Fire Skink
Appearance
Fire skinks display a mixture of black, white, silver, and bright red scales. Their backs are normally golden with red on the sides. Sometimes their colors will brighten or dull depending on their mood.
These geckos may be some of the easiest reptiles to tame and handle. They can even be felt without being jumpy like leopard geckos. They prefer to sit around during the day, and are much more active at night. Fat tailed geckos rarely bite, and if they do, you have upset or disturbed it. Be gentle and smooth with your motions when handling. There is no good evidence for their total lifespan in captivity, but an estimation of 10-20 years is logical.
Food & Water
They are carnivorous, eating a variety of insects. Offer them crickets, mealworms, butterworms, silkworms, locusts and any other insect of similar size. Make sure the insects are gut loaded with nutritional food, and dusted with a calcium or multi-vitamin supplement. Always provide your Fire Skink with a medium-depth dish of water for bathing and drinking, changed and cleaned daily.
Lighting, Temperature & Humidity
Provide your Fire Skinks with a heat gradient ranging from 76 degrees F to 85 degrees F, with a basking spot reaching 90 degrees F. Keep the daytime lights on a 12 hour cycle. At night, drop the temperature to between 70 degrees F to 75 degrees F. Use full spectrum flourescent lighting as well, providing your Skinks with the needed UVB rays. Use incandescent lighting or a ceramic heat emitter to provide the heat.
Housing
Fire Skinks like to hide, so you will need to provide them with plenty of places to do so. A single Fire Skink can live comfortably in a 3' x 1.5' x 1.5' enclosure. Make sure to provide them with lots of branches and plant life, either real or fake. These guys also like to burrow, so provide a container with some dampened moss.
Handling/Aggression
Fire skinks can be very friendly reptiles that will enjoy handling as long as you treat them with respect. Reptiles learn from positive and negative experiences so do not grab or squeeze your skink. Short, positive handling sessions with a new skink will get them to quickly calm down.
Substrate
Skinks love to dig and borrow so loose substrates are needed. Many keepers have had success with a mixture of soil, sand, and wood chips. Substrate should be about 6 inches deep, and there really is no maximum depth. This substrate should stay damp, not wet and not dry. The substrate should stay about 70% humid while the rest of the tank can stay the humidity of the room.
Cleaning
Cleaning can be pretty basic. Spot clean daily and remove feces as you see them. Remove any leftover or dead crickets and replace the water when it gets dirty. Substrate should be replaced every 2-4 months.
Fire skinks display a mixture of black, white, silver, and bright red scales. Their backs are normally golden with red on the sides. Sometimes their colors will brighten or dull depending on their mood.
These geckos may be some of the easiest reptiles to tame and handle. They can even be felt without being jumpy like leopard geckos. They prefer to sit around during the day, and are much more active at night. Fat tailed geckos rarely bite, and if they do, you have upset or disturbed it. Be gentle and smooth with your motions when handling. There is no good evidence for their total lifespan in captivity, but an estimation of 10-20 years is logical.
Food & Water
They are carnivorous, eating a variety of insects. Offer them crickets, mealworms, butterworms, silkworms, locusts and any other insect of similar size. Make sure the insects are gut loaded with nutritional food, and dusted with a calcium or multi-vitamin supplement. Always provide your Fire Skink with a medium-depth dish of water for bathing and drinking, changed and cleaned daily.
Lighting, Temperature & Humidity
Provide your Fire Skinks with a heat gradient ranging from 76 degrees F to 85 degrees F, with a basking spot reaching 90 degrees F. Keep the daytime lights on a 12 hour cycle. At night, drop the temperature to between 70 degrees F to 75 degrees F. Use full spectrum flourescent lighting as well, providing your Skinks with the needed UVB rays. Use incandescent lighting or a ceramic heat emitter to provide the heat.
Housing
Fire Skinks like to hide, so you will need to provide them with plenty of places to do so. A single Fire Skink can live comfortably in a 3' x 1.5' x 1.5' enclosure. Make sure to provide them with lots of branches and plant life, either real or fake. These guys also like to burrow, so provide a container with some dampened moss.
Handling/Aggression
Fire skinks can be very friendly reptiles that will enjoy handling as long as you treat them with respect. Reptiles learn from positive and negative experiences so do not grab or squeeze your skink. Short, positive handling sessions with a new skink will get them to quickly calm down.
Substrate
Skinks love to dig and borrow so loose substrates are needed. Many keepers have had success with a mixture of soil, sand, and wood chips. Substrate should be about 6 inches deep, and there really is no maximum depth. This substrate should stay damp, not wet and not dry. The substrate should stay about 70% humid while the rest of the tank can stay the humidity of the room.
Cleaning
Cleaning can be pretty basic. Spot clean daily and remove feces as you see them. Remove any leftover or dead crickets and replace the water when it gets dirty. Substrate should be replaced every 2-4 months.