Crocodile skinks

Discussion in 'General Lizards' started by leon_kuyo, Sep 17, 2011.

  1. leon_kuyo

    leon_kuyo New Member

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    i was wondering if any members could inform me about Red-eyed Crocodile skinks.
    im getting one on my birthday and need any info required to know to have them as a pet.
    and also if you know any stores that sell them, i live in New jersey
     
  2. JEFFREH

    JEFFREH Administrator

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  3. dogking

    dogking HOTM Winner September

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    From what i've heard croc skinks are very hard to find. I don't know much about them, but I believe that shanna66 has croc skinks so maybe she can help you.
     
  4. JEFFREH

    JEFFREH Administrator

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  5. JEFFREH

    JEFFREH Administrator

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    You'll probably have better luck finding them online and having them shipped to you from a breeder/dealer. I'm not familiar with the NJ area - so I second dogking's advice and possibly talking to Shanna about it. Although I do believe a couple of other members have this species or are familiar with them and can possibly chime in. This classifieds listing sometimes has people selling them.

    And I cannot guarantee quality, availability, etc... but some of the larger chain online reptile stores sometimes carry them. Such as UnderGround Reptiles, lllreptile, and Ben Siegal Reptiles at http://albinonile.com . I've heard decent reviews about the latter, and it looks like he is selling this species for about $50 plus shipping at $39... you can expect shipping to run about $50 give or take at most online sites, which is quite reasonable nowadays believe it or not. Shipping a snake out, even through SYR costed me nearly $70 last week :eek:

    Another option may be a reptile show - never any guarantees they will have what you are looking for but they're fun to attend anyway! Here's a couple in your tri-state area coming up (Just missed White Plains NY last weekend):
    September 24th in Oaks PA - East Coast Reptile Super Expo at the Greater Philidelphia Expo Center
    October 1st - Havre de Grace MD - All-Maryland Reptile Show

    They are certainly a cool species = )
     
  6. JEFFREH

    JEFFREH Administrator

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  7. Shanna66

    Shanna66 Well-Known Member

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    aww, ive been mentioned :)

    ive got a pair of females that are still young. it took me over 2 years of searching online and every pet store and local reptile show before i found any captive bred ones. they breed slowly so most you see are wild caught and alot of those dont adjust well to captivity. captive bred are worth the extra money and time spent looking for them

    ive been told by some croc skink keepers that lllreptile only sells wild caught ones so i tried to advoid them

    i just chanced uppon mine by asking about them at the right place at the right time, someone pointed me to an exotic pet store that knew how to breed them. ive been on their waiting list for months for a captive bred male or 2.

    i keep mine in the low 80s on their warm area, and nice, high humidity. i use an undertank heater instead of a heat lamp since they spend all day hiding. they are not a good watching pet since they hide all the time and for the most part dislike human contact. i know some keepers who have friendly ones though so dont give up on taming them

    also from what ive read they dont do well in same sex pairs but i usually hear that complaint from people who keep them in smaller enclosures. ive got both my females in a bin just a bit smaller than a 40gal and have had no issues so far, my girls are still juvies though
     
  8. JEFFREH

    JEFFREH Administrator

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  9. savannah_az

    savannah_az New Member

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    ive been looking for some info on these as well. ive heard a few people on other forums say that they drop their temp to low 60's during winter months to simulate real conditions. any input on that?
     
  10. JEFFREH

    JEFFREH Administrator

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  11. Shanna66

    Shanna66 Well-Known Member

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    i dont think you have to. the shop i got my girls from was breeding them accidently and they kept their breeding pair in the mid to upper 80s all year round and still got some good eggs.

    there is so much contradicting information on these guys its frustrating. im just trying out different things with my girls just to see what works. this will be my first winter with them but im planning on keeping their temps up like normal and seeing how it goes.
     
