Scientific name: Egernia cunninhami

Distribution: Australia. South east Queensland to northern NSW with populations in Victoria and SA.

Habitat: Rock outcrops, dead trees and hollow logs. Shrubland, wind swept heath areas and river valleys.

Brief description: A very personable and long lived species. Adults reach 13-14 inches total length. The group I work with originates from a collection in Europe and has been producing since 2002. The adult color mainly consists of a black body with white faded blotches. Juveniles are more strongly patterned. With a two month cooling period, females produce 3-8 young within a litter. Since the species can be aggressive with each other, it is best to raise a group of babies up together, as they will form a breeding colony. Males will pick on each other until one finally submits and should be seperated.

They are by far one of the easiest australian skinks species to kept. A group of adults should be kept in a cage with a floor dimension of 2x4 feet. Substrate consists of cypress bark mulch, with large rocks and cork bark flats and tubes. An isolated hot spot of 110F is suggested, with a nightime drop into the 70's. A water bowl should be present as well as good lighting, such as ZooMed 10.0 UVB bulbs. Their diet inlcudes - crickets, superworms, dubia roaches, cat food, babyfood, and any seasonal fruit and leafy greens. Supplements that should be used are RepCal D3 and Herptivite, 1-2 times per week. A very enjoyable lizards to have.

Scientific name: Egernia stokesii

Distribution: Interior of Australia and populations in WA, including island's off Shark Bay.

Habitat: Dry to semi arid habitats. Rock out crops, dead trees and logs and under limestone rock slabs.

Brief description: Still a rare and desirable skink in herptoculture. Adults reach lengths of 9-10 inches for females and 7-8 inches for males. The body color usually consist's of a rich red/rusty/brown with small light tan broken markings. The tail is impressive with sharp spines, which is used as a defense. If you have the goal of breeding, which most of us do, then they should be setup as pairs only. The cage should have floor dimensions of 24"X36". Substrate can be cypress bark mulch, with rocks and cork bark flats and tubes that compliment the interior. They need a hot spot of 125F and low humidity. Always use ZooMed's 10.0 UVB bulbs for lighting. Water should be provided once or twice per week. They can be fed 3-4 times a week with mainly insects, such as crickets, superworms, and dubia roaches. One can provide small amounts of fruit and leafy greens as well. RepCal D3 and Hertivite are the choice for supplements.

Pairs should be cooled for two months and females give birth to 1-5 babies in a litter with a gestation of four or five months. Babies are delicate at first and are very shy. A must for serious lizard collections!

PINK TONGUE SKINK (Cyclodomorphus gerrardii)

Distribution: Australia. Eastern Queensland to N.E. NSW.

Habitat: Prefers humid sub-tropical forest. Hollow logs, leaf-litter, and crevices in rocks or logs.

A long time favorite for the lizard enthusiast. Adults reach about 13-15 inches total length, with most being a prehensile tail. Most of the specimens in the U.S. have a grey body color with faded black bands.

An easy kept species. A 15 gallon all glass tank with good ventilation is a nice size to house 1.2 adults. I keep mine on aspen bedding that is two inches deep. A water bowl and cork bark flats compliments the cage. They need a warm spot of 85-95F during the day and a nightime drop into the low 70's. Humidity is very important and should be kept around 70-80%. One can spray their cage to accomplish this. Feeding is not problematic, as one may associate this skink with eating only land snails. I use wiska's cat food, pink mice, and ZooMed's Can-O-Snails, 2-3 times per week. Pink tongues are crepsecular and need only a weak UVB source or lighting. RepCal D3 and Herptivite are the supplements of choice.

Breeding takes place after a two month cooling period and with a gestation of 3-4 months, females give birth to a large litter of 10-22 babies. Babies are very cute when born and should be left alone at first to minimize stress. A lizard where, you can't have just one!