I need some advice

[Puff_the_magic_dragon]

So now i've got a King's Skink. It's a magnificent, HUGE animal. I had to rescue him (don't be alarmed, I'm now doing volunteer work for CALM as a wildlife carer and i've been issued with a license to do this) because he was injured and had obviously been in a fight of some kind; he is missing one of his front legs, and his body and tail is a little bit battered up. I didn't know whether he was capable of catching prey and surviving on his own. Anyway I had to get the poor thing and take it home without having a chance to properly prepare a home for him and do research on the King's Skink. I am keeping him in a medium sized reptile terrarium and I made a hiding place for him out of a shoebox. So now I need some advice on the following questions:
How often should I feed it? I don't want to overfeed it and make it fat, but I don't want it to go hungry all the time.
What should I feed it? It ate the mince meat that I put in there. I put some more mince meat in there today which was mixed with this "Wombaroo reptile supplement". But I think it prefers the mince on it's own, it doesn't seem keen on eating the mince mixed with this supplement **** because it looks like poop to be honest, I wouldn't wanna eat it either! So what else should I feed it? Big cockroaches? There are tiny little skinks that live in my back yard, and I was thinking of catching them and putting them in there for it to eat.
Now the main thing i'm worried about is the light. When I put him in the vivarium, I just grabbed an ordinary household desklamp and hung it over the grating thing at the back of the vivarium. I know this wouldn't give it very much heat, but it was all that was available at the time. So the next day I brought 2 UV light/heat globes. They are exactly the same kind, but one is 160 Watts, the other is only 100 Watts. I really don't know which one to use for the Skink.
Is there any hope of taming it and getting it comfortable with being handled? What is the best way of trying to get him tame?
Thanks in advance

 

[Pinkie]

Where abouts is CALM? I haven't heard of it... Are you in NSW?

The enclosure sounds fine. Make sure it has lots of leaf litter and grasses to hide in.

Light: In Wires we were told not to heat up injured reptiles at all because it will just make them sicker, and can increase the rate of infections, etc. I would suggest just to give it the same temps as the natural environment... which is where it would be if it hadn't been rescued. If you can I would keep it outdoors as this is the closest it can get to being in its natural temps. Otherwise strong heat/light sources are a bad idea. If it has to be kept inside, just give it a basking spot and thats it. A desk lamp is fine.

Food: I assume its an adult in which case you should feed it once a week. Juveniles eat around every 3 days. Insects such as woodies and crickets are preferable, maybe snails and slugs. However you can also supplement with soft fruits, tinned dog food and sliced pinkies.

Just out of interest why are you looking to tame it? Many lizards particularly skinks are able to survive in the wild without limbs quite fine, so don't assume just yet that it will be with you forever. Most wildlife organisations suggest handling to be kept to a minimum so that the animals does not become tame.

If you tame it and then release it it will have less chance of survival!!
And if you tame it and keep it, it is still illegal, despite having a wildlife carers licence!! We aren't allowed to keep animals unless permitted to by NPWS under special circumstances.

 

[Magpie]

CALM is Dept. Conservation And Land Management in WA. Sort of like NPWS. As to the skink... don't know

 

[Magpie]

CALM is Dept. Conservation And Land Management in WA. Sort of like NPWS. As to the skink... don't know

 

[olivaceus71]

kings skink

hey puff,

if you are working for calm, that would mean you are in wa and considering the temp over there, I would not be too concerned with heating the herp, I think 160watts would be overdoing it, especially if you don't have a thermostat. If the globes are not uva/uvb (am assuming at 160watt they aren't) then you should try and let him get at least 10 minutes of rays a day, you don't need to hold him to do this, just sit outside with him in a bucket.

Did you have to do a basic reptile course to enable you to rescue herps, know Calm is pretty stingent. If so they would probably have guidelines to follow when bringing an animal into your care. (I know Wires did), i.e wound treatment, specific diets/requirements for species, also it helps it they can buddy you up with someone that has been doing rescues for a longer time.

Sorry I am assuming that you are new to herps do not want to appear bossy.(have only done a few posts here myself)

cheers
olivaceus71