  12. savannah_az

    savannah_az New Member

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    do me a favor and go down the list of things you think i should know (however ive read every care sheet i can find on these guys and this is not the only forum im seeking information in) as id like to be well informed. how do you have your habitat setup (uv bulbs, footprint, humidity, temp, type of hides used etc...) what are you feeding and how often, maybe any tips and tricks you've learned
     
  13. Shanna66

    Shanna66 Well-Known Member

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    from what ive learned from my girls uv seems to be useless, they hide all day so thats why ive been using a uth to heat them. im also keeping their substrate deep since they enjoy digging. ive got my temps at 85 right now. im not sure what the humidity is since i no longer have a hydrometer but i keep it more moist than my cresties.

    ive got 2 hides, i large piece of cork bark on the warm side and a small plastic hide on the cool side. ive also got a large water dish since these guys like to soak alot

    and i feed my girls crickets every 1-3 days. most keepers ive talked to say they will eat anything but all my girls like are crickets.

    also i dont think you will have problems keeping a same sex pair together if you have a large enough enclosure but im not 100% sure since my girls are still young and have never been near a male.

    i cant think of anything else right off the top of my head but if you think of any questions feel free to ask. or if you have any tips for me please tell me, ive only been keeping these guys for a couple months and still want to learn more about them
     
  14. savannah_az

    savannah_az New Member

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    have you considered using roaches instead of crickets? i switched when i had a panther chameleon in the past and he seemed to beef up quicker. i also can't find if im supposed to mix in some fresh greens for them or if they're strictly carnivores. have you tried any kind of greens?
     
  15. Shanna66

    Shanna66 Well-Known Member

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    ive never met anyone who has tried to feed them greens, im pretty sure they just eat bugs.

    and i want to breed roaches one day, im still working on getting over my fear of them though.
     
  16. savannah_az

    savannah_az New Member

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    well the way i see it, i don't want to breed crickets again, and i don't want to pay shipping every week or so for live feeder foods so i don't have much of a choice, especially if they're strictly carnivorous. im adding a few shots of the tank, its custom sliding glass front doors and mesh top. dimensions are 47 long 17 wide and 24 tall. The tank has a false bottom raised with clay balls. substrate is potting soil sitting on mesh and about 5 species of ferns and other plants. its split equally into 3 parts land on the right and left and a pond in the middle with a land bridge connecting the two. the pond has a school of guppies (about 20) and a waterfall branching up and onto the left side of the land. no hides yet. i have some zoomed vines running thru the roof to give it a rainforest feel and a rain system that pumps from the pond four times a day for 4 minutes each. i haven't checked the humidity but since its a false bottom with water covering the entire floor of the tank im guessing my humidity is around 80 to 90% all the time.
     
  17. savannah_az

    savannah_az New Member

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  18. savannah_az

    savannah_az New Member

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    im having some issues with getting images to show up. im uploading them to 100% but they're not taking, anyone have any advice?
     
  19. Shanna66

    Shanna66 Well-Known Member

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    i always use photoucket when im uploading pics, other than that i have no advice, im horrible with technology

    but your tank sounds amazing! ive just got my girls in a storage bin right now but im wanting one of the tall zoomed tanks that are also long to try out a planted viv. ive read that croc skinks do best in a more natural setup but that may be because most of them are wild caught
     
  20. savannah_az

    savannah_az New Member

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  21. StikyPaws312

    StikyPaws312 Moderator

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    Oh wow, that's an awesome tank! What were you using it for before? Or did you just make it for the croc skinks?
     
  22. savannah_az

    savannah_az New Member

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    its just for the skinks hasn't had anything but the guppys in it
     
  23. Shanna66

    Shanna66 Well-Known Member

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    really nice setup, you are going to have some very happy skinks in there
     
  24. Maria_California

    Maria_California Embryo

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    We have a male and female, a little over one year old. We bought them from LLL Reptile in California about 4 months ago and they have been doing really well. They were originally eating mealworms, but now they only like the canned crickets I put out. We have them in a 40-gallon tank lined with river rock and coconut fiber substrate, with several hiding areas, several mossy areas and one swimming area with a waterfall filter. We also put up a fake rock wall as a background that they sometimes climb on. We never let it get hotter than 80 degrees or lower than 68, with one flourescent light on during the day and one under-tank heater when it gets too cold. The humidity never falls under 50% and usually stays around 70-80% - with me misting it and we also bought a fogger. Ours seem to sleep all night and come out during the day. The female just laid an egg unexpectedly, so they say they are really happy with their conditions if they actually decide to breed. We really enjoy them - we can pet them, but the male doesn't like it too much - he just puts up with it. The female is sweeter.
     
  25. geckolover22

    geckolover22 Well-Known Member

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    i've seen crocodile skinks at lll reptile here recently my dad thought they were cool almost got one but i'm running outta room ^^'
     

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