Hi, I have read that Croc skinks don’t have a long life span, ranging from 5 years to 12. What has been your personal experience with this? Do they pass away closer to 12 or 5 years? I am mostly talking about captive bred and not wild caught. Thank you!

I wuold prefer to feed them only with earthworms, little dubias roaches and mealworm, can I?

Can you suggest me a good UVB light currently avaible for these guys? I need also to know if i can put in the terrarium (60x45x30) two species of isopods. Thanks!

Hello,

I’m planning to have a large tank in my office (at home) as part of my decor. After looking into what I should put in there, I came across the red Eyed Croc skink. This will be my first reptile so I want to do as much research as possible before bringing him/her home. After some research I have some questions.

1. Do they do better in a bio active enclosure or would a artificial enclosure do just as good?

2. Humidity is a big thing. Will the enclosure make my office humid? How about the smell?

3. Lighting has been very hard to decipher. Everyone has different opinions in what you should use and if to add heat or UV. Does anyone have a good lighting set up that has work for their skinks?

4. Feeding. All the care guides go over the type of insects they eat. I am confused as to the quantities and how often to feed them.

5. Are they social reptiles? Do I need to get a pair? If so, would they breed? Is that something I need to worry about? I read that having two males or two females is not that good.

6. What does daily, weekly, and monthly care look like? How often do I need to clean their enclosure and what does cleaning consist of?

If anyone has extra information they would like to give me I would greatly appreciate it.

Thank you!

Hey guys! I’m new to crock skinks, but not to reptile husbandry. For some reason, my new Vivarium will not go above 70% humidity. I have been spraying, I have a fogger, and two water bowls in there. There’s tonnes of moss, live plants, and I have good substrate (ABH mix, then Eco Earth/lead littler to top, all over clay balls). What the hell am I doing wrong?! I can see condensation in my clay balls (at the bottom of the tank), and in my soil, but my hydrometer reads low every time. I even switched hydrometers thinking it couldn’t possibly be right. Any tips?

I had two crocodile skinks, one female and one male, and both ended up dying inside of their food bowls. Definitely way too early to be natural causes. They were both on a diet of calcium dusted mealworms and got misted every morning. The humidity stayed at around 70, but sometimes 80. I don't remember what the enclosure looked like with the female, but the male had a huge bowl to swim in, with a air stone to keep the water from getting still. He had plenty of moss to hold moisture and a hide that was probably a little cooler. He also had a heat lamp that went on for 12 hours. The female and male died a few months (maybe 5-6) apart.

By the time I found them, the mealworms were crawling all over them and when I found the female it looked like she was bleeding from her butt.

This morning before I found the male dead, he was alive but in the food dish. I was misting his tank and he was moving around when the water hit him. 13 hours from then and he is dead.

My ideas-

A- the mealworms killed them B- they both had a disease and it was coincidence C- it was too cold?? (My vent is right next to the tank and I don't know how cold it could've gotten during the day)

If anyone has any idea please share! I don't have any more skinks but I would really like to know the cause or if anyone experienced anything similar. Thanks!

(I'm sorry this is so long)

I have a 36x18x18 terrarium and I see so many different answers for heating and lighting for these skinks. Is there anyone who has a croc skink who can tell me exactly what I should buy, even the brand and items. There are just so many different results when I search and I would like to learn what someone uses exactly and for how long. If anyone could help out I would be so grateful.

I’ve never been this excited about poop before! I’ve been worried that my new skink wasn’t eating, since she hides all day and I’ve never seen her out of her log. But I came home to a big fat turd in her swimming dish! I feel almost as relieved as she must have been after dropping that monster :)

I just picked up a croc skink last night from a local expo, and I tried to give her some dusted crickets this morning. I held the crickets in front of her with tongs for a few minutes and she was not interested, so I thought I would leave them in the cage and let her eat them in her own time. Now it seems that the crickets have either dug into the substrate or have done a good job of hiding in the moss, and I’m not sure that the skink will find them before they die. Any tips on making sure she is eating?

She was sold to me as a male, and I haven't actually checked yet because I'm trying to let her get use to her new home and destress, but I'm fairly su re it's a she. I'll post photos of the enclosure later. I also feel like she is fairly young still, like maybe around a year or so. 18 1/2 cm 198 grams.

