The Fish Room
African Fire Skink Care
CHOOSING YOUR AFRICAN FIRE SKINK
Beginner and experienced hobbyists alike will enjoy the fire skink as this lizard is hardy and easy to care for. Fire skinks are popular pets to keep due to their calm temperament.
COMMON HEALTH PROBLEMS
Fire skinks are a hardy species, but they may develop certain health issues if they aren’t properly cared for.
Common health issues include:
Mites
Ticks
Bacterial infections
Metabolic bone disease
Cryptosporidiosis in wild fire skinks
Your fire skink should stay healthy if you keep the tank clean with the correct light and food sources.
HOUSING
Fire skinks live in vegetated areas with high humidity and plenty of food sources. You should create a similar habitat by filling the tank with plants and misting often.
You can house your fire skink in a glass or acrylic tank with enough space for it to move around in. You should ensure there are plenty of plants and caves for your fire skink to hide when it feels threatened. Your tank setup should have three temperature areas.
The smallest tank size for a fire skink is a 20-gallon tank, but a 40-gallon tank is better. Fire skinks will use all the space they have, and a pair will need the larger tank.
The tank should have more width than height to give the fire skink more space to move. Fire skinks enjoy climbing on branches and driftwood, so a bit of height is a good idea. You may often find your skink basking on a branch in the warmer areas of the tank.
The smallest size for a 20-gallon tank is 36 inches wide, 12 inches high, and 12 inches deep.
Fire skinks come from high-humidity areas, so your tank must stay humid. The general humidity in the tank should stay at around 60–70% but can drop to around 40% at times.
You can keep the humidity up in the tank by misting once or twice a day. A hygrometer placed inside the tank will help you keep track of the humidity levels.
LIGHTING
Fire skinks are active during the day. You should provide them with 10–12 hours of light during summer and spring. In the winter months, you should reduce the daylight hours to between eight and 10 hours each day.
The correct lighting for fire skinks is often debated, but your fire skink will benefit from UVA exposure. Placing a 40-watt day bulb above the tank can provide enough exposure.
Fire skinks that have exposure to UVA light will be healthier and will have brighter colors. UVA exposure will also reduce the chance of metabolic bone disease.
UVB light may be beneficial to your fire skink. You can also supplement for a lack of UVB light with calcium dusting on your fire skink’s food. A dual light bulb fixture allows you to provide both UVA and UVB sources for your fire skink.
Fire skinks need gradient heating to mimic their natural habitat. The heat gradient should create three temperature zones across the tank.
You should keep the hot zone at about 90–95°F. Place a flat rock and branches in this area for your fire skink to bask on.
The middle zone should be around 84–86°F and should make up the biggest section in the tank. The cooler side of the tank and the nighttime temperatures should be 75°F.
To create the heat gradient, use an under-tank heater with dome lights placed above the tank. Larger tanks may need side heaters to achieve the right temperatures.
You should place up to three thermostats inside the tank to monitor all three zones. You should never place heat sources inside the tank as the heat can burn your fire skink.
FEEDING
Fire skinks are omnivores, but often feed on insects. You can feed your fire skink crickets, snails, Dubai or discoid roaches, and worms. It’s good to feed your fire skink a varied diet. You can give your fire skink a once-per-month treat of pinkie mice or fruit.
You should feed juvenile fire skinks daily and adults two or three times a week. Feed your fire skink three to five insects at each mealtime. To provide your fire skink with the right nutrients, dust the food with calcium and multivitamins.
Adding a shallow bowl of water into the tank will keep the tank humid and offer water for your fire skink during shedding. Your fire skink may not regularly use the water bowl because it gets its water from the tank’s humidity and food.