Garden skinks?

[abbott75]

They would have to be the most common wild herp out there, but does anybody actually keep or breed them in captivity?

I'm not interested in getting any, just curious...

Adam

 

[junglepython2]

There are a few with them but not many.

 

[Khagan]

Used to catch them as a kid lol, there was these normal ones and there was ones with red tails that we didn't find as commonly.

 

[Aslan]

Abbott - Not many keep them. There are a lot of people who would love to but they're pretty difficult to find in collections...

 

[abbott75]

I had kept a few of them (WC) in my younger years too, they really do tame down a lot. If anyone was ever allowed to take a few wild specimens I'm sure they wouldn't be too hard to breed.

 

[Khagan]

I had kept a few of them (WC) in my younger years too, they really do tame down a lot. If anyone was ever allowed to take a few wild specimens I'm sure they wouldn't be too hard to breed.

I don't think they are that hard to breed, friend i caught them with back in the days kept some in an esky and they bred all the time.. Just the others would eat the eggs .

 

[Sdaji]

I used to keep them in Victoria, I think I was the only person who legally held them there, until I sold some to a guy just before I left. When I moved to QLD the EPA staff told me I was going to be the only person in QLD to hold some of the skinks I was bringing up. People often overlook the small skinks because of their size, but they are loaded with character! When people do start keeping them, they always rave to me about how exciting they are

Because of their size they'll never be a mainstream keepers' thing, but for the few people who bother, they're a lot of fun

 

[MrBredli]

... and there was ones with red tails that we didn't find as commonly.

With a white spot behind their eye?

 

[Luke1]

i really want some...so does a friend...anyone have some they are willing to part with?

Sdaji, did you breed yours and if so how much for?

i think the common garden skinks are awsome and i want a trio of them and some of those snake eyed/fence skinks. i always watch them run around our house, they are very cute.

 

[Sdaji]

Luke1: I've certainly bred the Garden and Delicate skinks, although I haven't focussed too heavily on breeding them over the last couple of seasons. If you'd like to PM your email address to me I'll get in touch if I have some available. I don't think I've ever actually sold any, so far I've only swapped them for animals or favours with friends. If I was to sell some I have no idea what I'd charge, as I've never seen them advertised! I've been a bit reluctant to sell them to some people, as I've heard them say things like "It'd be awesome, I have them in my back yard, so I could run out, catch them, and say I bred heaps!". I'm not yet sure about Brisbane, but certainly in Melbourne, you only see about 1 in 100 Garden Skinks which is free of mites. These are almost always a different species of mite from the one which parasitises snakes and Blue-tongued Lizards, but in captivity it can sometimes completely over run a small skink colony.

Southern Water-skinks are also absolutely awesome, I haven't heard of many people keeping them, but the Eastern Water-skink is more commonly kept and I'd assume they'd be similar.

You can keep small skinks in plastic tubs on heat mats, and they'll be perfectly happy, breed prolifically and live long lives, but they're a more fun to watch if you set them up in a glass enclosure with a spotlight and lots of stuff to climb on as you'll be better able to see their antics while they run around and play with each other.

Incidentally, no, they don't need UV, I've never found it to provide them with any benefit and I no longer use it. Many healthy consecutive generations without it

 

[abbott75]

are they the ones that drop thier tails?

Yeah, that's them.

 

[Sdaji]

are they the ones that drop thier tails?
if so, when i was younger we use to catch them and put them in lunch boxes lol..
thier are about the only herp around our area..

Most skinks and all geckoes (including legless lizards), as well as some foreign groups drop their tails. When I was little I used to keep them in empty fish tanks and tubs too. I stopped keeping them when I was about seven years old, then when I got into reptiles more seriously it took me a few years to track down some legal ones.

 

[Goannas1]

did not read all Sdaji posts

 

[herptrader]

So John, what do you feed your baby skinks?

I presume you need a supply of tiny insects?

 

[abbott75]

When I kept wild ones (which I'm sure all of us have done in out younger days) I fed mine small spiders and other insects that happened to find their way into my hands.

 

[m.punja]

what was the process for breeding them sdaji? And how many did you spread around victoria. It's funny, I've never even heard of them being kept in legal captivity until now.

 

[Khagan]

With a white spot behind their eye?

I'm not sure about the white spot, but they looked exactly the same as the normal ones cept they had a red tail or rather the end of the tail was red and they tended to be more agro then the normal ones and bite etc lol.

 

[MrBredli]

Did they look like this? What area were they found in?

 

[junglepython2]

I'm not sure about the white spot, but they looked exactly the same as the normal ones cept they had a red tail or rather the end of the tail was red and they tended to be more agro then the normal ones and bite etc lol.

If they were found around Melbourne then it is likely Lerista bouganinvilli. Did they have slighty reduced limb development compared to the garden skinks and sometimes "slide" away?

 

[Isis]

hmmm womas love em.....lol