I bought her off craigslist from a young guy just starting college. He bought he from a pet store in august, the pet store said she was probably a rescue because they don't carry the skink regularly. So I really have no idea the history. I was told it was captive bred, but I have no way to know that for sure. I can only hope so. The original name when I got her was Mushu, we decided to name her before I bothered trying to sex her and my wife liked Alejandro. Currently in name limbo until I pull him/her out and sex them appropriately.

So far she's done fine on meal worms and crickets, but will not come take them from me, only hunt for them during dusk or dawn. One thing I'd had a hell of a time with here in Colorado is keeping the humidity right. It's either too high or too low. I bought a piece of plexi to cover the top with and will vent it to see if I can find that right balance. Kind of going back and forth between a humidifier, just misting, using the waterfall, or a combination or all of them. I haven't found the sweet spot yet.

I've been using LED lighting since my other bulb melted and warped my original plexiglass top. It has UVB, I'm in the "it can't hurt" camp. Harder to keep the temp where it needs to be though , I can keep it above 70 but I have a harder time getting a good hot side/cold side. I bought a heating pad but I think it's a little wimpy to try and heat the tank so I would not mind recommendations there. The tank is a converted aquarium, I think it's 12x12x30. Anyways, glad this sub reddit exists. Hola everyone.

https://preview.redd.it/11nsqr7mh8p11.jpg?width=720&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=6f7eee5b26bf901722fc2717cd1f52ac5fa126d4

Hey r/crocskinks I used to have a crocodile skink but feeding was a huge problem. I was just wondering if feeding is also and issue for your skinks? I've heard that these guys don't eat at all in captivity!

Hello everyone!

I've integrated my little female, The Queen with my male, Batter, and noticed they stay on opposite sides of the tank.

Not something I'm too concerned about - although I found her in his usual hang out yesterday and laughed that she kicked him out - but I was wondering for those who have pairs:

How long did it take for them to warm up to each other? Were there any problems you experienced during the introduction stage? Do you have any tips (besides minimal meddling) for a breeding pair to be successful?

Thanks in advance!

Hello all,

Sorry for the lack in updates. I've been extraordinarily busy. I was hoping the sub would kind of take on a life of it's own.

Anyway, crocs are still good! Female turned out not to be gravid, just fat. I've still got them on meal worms and crickets, dusted every other feeding, and it seems to be working out great.

Just got back from the San Diego Reptile Super Show. Only one vendor had crocs and they only had 2. These animals are still a very hot commoditee and are something to truly consider as a project for yourself.

Don't forget to ask questions and post your own experiences and questions too!!!

Until next update, adieu.

Let's get this subreddit going.

I'm setting up an enclosure for red eyed crocodile skinks. Some people recommend UVB lighting, while others say that it is unnecessary. What are your thoughts on lighting?

My male and female have been quite reclusive still. Only coming out at night to hunt and drink, then scurrying back into their hides.

As I might have mentioned, I put a small guppy fish in their water dish, as I read that crocs may enjoy the occasional fish treat, but no dice. The didn't even touch it. It was in the dish for a week before it accidentally flung itself out of the water and suffocated.

Mealworms seem to be a successfull food source for these crocs and they have gained about one gram each since last week.

I've noticed that they are extremely reclusive animals. They seem to feed at night, when all the lights are off.

When removed from hide to feed them, they remain still, and take no interest in any food. Crickets seem to do well, mealworms don't seem to be a hit.

I have placed a guppy fish in their water to see if they take interest. I have ready that they like fish. Fish has been in dish for 2 days. Will keep you posted.

This is it, folks. I'll be setting up my breeding equipment this weekend in anticipation of receiving a breeding pair of Crocs this weekend. If everything goes to plan, I'll have pics up sometime before Monday.

Breeding pairs require a lot of patience to acquire on one's own. Croc Skinks do not reach sexual maturity until about 2 years of age...Roughly when they are around 6-8 inches long. So, to aquire a pair as big for me.

Croc Skinks also only have one operational ovary, generally. Which means that they most typically only have one egg at a time...Making production slow at first. But GOSH are they worth the wait.

Edit: No sign of my Crocs, yet. They haven't been shipped yet due to weather...Understandable. Keep checking in!