Finally, a fire skink =)

[GeckoGirl1990]

My dream came true! My first non-gecko species is a fire skink, CB, and she's the sweetest thing! (about 70% sure its a she..)
If anybody knows of any tips on guessing the gender of these guys (other than introducing two individuals) please let me know!
Introducing Razi =)

 

[hoppingherps]

I love those Fires, and that one is a dang good example of one. Hope you find out for sure what sex it is. If you get a chance, what type of setup your putting it in? A buddy of mine did a more natural viv. with his fires.

 

[GeckoGirl1990]

On one side of her terrarium I use coconut "carpet" as substrate, and the other half is coco bedding mixed with the aspen shavings that she arrived in, for burrowing. She has a water bowl big enough to soak in (although I haven't seen her actually lay in it), a half log, and some fake flowery plants. She seems quite happy in there and likes watching people go by her cage =)

 

[Jetbo]

Beautiful skink! Seems friendly too. They always remind me of native american bead work/art.

 

[GeckoGirl1990]

Thank you! She's a great pet. She actually enjoys being petted, and will fall asleep in my hand if I pet her long enough =) She's smarter than the geckos I think, she knows the difference between my finger and a worm lol.
To anyone else who has some kind of skink:
Is it normal for their old scales to flake off individually sometimes? When Razi's in shed, I've never seen her skin come off in chunks like in geckos. If I run my finger down her back/sides its sometimes covered in flaked off scales....
Just wanting to know if this is normal for skinks

 

[Lil2lewew]

Usually in nature the male is more vividly colored than the female. In this case, it seems that the males (as shown in several professional photographs) have more brightly colored red stripes with more pronounced yellow on them. The females have duller reds and yellows compared to the males.

 

[Sinosauropteryx]

About fire skinks...

Aside from the more vivid colouration, male fire skinks can be distinguished by having a broader, rounder snout and thicker jaw. A fire skink breeder I have communicated with a while back told me that it doesn't hurt as much when her female bites, but when her male bites, he sheds blood. I believe males might also be a little bit larger, though I am not sure about that. And then there is the obvious way to tell, but I don't need to tell you how to figure that out...

Fire skinks need a few inches of moist, loose substrate in order to feel happy and secure. If your fire skink can't completely submerge itself and dig around without being seen, it probably won't be very happy. I would recommend the Eco-Earth brick from Exo-terra, not the Bed-a-beast brick from Zoo-med. Remember that this stuff sucks up water like a sponge so you will need to mist the tank or enclosure thoroughly each time.

It is completely normal to not see your fire skink for several days at a time, but when they do come out, it will probably be in the evening. My skink, Abuto, only likes to come out when it is warm (think upper 80's and lower 90's) and I have just misted her tank. She also likes to wade in her water dish but make sure yours isn't very deep or your skink may not want to actually go in it. Sometimes fire skinks are afraid of pools of water and will only go to their water dishes to drink.

Hope this helps.

 

[NigelMoses]

I had the pleasure of breeding them a couple years ago but have not worked with them since then. I agree with the deep substrate, they need to burrow to feel secure. Mine would sleep under the bedding during the day and only come out at night or during feeding. It is actually quite cool how their heads pop up out of nowhere when hearing the crickets walk above. I found it extremely difficult to sex the animals, I did not know I had a breeding trio until I found the male eating my eggs, haha. I am not sure but I thought I remembered reading that one of the sexes has a thicker tail, mainly towards the base and the opposite sex has a rather skinny tail.

If you do end up breeding yours, just be careful because the males will sniff out and eat the eggs.

Good Luck

 

[GeckoGirl1990]

Thanks sinosauropteryx and Bruce for the info. Its really hard to find more than a paragraph of info on this species. I havent invested in a male yet but I've had my eyes on a very bulky, masculine looking fire skink at my local reptile shop for a while now.

What part of the cage did your female lay eggs, and under what conditions?

 

[NigelMoses]

I probably had 5 to 6 inches of substrate and it was always near the bottom under a rock or place where they most often slept. The substrate was kept moist, not damp but moist. I only provided one basking spot and the rest of the cage was kept cool no higher than mid to upper 70s.

 

[Sinosauropteryx]

Fire skink - male or female?

