Small skinks to keep in a captive colony?

**snakeynewbie** · 07-Nov-11, 09:41 PM

Thanks, yeah ot really what I want then.

Pity you can't get a permit to take from the wild here, we are in a new housing estate and the number of displaced garden skin,s around here a the moment is quite sad, I'd gladly give them a lovely ome if I could do it legally.

**Poggle** · 07-Nov-11, 09:43 PM

has ne one suggested broad banded sand swimmers

**snakeynewbie** · 07-Nov-11, 09:45 PM

Aren't they fairly big though?

**Poggle** · 07-Nov-11, 09:51 PM

approx 11.5cm snout to vent i think ?

**snakeynewbie** · 07-Nov-11, 09:55 PM

That's very much my upper. Limit but not too bad, I'll check them out. Can't imagine they'd be overly suited to a forest type tank though?

**ryanm** · 07-Nov-11, 09:56 PM

Originally Posted by snakeynewbie

That's very much my upper. Limit but not too bad, I'll check them out. Can't imagine they'd be overly suited to a forest type tank though?

No they are definitely more a desert style skink, but other than that would be great for what you are looking for. You could fit a nice little colony in a 6 foot tank and they are great to watch.

**Poggle** · 07-Nov-11, 09:56 PM

no they wouldnt but a desert tank wouldnt be hard to renovate

well worth it hehe

**snakeluvver** · 07-Nov-11, 09:56 PM

Originally Posted by Poggle

has ne one suggested broad banded sand swimmers

Yes I have.
Theyd be fun to have in a big setup. And theyre not that big, just a bit smaller than water skinks.

**book** · 08-Nov-11, 12:32 AM

Eastern Water Skinks have been mentioned a few times for the pond and water fall set up. I love the river side set up but they are bigger than you are after and I would not call them good colony animals. I believe other people have managed to raise a large group of babies together and most have still been fine together as adults. It was my hope years ago to get three or four into a six foot if they all liked each other. I still only have pairs together and extra males living in their own smaller tanks. Even the females can be extremely vicious to other females. I also had offspring grow up with the parents but when they mature the parents have turned on them.

**snakeynewbie** · 08-Nov-11, 12:37 AM

Yeah i think they would possibly be ok n a large pit as a colony but i suspect a sixfoot would be too close quarters for them really. When i say waterfall i wasmore thinking along the lines of trickling brook, running the water across part of the enclosure to have a shallower angle on the flow of water, i did much the same thing when i was a teenager to create a tank for frogs and it worked really well, would love to do something like that again.

**book** · 08-Nov-11, 12:49 AM

There is a section in the book Keeping & Breeding Australian Lizards about Garden Skinks and John Deutscher's (Sdaji on this site?) experiences with keeping and breeding them for quite a few years. Don't know for sure if I have the right person or if he still keeps them. I think they would be great in the set up you are describing. I have seen other people wanting them in the past on this site but never seen anyone say they had found any.