SarahJane
Not so new Member
Hello.
I've had a pair of skinks for a few months now. They were previously owned by someone who kept them in an outdoor pit and to his knowledge had not breed (5 years or so). After keeping this pair for only a couple of weeks in a heated enclosure indoors they started mating, I'm now fairly certain the female is gravid. :shock: I was not expecting this; thought this might be a problem for next season.
My dilemma is, I will be away over Christmas and I'm not sure what instructions I need to leave with the sitter (my mum) with regards to babies ect.
I've kept reptiles for many years, however these are my first Cunningham's skinks (first gregarious reptile) and my first gravid lizard. I'd like to know:
Should I move the animals to my mum's house so that someone is there when the female has her babies; do the offspring need to be removed straight away? Or will moving the adults now, stress the mother too much?
Can I remove the male now? Will these lizards stress if separated? Can I mitigate this by putting two glass cages side by side so they can still see each other?
Is there a chance the mother will eat the offspring herself?
The enclosure is a small glass tank 90cm, so there are not many places little lizards could go to escape the adults, but moving them into different/bigger enclosures is definitely an option if it would help? I also thought about making a hide that would allow only little lizards to fit in?
Please only comment if you are familiar with this species.
Kind regards,
Sarah Jane
I've had a pair of skinks for a few months now. They were previously owned by someone who kept them in an outdoor pit and to his knowledge had not breed (5 years or so). After keeping this pair for only a couple of weeks in a heated enclosure indoors they started mating, I'm now fairly certain the female is gravid. :shock: I was not expecting this; thought this might be a problem for next season.
My dilemma is, I will be away over Christmas and I'm not sure what instructions I need to leave with the sitter (my mum) with regards to babies ect.
I've kept reptiles for many years, however these are my first Cunningham's skinks (first gregarious reptile) and my first gravid lizard. I'd like to know:
Should I move the animals to my mum's house so that someone is there when the female has her babies; do the offspring need to be removed straight away? Or will moving the adults now, stress the mother too much?
Can I remove the male now? Will these lizards stress if separated? Can I mitigate this by putting two glass cages side by side so they can still see each other?
Is there a chance the mother will eat the offspring herself?
The enclosure is a small glass tank 90cm, so there are not many places little lizards could go to escape the adults, but moving them into different/bigger enclosures is definitely an option if it would help? I also thought about making a hide that would allow only little lizards to fit in?
Please only comment if you are familiar with this species.
Kind regards,
Sarah Jane
........................Ron
