# Cunningham's skinks



## yewherper (Mar 14, 2010)

Hi, I am looking into getting some Cunningham's skinks. I was wondering if i could see some pics of enclosures and outdoor enclosures. I live at Albion Park, near Wollongong an i was wondering if they would do well outside all year round or just in summer? and would they be fine with Water Dragons and other spieces? 
Thanks


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## DA_GRIZ (Mar 14, 2010)

yes you can keep them outside all year and they should be fine with water dragons and others


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## BJC-787 (Mar 14, 2010)

i keep mine outside all year round ant they live with water dragons, blue tongues, shinglebacks and soon eastern beardies and jacky dragons


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## yewherper (Mar 14, 2010)

ok cool, thanks guys. i am looking at making another big outdoor enclosure with a big pond. i plan on having water dragons, cunninghams, shinglebacks, turtles and maybe some jackys. 
thanks again. anyone feel to post pics of your cunningham's on here, and their enclosures as well.


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## Jdsixtyone (Apr 6, 2010)

Beardies will eat the jackies for breakfast, I wouldn't put them in there. You only need a tank 90cm tall x 60cm wide x 60cm long to house a trio of jackies.


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## greeny1 (Apr 6, 2010)

Mate cunnies are awesome, i suggest getting a colony of them though, they live in small colonys in the wild and it looks great going to a large outdoor enclosure and seeing about 5 cunnies scattering in the rocks. I am in the process of building some outdoor pits and aviarys. Cunninghams will be fine all year round outdoors where you are. And yes they go well with all sorts of other lizards, preferably around there size or larger and i have even heard of cunnies picking on lizards twice the size of them, but as long as you have enough room for them all to live comfortably together it will be fine. I will put some pics of my cunnies and outdoor enclosure in the making to give you a couple of ideas.
thanks mark


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## greeny1 (Apr 6, 2010)

First of all heres the cunnies, far one is the female and the on in front is the male....................












And heres the pit that i've built in the last 2 days. I only have the animals in it while im home as i havnt made sure that they can't burrow out but other than that its done, maybe i'll decorate it a but more but that would be it.





























and this is also the aviary which has been a work in progress for a while now and doesnt look like being finished in a hurry.


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## tezzajw (Apr 8, 2010)

One of my Cunninghams (we call them Spikeys) likes to chase around my adult water dragons. I've seen it gripped onto the tail of my female dragon a few times. The dragon retreats and runs from the Spikey that's half its own size. The Spikey also likes to bite at the Turtle when it climbs too close to the rocks. Make sure your enclosure is built well. Any kind of weakness in it will be exploited by Spikeys - they are very agile and curious.


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## FAY (Apr 8, 2010)

I would not put shinglebacks outside in your area.


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## Jdsixtyone (Apr 8, 2010)

Yep, i agree. They will get scale rot from the humidity from down here. They need hot/dry conditions.


FAY said:


> I would not put shinglebacks outside in your area.


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## kupper (Apr 8, 2010)

greeny that pit is very well constructed , should have dug about a foot down and recessed the tin or even put down a layer of wire mesh about 20cm down and 30 into the pit.


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## tezzajw (Apr 8, 2010)

What's wrong with having Stumpy's outside in the Wollongong area? 

I wouldn't put them in an enclosure with a large pond - I've seen how helpless they are when they fall into one.


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## kupper (Apr 8, 2010)

forget about scale rote snakemadness they will die from R.I first


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## Jdsixtyone (Apr 8, 2010)

I forgot to add that bit 


kupper said:


> forget about scale rote snakemadness they will die from R.I first


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## greeny1 (Apr 8, 2010)

but well cunnies certainly get on well with beardies anyway.....















i walked into the pit today and saw these two ontop of an old fence post. I quickly grabbed the camera before the cunningham took off.

yeah kupps its not completly done and the animals arent in there 24/7. only when im home to watch them. I am going to dig a trench a foot deep around the whole perimeter of the pit and fill it with concrete. but thatnks for the suggestions.

and whats wrong with having a large pond in an enclosure. all reptiles can swim for the day of birth and that pond is lined with gravel so they can easily climb out.


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## Bushman (Apr 8, 2010)

> whats wrong with having a large pond in an enclosure. all reptiles can swim for the day of birth and that pond is lined with gravel so they can easily climb out.


There's nothing wrong with a pond, however bluetongues and shinglebacks in particular, are hopeless swimmers. 
You'd be surprised how easily they drown when you're not around to save them. Even if the edge is rough enough to gain purchase, they tend to bump their snouts against the edge and bounce back again. They also don't seem to think about their predicament and often don't see a log or ramp nearby in their panic.


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## greeny1 (Apr 8, 2010)

yeah the female bluey has had troubles shedding and i have witnessed her swim out, it certainly isnt steep and the edges are very easy for them to climb out.


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## AllThingsReptile (Apr 8, 2010)

ok first off greeny1 that is a big beardie how many inches is that? and second anybody know about
cunninghams in an enclosure coz it gets cold where i live(wodonga, vic) and does anybody know a victorian breeder of cunnies


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## greeny1 (Apr 8, 2010)

they should be ok in vic from what i think but im not too sure about the climate there, my female comes from cooma in the snowy mts so they handle the cold well

but im sure they'll be fine indoors aswell, i do know of a few people who do, just generous space and they'll be fine


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## greeny1 (Apr 8, 2010)

and the beardie is huge!! abit over 2ft


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## geckos_are_great (Apr 8, 2010)

they will be fine outside in vic.
as theres afew places down here were they live.
there great pets and very hardy


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## tezzajw (Apr 9, 2010)

lizardboii said:


> ok first off greeny1 that is a big beardie how many inches is that? and second anybody know about
> cunninghams in an enclosure coz it gets cold where i live(wodonga, vic) and does anybody know a victorian breeder of cunnies



My breeding pair of Cunninghams have always lived outside, so do their babies. Give them enough shelter, rocks, logs, etc and they're fine. The only problem is making the cage 'baby proof'. Babies are easily able to escape through normal mesh. I'm lucky that most of this year's babies decided to live inside the cage instead of venturing elsewhere!

Think of it this way, they live naturally, in the wild, a few kilometres from where I live. There's no difference between the rocks in my yard and the rocks down at the creek.


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## tezzajw (Apr 9, 2010)

greeny1 said:


> all reptiles can swim for the day of birth and that pond is lined with gravel so they can easily climb out.


I've had three baby blue tongues die in water dishes no bigger than a normal dog bowl. I never knew I had any pregnant females in the enclosure, so I wasn't expecting the babies. 

Now, all of my water dishes always have a rock in them, which takes up nearly half the space and allows babies to climb in and out.

Maybe those three babies were the only lizards who couldn't swim from birth, right?

Blue Tongues and Stumpys do not mix well with ponds. Do so at your own risk.


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## morgs202 (Apr 9, 2010)

Just my two cents worth: My cunninghams has lived inside with my eastern beardie for about eight years now. Never had any issues to speak of!


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## Reptilequeen (Aug 11, 2010)

yewherper said:


> ok cool, thanks guys. i am looking at making another big outdoor enclosure with a big pond. i plan on having water dragons, cunninghams, shinglebacks, turtles and maybe some jackys.
> thanks again. anyone feel to post pics of your cunningham's on here, and their enclosures as well.


Ive got loads of pics to post on here, BUT (silly question) I dont know how to get the pics on, do they need to be resized for the forum can you or someone pleeeease tell me how to do it?? much appreciated thanku. :?


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