Northern Blue Tongue Skink Behaviors?

[jclaiborne]

Yeah the humidity is a good point. It depends on where you live. Here, I have to struggle to get humidity DOWN for sone species. In the summer here the humidity gets so high sometimes the wall molds behind my furniture etc. So different climate different husbandry methods.

Very true, where I am at, humidity all but barely exists, so even on low humidity animals I still have to moisten the substrate from time to time.

[hungba]

What low humidity species do you keep that need moistened substrate? I would presume dry climate like yours would be great for beardies etc, no?

[Samong]

Wow, there was a ton of great discussion while I was traveling yesterday!

And hungba your cages are GORGEOUS, would you mind if I private messaged you to ask about them? They're exactly the sort of setup I would like to make/have.

I do keep my crested geckos on soil and I can see where making a "sticky" soil (The sand, soil, and moss mixture mentioned) is important. A packed surface that forms well is less likely to get thrown absolutely everywhere and provides a better texture for digging. I've also seen setups for some other lizard species where they are provided a "sandbox" (With other substrate of course) for their digging instinct, while keeping the rest of the enclosure on a humidity-appropriate substrate. I've also seen water dishes set on very short platforms of slate to help keep dirt out; the plus side is if the platforms have stable legs that go to the floor then the reptile can dig under it too.

All of that said I find the soil thing can be hit or miss. I love it for my cresties; makes cleanup a breeze and helps the humidity. I did NOT like it for my snakes and keep them on shredded aspen or cypress mulch. I have never heard of "pelletized" aspen, I'll go looking for it. I would love something finer. I like that the shredded stuff compacts into a "floor" and is easy to spot clean, but it's awfully large and sharp. It also isn't really ideal for my younger reptiles.

[jclaiborne]

What low humidity species do you keep that need moistened substrate? I would presume dry climate like yours would be great for beardies etc, no?

From time to time I have to mist down the cages for both the beardie and the Childrens Python. Its not daily or weekly, but generally when I do a deep cleaning I will get a small shovel and dig/mix up the substrate and I will add some water to help pack it down again.