had the one golden skink in with bearded dragons!  in a dessert set up, with a thin layer of sand and overhead light with ceramic heat bulb which is great for beardies, but burrowing skinks? lol. 

well, suffice to say, skinky is indoors with me now, i did a quick search online and said 2" layer of bark substrate, he has burrowed into it, so i have taken out the house i had in there. i dunno whether to put the house back in, i wonder if he will always burrow or whether it is just because he is nervous, he really is sweet. 

i took a piccy, 










and another blurry - sorry - but it gives you an idea of size


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## OniExpress (Sep 11, 2010)

Pretty skink, and looks to be in good health from the blurry photos.

I'm surprised it has all it's toes, if it was in with beardies.


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## bash_on_recce (Jul 31, 2011)

deedee71 said:


> hi
> 
> thank you for your reply, i am afraid there was no scientific name on their enclosure, just said golden skinks. the pet shop had the one golden skink in with bearded dragons!  in a dessert set up, with a thin layer of sand and overhead light with ceramic heat bulb which is great for beardies, but burrowing skinks? lol.
> 
> ...


Yep, definitley a Sun Skink (Eutropis multifasciata), the colouring near the face is fantastic!

He/she will hopefully grow more confident, the fact that you are handling it is a good sign, there no way I could handle my Olive's. I'm moving them into a larger set up in september...that should be fun :whip:

In with beardies? *facepalm* pet shops!


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## deedee71 (Mar 28, 2010)

-yes, he or she was in a 2ft viv, with beardies. they were baby beardies the same size as skinky, too hot and no-where to burrow, i suppose the pet shop thought no-one would buy him if he couldnt be noticed burrowing under the substrate.

the pet shop did say he would most likely burrow, and he eats crickets. 

so, would he come up to the surface to eat the crickets? my husband has banned all crickets from the house, i have mealworms and finely chopped veg at the moment.


thank you for the compliment bash_on_reece, he does have a lot of colour on his neck, and the scales on the back of his neck are irridescent. i dont know if he seemed reluctant to leave my hand because he was cold? i have handled him twice now, and the girl in the shop said she had been nursing him all day, so i guess he is hand tame.

i wish you luck moving your arboreal skinks, i bet they can move fast :lol2:

ps just thought i would add, if he doesnt eat the mealworms or the other worms i am going to try him on, then I WILL give him crickets, the hubby will have to just threaten to throw me out of our home, the animals health is top priority


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## pburrows92 (Jul 14, 2012)

Golden skink care sheet by Anthony

Not sure how accurate this sheet is but hope it helps..


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## deedee71 (Mar 28, 2010)

pburrows92 said:


> Golden skink care sheet by Anthony
> 
> Not sure how accurate this sheet is but hope it helps..


thankyou very much for the care sheet 

i have been looking at skinks in general online, and they seem to enjoy being outdoors in the sunlight running around foraging and basking in the warm sun.

so, now, i think i have my setup all wrong. at the mo skinky is in a RUB with a heatmat at one end, food and water at cool end, with orchid bark about 2 inches deep, i think, i need to get my 2ft vivarium out of the garage, and put in a something large but light for the lizard to climb on, to go underneath a heat lamp. trouble is, i dont want to overheat the vivarium being only 2 foot.

what wattage heat lamp should i look for? or shall i keep away from heat lamps and stick to the heat mat which has a mat-stat, and just put a normal household bulb in there which will give off a small amount of warmth? or uv light? wow, i am so confused:crazy:


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## bash_on_recce (Jul 31, 2011)

deedee71 said:


> thankyou very much for the care sheet
> 
> i have been looking at skinks in general online, and they seem to enjoy being outdoors in the sunlight running around foraging and basking in the warm sun.
> 
> ...


I may self am starting to learn more about heating with lamps, I use heat mats for most of my pets however will be moving over to heat lamps with dimmers by the end of the year, you see more interesting behaviour with heat bulbs as the reptiles bask underneath them in the open.

I'd definitley recommend a heat bulb (on dimmer) and UV light, as most skinks are diurnal and It should encourage yours to come out of hiding to bask especially if you put a flat rock under the heat bulb  (Not sure on wattage, but for a 2ft probably no higher that 50w? Dont quote me on this though xD)

My Olives are arboreal so things to climb on are the order of the day, Olives only come down to the ground to lay or move from one tree to another. I think Sun Skinks are terrestial so would benefit more from ground cover (rocks, caves etc) however it wont hurt to pop in a thick climbing branch or two to climb on. 

Just a reminder, since they are burrowers, make sure all the rocks etc are big eough to touch the bottom of the tank to avoid crushing injuries, sorry if you already know this, just thrown it up there incase


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## deedee71 (Mar 28, 2010)

hi 

thank you for the advise on heat, decorations and rocks that touch the floor so cant crush the lizard. i am so thankful for the advise. :no1:

i was wondering about the rocks, thinking something light? you have given me an idea, to put the rock on legs, to make it like a table, so skink can burrow under if he wants to but the rock cant fall on him/her.

i think i will get a uv light with a strength of 2, and monitor the temps in the viv with just that switched on, just for now and a heat mat switched on at night.

if the viv doesnt get warm enough then i will get the heater bulb and stat. i used to have my leo in the viv with a red bulb, but it got too hot in there so took it out, that was a few years ago, and it may have been a high wattage bulb, i didnt understand about wattage back then lol, never gave it a thought, just had it in my head that they were all the same......:lol2:


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## Bab1084 (Dec 9, 2011)

A normal strip UV light doesnt giv off heat. 

