blue tailed skink i caught

[jessica domke]

hey all!!! i live in northern central florida & wuz out doin yard work 2day on my day off & happend 2 come across this beautiful lil blue tailed skink!!! i've always wanted 2 try 2 catch 1 cuz their colors are so beautiful & finally wuz able 2 catch 1!!! does ne1 else have ne experience w/these lil guys? i mean, i've did a lil research & from what i've found, they are pretty easy 2 take care of. the skink is pretty little, so the 10 gallon i have will do 4 now. i'm going 2 be purchasing little crickets from petco 2morrow 4 him. some sites said they will eat mealworms 2, as i kno they're not all 2 gr8 4 dragons, i'm wonderin well wut bout this lil skink? i have my 5.0 uv light over his cage & heating pad underneath the enclosure. i had some sand i had purchased 4 my dragon that i never ended up using(got 2 scared from the possibility of impaction) & put it in a big, extra water dish i had 4 my dragon. i've also got a small water bowl(from when my dragon wuz a baby) in the encosure 4 water. my dragon's lil hide is over top the dish w/the sand, so he can burrow & feel safe at the same time. i have a long piece of stone broken off of a stepping stone 2 use as a ladder 4 him 2 get 2 the sand(as they like 2 burrow). if ne1 has ne suggestions or has dealt w/a blue tailed skink b4, plz feel free 2 shoot me ne tips!!! i'd appreciate, altho the care i've researched seems pretty basic. thanks 4 reading ya'll!

 

[jessica domke]

this is the blue tailed skink i just caught 2day on my day off. i haven't done all the research yet, but have done some & this is the set-up i have so far. pretty basic. the 2nd pic is a pic of the lil guy, kinda hard 2 c him. i posted a thread under the forum 'other pets' feel free 2 check it out & fill me in on ne advice u may have! thanks!

 

[Germ]

Yes they are very pretty when Young with their Blue tail which later disappears then they have a nice red head, or so I'm told, never actually seen one. On a more personal note, I think it's mean to take a Wild animal out of it's Natural Habitat & Cage it Up in an enclosed space.

 

[jessica domke]

yes germ this is very true. i have thought of this as well, i have mixed feelings bout it. i mean, yes in a way it is mean...but yuh gotta think 2, beardies(& other exotic pets 4 that matter)were taken from their natural habitats 2 breed & keep as pets as well. in a way i totally agree w/u germ & at the same time, i feel...as long as i can make his new enclosure as natural as possible, than the lil guy will be content. i mean, some ppl do actually sell the skinks 4 pets as well....i am a very, very big animal lover...i agree w/u germ but like i said i have mixed feelings. but i do thank u 4 ur input, all opinions & advice is welcome!

 

[Aleena]

In a round about way, that's how we ended up with dragons. Caught some pretty green tree frogs while living in FL and went to the pet store to replace them with captive ones so we didn't take them out of the wild. A lot of wild caught animals do not survive captivity for very long at all. We saw beardies we fell in love with while at the reptile store and eventually brought cass home.

 

[Germ]

Yes that is true, but not mine or any BDs kept now are all 'Captive Bred', most Skinks also, along with the majority of exotics. What you do is completely up to you, I'm not going to say any more about it. I just voiced a personal opinion.

 

[jessica domke]

this is very true aleena & germ. & i thank u both 4 ur view on the subject! which is why i posted it on here, 2 get feedback on the subject. i suppose i really shud just let it go, it's wut wud be best 4 the lil guy. not saying i wudnt take care of it properly, but it does have a better chance of survival in it's natural habitat. okay than, it's settled...2morrow b4 i go 2 work, i shall set him free again! set free 2 be happy!

 

[Aleena]

this is very true aleena & germ. & i thank u both 4 ur view on the subject! which is why i posted it on here, 2 get feedback on the subject. i suppose i really shud just let it go, it's wut wud be best 4 the lil guy. not saying i wudnt take care of it properly, but it does have a better chance of survival in it's natural habitat. okay than, it's settled...2morrow b4 i go 2 work, i shall set him free again! set free 2 be happy!

I'm sure you would have taken care of him!

 

[Germ]

Try and get a good pic of the cute little guy in the open before you set it free, it's gorgeous.

 

[jessica domke]

oh yes, w/out a doubt in my mind i wud totally be up 2 par taking care of him as best as possible...but i believe germ is very right, he wuz born in the wild, happy in the wild..he shud stay in the wild! & germ i will certainly get a better pic of him b4 i let him go back home!

 

[Aleena]

Jessica, don't forget to post that pic! I want a big, cheesy close up Very pretty animals.

 

[jessica domke]

okay, so the close-ups looked a lot clearer on my camera b4 i uploaded em on the computer...darn. but atleast i got some decent shots of the pretty lil fella. the last photo i tried 2 snap me setting him free, but he got away so quickly i just barely got his tail in the pic(hence the red circle in upper left hand corner). don't kno how i managed 2 catch him, i looked all around the tree i set him free by(where i found him yesterday)& cudnt find him. he wuz FAST! lol...but he's happy now

 

[Aleena]

Very pretty! Thank you for sharing, Jessica!

 

[jessica domke]

oh certainly! very welcome!

 

[Germ]

They are such a gorgeous looking creature, I can really understand wanting one. Thanks for sharing the pics.

 

[jessica domke]

yes, definately agree germ!!! & ur welcome 4 sharing!

 

[Wellovelizards]

She is beautiful...u were very good to her

 

[jessica domke]

oh thanks wellovelizards!!!!! twas a beaut 4 sure!!!! glad 2 share!!!

 

[ThDude]

we have millions of these guys around where i live, though we call them(incorrectly i might add) "blue tailed lizards" as they get older i believe they turn brown and develop a red head.

i thought about catching one to raise but being wild i thought better of it.

these little guys can detach their tails if need be and they grow them back, they are interesting to be sure.

 

[drgnfly2265]

Cute little guy. Thank you for sharing!