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How we care for our Kenyan Zebra Skinks…
Zebra skinks should be kept in terrestrial enclosures at least 36″Wx18″Dx18″T and of course, the bigger the better statement applies here.
T5HO 5.0 or 6% UVB across the top. It is preferred to have 3/4 or more of the width of the top spanned with a UVB bulb and fixture. UVB gradient is provided by shade and multiple hide locations. Basking should be accomplished by placing a dome fixture on the side of the enclosure designated to be the warm/dry side. I often use multiple 20w halogen pucks in a cluster or a BR30 65w incandescent FLOOD bulbs for basking to achieve a 100-120F basking spot. I like to use natural branches or flat rocks stacked under the basking lamp to provide different levels in which they can choose their proximity to the basking bulb.
Lights can be on a 12hr photo period or set to a circadian rhythm. This can be done with several of the wifi timers now on the market. I prefer the TP-Link Kasa units over others.
Leaving all lights off at night is preferred as long as your house doesn’t get cooler than mid 60s.
The side opposite the basking will be the cooler/wet side. I like to place a large plant here. Pothos, philodendron, and dracaena are my top choices. Humidity levels should get above 70% RH at night and around 40% during the day.
I like to keep my enclosures bioactive. This can be as complex or simple as you like. Just about any tropical to semi arid substrate will do fine. Ive even had good experiences with cheap top soil from Menards mixed with play sand.
Feeding Zebra skinks is a non complicated affair as they will generally take anything offered. Mine prefer vitamin/pollen dusted and gutloaded insects over all, but also readily accept most commercial omnivore and gecko diets, mineral dusted turkey balls, and wet cat/dog foods.
My pairs are kept together year round and they seem to stop producing for a few months in cold season. Gestation is believed to be just less than three months. Starting in April, up to three clutches of 6-11 babies are born per year but more often two clutches. Often the season ending in November.
Once out, they are ready to take on the world. 1/4” crickets that have been gut loaded and vitamin/pollen dusted are often taken within a day or two of hatching. Babies are removed from the adults enclosure within a couple days and housed together as a clutch and setup identically to the parents. Babies are separated by size into additional enclosures after about a month to keep aggression at a minimum. Baby skinks grow incredibly fast. Proper UVB and diet is a must.
Ive heard many times that Kenyan Zebra Skinks are communal. This may be true, but I don’t leave it to chance when I start seeing adults trampling babies.
Accurately sexing Zebra skinks at a young age is difficult as there is little discernible dimorphism until they are close to maturity. A couple methods people are using for early sexing is males tend to develop a dark line behind their eyes, and observing the shape of the back of the necks, females tend to have more rounded and broader necks, which can be a useful distinguishing feature.