If you ask me, after finally looking at your photos (I wasn't logged in the first time I saw the OP) I would say your fire skink is male. He doesn't look any bigger than mine is, maybe even a bit smaller, but his snout looks thicker than my fire skink's snout is. This may be an age issue but I still think your skink looks male.

OFF-TOPIC: Why can't I shrink my font anymore? I tried 0.5 size but it wasn't recognized

 

[GeckoGirl1990]

I have no idea how old Razi is, I've had her (him?? :shock: ) since last march, and she's only gotten about an inch longer since then. The color intensity varies from time to time. Here are some better, more recent pictures of Razi. I've just found it hard to believe 'she' is male after seeing that truly beastly fire skink in the pet store...

and I've never messed with font size before..

 

[NigelMoses]

I believe females will get bigger.

 

[Sinosauropteryx]

Sexing fire skinks

I have no idea how old Razi is, I've had her (him?? :shock: ) since last march, and she's only gotten about an inch longer since then.

Ah OK. That would explain the apparent size difference then. Abuto was already at 12 inches - or near there - when I got her so she probably wasn;t as young as yours is.

The color intensity varies from time to time. Here are some better, more recent pictures of Razi.

Yeah, after looking at those photos, your skink does start to look more and more like Abuto. Forgive me but I still think your fire skink is male, though. Something about the face and the colouration on it... Abuto doesn't have that much red on her nose like that. He is more brown than read, even though the red on her sides do tend to stand out. Also, as NigelMoses pointed out, the tails in male fire skinks tend to be thicker than those of females. The tail on yours looks a but thicker than the tail on my fire skink, Abuto.

I've just found it hard to believe 'she' is male after seeing that truly beastly fire skink in the pet store...

If that skink you found in the pet store was noticeably different in size, it might just mean your fire skink has more growing to do. Then again, if body morphology is also notably different, you may indeed have a female. As was said earlier, though, your fire skink may just need to mature first before you can really make a comparison. It may still be too early to tell.

Another thought: Are you sure that skink you saw in the pet store was a fire skink? ...or could it have been a Schneider's Skink instead?

and I've never messed with font size before..

LOL :blushing: That was a more general question aimed at the administrators. I have a habit of switching font sizes when I use brackets or a header. It just looks better to me that way, which is why I asked.

I believe females will get bigger.

OK. That is news to me. I always thought the males got bigger.

 

[GeckoGirl1990]

I am positive the big one in the store was a fire skink, and its been sharing a cage with at least 2 other smaller fires for several months now. They all seem to get along well, which makes me think theres only one male in there at most. The store is owned by a friend of mine... perhaps I can convince them to let me buy one of the skinks and exchange it for a different one if Razi turns out to be male :lol:

I've never seen this care sheet : Fire Skink Riopa fernandi
, it has a small blurb on sexing: "Females can usually be safely kept together and are often more docile toward people than the males...Males will usually fight if put together. They may have brighter colors, larger heads and thinner bodies than females but none of these differences are reliable. "

Looks like the only reliable method for sexing is to put 2 together and see what happens lol. Thanks for reviving my old thread guys, I enjoy the discussion =)

 

[acpart]

I'm getting my first fire skink tomorrow. I've wanted a skink for a long time and this is a great opportunity: juvenile CB fire skink with full set-up for a reasonable price. I'll post pictures once s/he's settled.

Aliza

 

[GeckoGirl1990]

Thats awesome! They really are overlooked too much, my fire skink is just as cool as a blue tongued skink in my opinion. Mine doesn't mind being handled at all, and enjoys sitting on my warm laptop while im on the internet

 

[GeckoGirl1990]

I was right!

So I did end up buying that male I was looking at. I figured I wasn't going to really try to breed them, but I'd incubate if I found eggs. And now, 3 months later, my female Razi is laying eggs! But she is worrying me as she seems to be laying just one at a time??
Yesterday I found the first egg which was infertile, and tonight I found the second which looks healthy. I can still see egg shapes in her belly. Hopefully the male isn't eating any.... I have been checking for new ones pretty diligently though.
And I've only ever bred crested geckos before so I don't have a real incubator... I improvised by putting the egg in tupperware with perlite, slightly elevated above a heating pad :idea: hopefully my ghetto incubator works for now...

 

[GeckoGirl1990]

... and I didn't forget to add some humidity but I have no idea how much to use.... :shock:

 

[fireskinks]

Nice fire skink