Prehensile-Tailed Skink Care Sheet

COMMON NAME: Prehensile-Tailed Skink, Monkey-Tail Skink, Solomon Islands Tree Skink

SCIENTIFIC NAME: Corucia zebrata

SIZE: 18" - 30" (mine is 26")
DIFFICULTY LEVEL: Novice - Advanced
TEMPS: 78-90 daytime, 5-10 degrees less at night
HUMIDITY: 50-60%

DISTRIBUTION: Solomon Islands, Asia

DESCRIPTION: The prehensile-tailed skink is mostly olive green in color. It has a prehensile tail and four very strong legs that have very sharp claws. It has a broad-shaped head and a large mouth with lots of small, very sharp teeth. PTS's are primarily nocturnal, hiding and sometimes basking during the day. During the night, they are more active, like to climb and eat. They also enjoy soaking in their water dish.

LIFE SPAN: It is thought that captive prehensile-tailed skinks can live for up to 25 years.

HUSBANDRY

ENCLOSURE: Because they like to climb, it's often thought that a very tall enclosure is needed. But as long as the tank is big enough, a short but wide enclosure will do. My enclosure is 16" high by 60" wide by 22" deep. Be sure to have furnishings of differing heights within the enclosure to keep them occupied. Large rocks, branches, bark...

I also have a fake ficus tree (from Garden Ridge) that I trimmed most of the branches off and removed all the leaves. I then added a level surface to the top (grapevine wreath). This tree is placed right next to my PTS's tank. I keep one side of the tank open with a large piece of wood coming out to the ficus tree. My PTS will come out almost every night and climb her tree. She enjoys just sitting up there and I will occasionally feed her in the tree. She has NEVER defecated while in the tree (yay!). She has always climbed back down into her tank to defecate.

SUBSTRATE: I tried using orchid bark, but I found that this did not hold humidity well enough to maintain the levels needed for this species. I now use Lowes Landscaping mulch. It contains mostly dirt and some wood. With twice-weekly misting, it will easily maintain the 50-60% humidity levels needed.

Be sure to find a product that has no perlite or vermiculite in it. Also, make sure it does not contain cedar, cypress, or pine bark as these contain oils that can irritate delicate reptile skin.

HEATING: I use the Capture The Sun Mercury Vapor Bulbs. This works great because it provides heat and UVB/UVA light.

HUMIDITY: A good soaking spray twice a week works well. If the lizard is having a shed, I will spray more. I also have a large tub that I soak her in during shed periods.

LIGHTING: See Heating. Since they're most active at night, a Nightlight Red Reptile bulb can be used for viewing and temperature control.

WATER: A large, heavy, deep water dish is best. These lizards like to soak, so the dish must be large enough to fit the lizard's body. They also like to defecate in their water dish, so cleaning is imperative.

CAGE FURNISHINGS: Large climbing surfaces, big rocks and branches. Arrange items so there are different climbing levels. A large hide spot is also needed.

MAINTENANCE: The substrate should be replaced twice a year. Hold onto a small amount of the old substrate to mix in with the new. This helps the lizard acclimate to the new substrate. Fecal matter should be cleaned immediately since these lizards tend to exhibit coprophagia (eating feces).

FEEDING: Collard greens and kale, frozen mixed vegetables. These skinks don't seem to prefer mustard or turnip greens as much. Feed 2-3 times a week, dust with a vitamin/mineral supplement once a week. You can feed SMALL amounts of banana, cantaloupe, grapes, tomatoes, and strawberries. Only 10-20% of the PTS's diet should be fruit.

REPRODUCTION AND BREEDING: At this moment, I know very little about this. I do know they have live births, usually only one offspring (sometimes two: twins!). Breeding pairs and their offspring can be housed all together. Beware though, when this is done, it's becomes very difficult to handle the animals.

HANDLING: I use a pair of Ig Grips™ to protect my forearms from her strong claws. Claw trimming is a must. My PTS will let me handle her with no problems. When trying to get her out of her tank, she does tend to grab onto things with her strong, grasping legs and her prehensile tail. And she does have a tendency to "release" a clear, odorless (thank God!) liquid during this extraction process. Once out though, she's very tame and handleable. Her previous owners socialized her very well..