Care

Housing can be highly variable; the size of this skink's enclosure is entirely up to the keeper, just so long as the tank is at least 15 gallons. A single sandfish can fare perfectly well its entire life (which may be upwards of a decade) in a 15 gallon tank, but would certainly not be "unhappy" in a larger enclosure. Some hobbyists prefer to keep pairs or colonies of their chosen species rather than an individual. If that is your preference, then a larger tank is in order. Three sandfish can be successfully maintained in a 20 gallon long tank; a 55 gallon holds as many as half a dozen of these "submariner" reptiles. All tanks should be fitted with a secure screen lid for proper ventilation and low relative humidity (which should be no higher than 60 %). Rubbermaid or other plastic storage boxes will also work for the penny-prudent herper, but these enclosures tend to trap a bit more moisture than the arid-loving sandfish can tolerate. Aside from the obvious fine-grained sand (play sand) there are several alternatives that tend to be all around better for the animal's health and happiness. A tank full of sand can be very heavy. Because of this, you should decide where to place their tank in advance. Ground corncob bedding is an extremely lightweight substrate that still allows your new acquisition to perform its natural burrowing activities. Ground corncops are also very dry, which is definitly a plce where humidity is concerned; animal waste, which clumps in this bedding is easily removed. The only drawback to this substrate is the availability of water to your lizards. Sandfish skinks ge much of their water from tehir prey, but they also need an area of moist sand from which they gather any additional water that they might need. A vertical PVC pipe located in one corner of a sand-filled tank can act as a sort of funnel for channeling water to the depths of the enclosure. A bit of water poured every three days or so down the pipe will ensure a moist layer of sand deep in the tank, which the sandfish may frequent for their water needs. Don't over do the wter though. A moist layer of corncob bedding will do little more than create a rotting spawning ground for bacteria and fungi that can pose a serious health hazard to your animals. You may want to try a 50/50 mix of corncop bedding and fine sand. It will provide a fairly lightweight and practical substrate that provides both the keepter and the lizard with the best of both worlds. As the sandfish tools about in its daily burrowing, the sand will settle to the bottom, and water may be piped in without fear of decomposing the corncobs, which have been pushed closer to the surface. If gut impaction is your fear, then commercially available calcium carbonate sands are certainly an option. Again, a mixture of digestible calcium sand and ground corncobs (which will aslo biodegrade in an animal's stomach) will also provide a less weighty enclosure. With base substrate out of the way, nect comes the secondary substrate, or tank ornamentation. Many herpers like to give their animals' enclosures as natural a looking as possible; live plants, rocky outcroppings and the like. Performing this task with sandfish, if you are a stickler for aestetics, may just drive you batty, as the subteranean capering of your lizards will quickly undermine any rocks, logs or other decorations you have so meticulously placed in the reptile's tank. Do not be surprised if the ceramic cattle skull that you spent 20 minuts positioning just right the night before is half buried the next morning. The fact of the matter is that these skinks will inadvertently shift, overturn or outright sink most any decorations placed in their tank. This is not necessarily a bad thing, and sandfish housed seem to enjoy basking on half-submerged slabs of slate. Stacked or very heavy items such as large rocks should, therefore be avoided as they will be undermined and can fall into the side of the tank and break the glass. They may just as easily shift at the wrong time and crush your skink. Being a resident of Northern Africa, the sandfish skink likes only one temperature, hot. Daily highs should reach no greater than 110 degrees F, with a night time drop into the mid-80s. This temperature gradient may be attained a number of ways, but the best method is through at least one (possibly more, depending on the size of your tank) undertank heating pad and a basking light. Avoid in-tank heating rocks for the subversion and crushing factors previously mentioned; basking lights should offer both UVA and UVB rays of no less than 7 %. Eight hours' exposure each day to these lights is more than sufficient for your skink's proper metabolism. Feeding - In the wild, the sandfish skink feeds on a variety of invertebrates, such as locusts, ants and spiders, but its absolut favorite insect is the beetle. Exactly why sandfish prefer these hard-shelled insects is unknown, but the fact remains that such crunchy delights catch a sandfish's attention more than any other food item. Fortunately, crickets have a similar body structure to most of the small beetles that the sandfish are naturally prone to eating, so captive feeding does not pose a big problem. A handful of crickets released every few days into the sandfish enclosure should be adequate sustenance for your pet, but more or fewer may be required depending on the animal's needs and appetite. Mealworms and wax worms are also taken redily by most sandfish often directly from their keeper's fingers. These worms, however, are burrowers themselves, and if not taken directly from the surface of the sand, they will almost certainly be found and devoured beneath the substrate. If fate should send into your possession one of those finicky eaters that will accept little more than a hard-shelled beetle, fear not, for mealworms that are kept full-term will metamorphose into thumbnail-sized beetles that should more than satisfy your lizard's invertebrate cravings.