monkey

Monkey Tailed Skink

Family: Monkey Skinks are members of the Scincidae, the skinks. This is one of the largest families of lizards.

Care Difficulty: Moderate. They require a lot of space and rather high humidity. Additionally, most in the hobby are wild-caught adults suffering from stress, dehydration, and parasites.

Size: The Monkey Skink is the largest member of its family. It can reach a length of 32 inches with abut 28 inches being an average length.

Description: Lanky, cylincrical lizards with long tails. The head is large and bulbous; the strong jaw muscles can be seen at the back of the head, especially in males. The legs are short, but strong, with long, well-developed toes. Each toe ends in a sharp claw. The tail of a Monkey Skink may be close to half of its total length. As the common names suggest, the tail is strong and prehensile. It can be used as a fifth limb when climbing.
Most of these animals are rather drab in color. The base color is a military olive to olive brown. Some have bands of lighter green on the back, sides and tail. Most have random darker or lighter scales, including occasional black spots. The scales are large and somewhat fishlike with numerous fine grooves. Some Monkey Skinks are faintly iridescent, and some have heads flushed with orange or gold. There is much variation in color and size, which may be associated with a particular locality; some have suggested that there may e several species lumped under this name.

Range: Monkey Skinks are found throughout the Solomon Islands and on a few islands off of Papua New Guinea. They dwell in primary rainforests and do not seem to adapt to disturbed land. To support a population of these animals, an area must have a high number of large trees having holes and hollow limbs.

Habits: These lizards live in trees of humid, tropical forests. They are active mainly at night emerging at dusk to patrol their territories, eat, and mate. Monkey Skinks are vegetarian, grazing on leaves, flowers, and fruits. During the day, they sleep in hollow branches and stumps, and that is where the females preferentially give birth.

Diet: Feed Monkey Skinks a large, vegetarian meal daily to every other day. Sometimes, the skink will eat best if the dish is placed on a raised platform rather than put on the floor of the cage. Offer a wide variety of produce with the bulk of each meal beign leafy green foods. Collards, mustard greens, dandelions, romaine, beet tops, kale, mulberry leaves, grape leaves, and parsley are among the best items to feed. Include other vegetables such as grated carrots, okra, peas, corn, cucumbers, bell peppers, beans, and asparagus. Fruit should only be a smnall part of the diet, and edible flowers such as roses and hibiscus will be relished. Monkey Skinks can be very finicky. Keep the types of food separated until you figure out which items your skink likes best. Wild-caught skinks sometimes refuse food. If this is the case with yours, you may be able to entice it by offering pothos ivy, Epipremnum, a common houseplant. Pothos is native to the Solomons, and Monkey Skinks feed on it in the wild. This plant can be included in small quantities in the regular diet of Monkey Skinks, as well. Many keepers occasionally offer slices of hard-boiled eggs and/or a bit of moist cat food. As an occasional treat, such non-vegetarian foods will cause no harm. Once a week, sprinkle vitamin/mineral and calcium supplements over the food. supplements should be given to gravid females and babies twice a week. It is best to offer food at night, after the cage is dark.

Temperature/humidity: Monkey Skinks need warm, humid enclosures mimicking their native climate. During the day, the high temperature should reach 80 to 85f. The ideal temperature at night would be 70 to 75, but lows into the low 60's can be tolerated occasionaly. Humidity should be kept high through spraying and using a large water bowl. Arelative air humidity of roughly 70 percent is necessary to keep Monkey Skins healthy. Using a hygrometer to measure the humidity accuratley is strongly recommended.

Housing: As these are large, active, arboreal lizards, they need large, vertically-oriented, sturdy enclosures. They are best housed in custom-built cages made of wood or melamine and nonabrasive wire screening such as hardware cloth. For one adult, the cage should be a minimum of 24 inches long by 24 inches wide by 40 inches high. Much more space will be needed for pairs or colonies. To keep the humidity in the acceptable range, you may have to cover some of the screening with plastic. Many substrates are acceptable, including recycled paper bedding, reptile barks, mulch, potting soil, and newspaper. Newspaper probably will need dily changing. The others can be spot cleaned as needed and entirely replaced once or twice a month.

Climbing materials must be included in the enclosure. Monkey Skinks should have plenty of branches on which to ram around their territory. Sturdy pieces of wood will be needed to support the size of the skinks. Additionally, hiding areas must be provided and should be elevated off the floor of the cage. bird nesting boxes and large cork bark hollows will work well for this. Monofilament fishing line can be used to attach the hiding places high up in the cage. If you are housing multiple skins together, you will need at least one shelter per animal, and each shelter should be big enough to hold several individuals, as it is likely the skinks will sleep together on occasion. Lining the shelters with some damp sphagnum will give your Monkey Skinks an area of higher humidity to use when they feel the need. A large water bowl is recommended; Monkey Skinks drink often and will soak themselves occasionally.

It is highly recommended that Monkey Skinks be housed in pairs or small groups in large enclosures. This most closely replicates their natural social structure. This requires some extra vigilance by the keeper, as Monkey Skinks that previously were living together peacefully occasionally will turn on each other. The keeper must monitor the lizards daily for signs of aggression and be prepared to separate individuals if necessary.

Temperament: Monkey Skinks are highly variable in their personalities. While most are not nasty, some are more prone to bite and scratch than others. If you want one you can handle, take your time and pick the most calm, outgoing member of a group.

Other Notes: If you purchase a wild-caught Monkey Skink, you should take it to an experienced reptile veterinarian as soon as possible for a check-up and deworning. Afterward, the animal should be quaranteened away from the other herps for eight weeks. Monkey Skinks seem to breed throughout the year. This means that many imorted sinks are gravid, and breeding in a captive environment can occur at anytime. Many keepers unexpectedly find newborns in the cage. Usually they are best left with the mother, but the keeper should watch for any signs that the mother is being aggressive. Any other skinks in the enclosure should be moved to separate housing. Usually, only one or two very large babies are born at a time.

Pet Suitability: Moderate. These are large, nocturnal animals with strict environmental requirements. Best kept only by intermediate to advanced hobbyists.

The above herp care sheet was copied directly and with permission from "Reptile and Amphibian Magazine". Pet Stores, herp clubs, and show vendors: please feel free to photocopy these Herp Care pages and give them to club members and your customers.