Proven Pair Fire Skinks

Mount Prospect IL

Description

I've had this pair of lizards since about December 2020. They are beautiful, healthy, and probably better in someone else's home. They're largely fossorial and rarely above ground, but when you see one basking, you can practically hear a choir of angels in accompaniment. This species is one of the most beautiful reptiles on the planet, and it's a real privilege to be able to see one up close. It doesn't happen often, but when it does, it's special. Most of the time you'll be emptying the enclosure just to do welfare checks. The female is called Hestia, the male is The Jerk. Females are slightly smaller and have more slender heads than males. You can use that method to tell them apart, or you can rely on the fact that if the lizard you've just dug out of the ground tries really hard to bite you, it's The Jerk. I know there are lots of videos out there showing tame, handleable fire skinks. You might be able to get these there with a lot of work, but if you're looking for a traditional pet, I wouldn't count on it. They are wild caught, and I bought them as subadults in December 2020. I've gotten eggs twice. The first time I destroyed them accidentally during a cage cleaning. The second time I found three hatched babies, all of whom looked healthy but died one by one. I don't know what I did wrong, but given that fire skinks aren't commonly bred in captivity but should be, I feel they might be better off in the hands of an experienced breeder. CBB babies were fetching $200 each on MorphMarket last year, though I don't know if that's still the case. Their habitat needs to be at least equivalent to what I'm providing, or they will remain with me. Right now they're in a front opening 40B with several inches of organic potting soil, coco fiber, ground sphagnum, and long fiber spaghnum. I'm using a front-opening enclosure but there's a good argument for using a top-opening instead. Large dish for soaking and humidity that you will be cleaning constantly. Tons of natural rocks for heat retention and climbing; driftwood too. They are Ferguson Zone 2 and currently using a Reptisun 10.0 for UV. Heat is being provided through an 80W deep heat projector that dries the soil out on that side like crazy, so you will be watering a lot; you may wish to switch the DHP to something like a halogen or mercury vapor bulb, as I will be doing if they remain here. Eating superworms, BSFL, and heavily supplemented crickets like gangbusters. I'm pretty sure they ate a Reptilinks iguana microlink I provided, but it's possible the superworms got it. Won't touch hornworms, silkworms, or earthworms (surprised me too), and pretty iffy even on waxworms. You must pour bugs in with a heavy hand, or The Jerk will outcompete Hestia despite their size difference being negligible. (Are you getting the sense how he earned his name?) Their adoption fee will be negotiable to the right home, but they're not priced as cheap fresh imports. If you're interested, drop me an email with an introduction and a sense of what you've kept before, and how you plan to keep these, well before we get to price.