Covers captive husbandry of popular Australian skink species—Blue-tongued, Shingleback, Burrowing, Crevice, Forest and Water Skinks, Prickly Forest, Rainbow Skinks, Sand Swimmers, Slender Blue-tongued, Pink-tongued, Small Terrestrial and Striped Skinks.
The book is littered with full colour images showing all aspects of sexing, housing, breeding and general appearance of the species within each chapter using over 500 images from some of Australia’s finest reptile photographers, most unique to this book series.
The book begins with a section on General Husbandry that covers Stock Selection, Handling and Hygiene, Transportation, Purchase Etiquette, Security and Safety, Quarantine, Indoor and Outdoor Enclosure Options, Enclosure Size, Compatibility, Ventilation, Substrate choices, Hide Sites, Enclosure Enrichment, Heating, Lighting, Thermostats, Invertebrate and Vertebrate Food Items, Artificial Diets, Culturing Insect foods, Dietary Supplements and Dealing with Feeding Problems.
This is followed with a section on breeding that includes Visual Sexing Techniques, other Sexing Techniques including some revolutionary new methods, Courtship and Mating, Cooling and Separation, Reproductive Strategies, Caring for Gravid Females, Nest Facilities, Egg Management, Artificial Incubation Facilities and Regimes, Temperature Dependent Sex Determination and Hatchling Care.
The final section in the Husbandry chapters is a comprehensive guide to common Diseases and Disorders of Skinks such as Nutritional, Parasitic, Skin, Nail, Eye, Respiratory, Traumatic, Reproductive and Oral disorders. This is completed with a guide to Administration of Medications and Making the most of your Reptile Veterinarian.
Within each chapter, information is presented on Pronunciation, Descriptions, Sexing, Subspecies, Distribution, Habitat, Captive Status, Indoor and Outdoor Housing, Compatibility, Feeding, Breeding Methods, Incubation, Colour Variants and Hybrids.
The book is completed with chapters on Herpetological Societies, Websites, an extensive Bibliography and a Glossary of common reptile words and phrases.