If u use a heatbulb and a dimmer stat the viv wont overheat as the stat will dim the bulb when it reaches temp  as for bulb wattage for a 2ft tank try a 40w


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## Arcadiajohn (Jan 30, 2011)

Great little animals!!!

How high is the viv? A 2% UVb lamp is almost useless for these animals in viv over 12" high, let me know and I will help if you want.

John




deedee71 said:


> hi
> 
> thank you for the advise on heat, decorations and rocks that touch the floor so cant crush the lizard. i am so thankful for the advise. :no1:
> 
> ...


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## deedee71 (Mar 28, 2010)

thanks bab1084, and arcadiajohn, 

the viv is 23" across, 15.5" deep and 18.5" high.

skink is still in his rub on a heat mat controlled by mat stat, just temporary, but i have changed substrate from orchid bark to a mixture of aspen and shredded paper (very small pieces of paper, nothing long) as the RUB was dripping with water from condensation. i found a poo today so i am overjoyed (lol).

john i would be grateful for help in heating the viv. :2thumb:
i believe the skink is diurnal, so he must like to be in the sun, but nothing like a beardie as he is a dessert animal i think? so i am unsure re strength of uva/uvb? 

plus i'm scared of overheating as the viv is small but i live in a small home with husband and lots of animals so space is limited.
dee x


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## Arcadiajohn (Jan 30, 2011)

No worries,

You heating should be stat controlled and you have a stat! So that's sorted just swop over the gear from your RUB into the viv,

If the viv is 18" high you will need to use a D3 or EuroRange forest lamp. A 2% natural sunlight lamp cannot work in a viv if this height.

You will need the correct reflector some that all the energy is available at the basking area. The lizard will bask!!

I would use a 15w 18" lamp. Offset the lamp and reflector into your hot end so that all the light is where the heat is. This will then have provided the animal the opportunity to photoregulate between heat and light and cool and shade.

The codes would be either

FD315, change every 12 months
FR15, change every 9 months. 

The reflector really is essential to getting the best out of the system. There have been large imports of true golden and some sun skinks this season and the animals have been great quality. You will however need to make sure that the animal has access to good food and quality supplements!! 

We have been reading up about the two part RepCal range from John berries big reptile world and this range does seem to be more encompassing nutrient wise and scientific in it makeup.

Good luck and please let me know if you get stuck!!!


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## deedee71 (Mar 28, 2010)

hi john, :notworthy:

thank you for all the info, i will definately make it my priority to look at all of those things.

the first question i have is, the stat for the heat mat, is called a mat stat, would that work okay with the heat bulb? it does have a sensor. so i suppose it would be the same?


is this the uv light ? http://www.arcadia-uk.info/product.php?pid=20&mid=12&lan=en

so that just provides the correct spectrum of light for reptile to produce D3? do i need a starter unit like what you use in a fish tank setup?

erm, what heat lamp do i need? is that the d3? will do more homework and lookie 

is this the heat lamp? http://shop.strictlyexotics.com/index.php?main_page=product_info&products_id=400

if so, where can you get a reflector for the bulb?

sorry to be a pain
dee xxx


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## deedee71 (Mar 28, 2010)

bab, i love your photo of spike with your dog, they look like they will be going for a walk together, so cute :flrt:


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## bash_on_recce (Jul 31, 2011)

deedee71 said:


> hi john, :notworthy:
> 
> thank you for all the info, i will definately make it my priority to look at all of those things.
> 
> ...


I'll let John give you the run down as he really knows his stuff, but I will point out that you will probably need a dimmer stat for a bulb, for two reasons. One, the mat stat will knock the heat bulb off when it reaches the set temp turning your viv into a disco and stressing your skink and two, it will seriously wear down the bulb so it wont last very long at all.

I think the only heat bulb with UV is the 100w one? Which is going to be much too overpowered for a 2ft I think.

The world of lighting can be a real headache, theres a lot of science and maths to it if you want to set it up correctly :lol2:


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## deedee71 (Mar 28, 2010)

lol just thinking about the disco lights, poor skink will be thinking, something along the lines of "wtf, take me back to the pet shop NOW!" :blush:


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## Arcadiajohn (Jan 30, 2011)

Ha ha,

You will need a dimming stat really unless you just use the heat mat and mat stat! That's up to you.

Providing a heat spot is useful so that the animal has a basking point.

Yes you will simply need the controller, lamp and reflector to provide all the light and UV the animal needs.

Here are the codes

FD315 this is the lamp
ALR15 this is the reflector
ACR15 this is the controller

John


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## deedee71 (Mar 28, 2010)

hi john,


did you mean i should keep the heat mat with the mat stat, and in addition have a uv fluorescent tube for lighting? would skinky bask under the light even though there is no heat there?:blush:

dee


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## Arcadiajohn (Jan 30, 2011)

Yes he would bask under the light, reptiles are tetrachromats which means they can see Uv and power gradients of Uv. They will be able to easily see the power that they need at that time and use the decoration in the ebpnclosure to get it.

They need heat, some people just use mats to generate a background heat some people use heat lamp. The best way really is a mix of the two.

The mat would provide a background temp and at night and the heat lamp provides a hot spot during the day.

The UV systems has very little to do with it!

Hope that helps

John


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## deedee71 (Mar 28, 2010)

hi john,

thank you fo the advise on the uv light, reflector and controller.

that is the uv sorted


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## milk1706 (Nov 10, 2009)

hi guys....
we are looking into getting a golden skink... any advise on best set up, viv size etc.... 
Any advise would be a great help!!!: victory:


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