Acquiring a Schneiders' skink
Most Schneider's in the pet trade are wild caught. But if you're lucky enough to get a captive bred one, it is highly recommended. Captive bred lizard is most likely to be healthy and stress free. Wild caught ones harbor numerous parasites, are likely have bumps on them and are probably stressed from long transportation periods in not too great conditions. Not to mention the animal and nature conservation factors buying wild caught animals posses. I do not recommend buying a wild caught animal for a pet. I recommened buying one as a breeding project. Because breeding these skinks in a large scale is the only thing that can stop the importation of the wild animals. Catching wild animals for pet trade might have serious effects on wild populations not to mention the horrible conditions they are transported in to Europe and US. During the transportation from Egypt there must die a lot more animals that survive to a someone's home. If you acquire a wild caught Schneider, make sure it is healthy and the shop that sells it knows what they are doing. NEVER acquire a sick lizard from bad conditions! As this might sound tempting to do so and save the poor one from certain death, you are actually only giving the shopkeeper an excuse to acquire new animals to sell. If all of his lizards are being sold, he's making profit and has probably no interest whatsoever to put more money on his animal's welfare. If animals from shops like this are not being sold, owners will either need to improve the conditions, or they might run out of business!
Before you buy the lizard you need to have a properly set up terrarium with the right temperatures. Also, make sure it's escape proof! When you skink arrives let it get used to its new surroundings first and don't stress it by handling it or by offering food. Let your skink acclimate to its new terrarium for at least two weeks before you handle it. Stressed lizards may not want to eat. My sick male from the pet shop fasted for a week before he ate cat food and my captive bred female ate on the very next day with great appetite. This is exactly why it's better to buy captive bred. If your skink doesn't want to eat, be patient. Try different foods at different times of day. Also, try something smelly like cat food or fish. It is very important that you don't stress your skink any more and let it be alone in peace.
Observe the skink in a pet shop. Make sure it is interested in its surroundings (Schneiders can be pretty sleepy sometimes though), but when you take it into your hand it should be active, trying to move and flicking its tongue with its eyes open wide. Take a look at your skinks physical appearance. It should be a little on a fat side with healthy looking bones and no bumps and lumps. Nails, toes and fingers, which have broken off, don't bother your skink and are pretty usual even among the captive bred Schneiders. Also, it is usual that your skink has blunt tail tip and couple curls in its tail. This is probably because the skink has broken its tail off in the past in what may have been a life and death struggle, and it's noting but an esthetical problem. In fact, It may have very well have saved his life. Curls in the spine are quite obvious sign of the MBD. Avoid this kind of skink. Ask if you can see the skink eat. You don't want to buy lizard that isn't eating.
Handling
Schneiders aren't the kind of pets to stroke and pet. Actually you shouldn't even handle your skink much. Never handle it when it doesn't want to be handled. Never buy a Schneider's skink for a pet you want to handle, buy it because it is an interesting animal to observe. Never lift your skink from the tail, because it can break off.
If you wish to handle your skink, start by placing your hand in front of it. With luck it will come to your hand to investigate. My male Schneiders are so very inquisitive that they are almost always waiting for the opportunity to jump on my hand. This might seem as though they like attention and contact with me, but I believe they only want to see where to get by the hand. Even though some skinks like to jump on my hand, they don't appreciate it a bit when I restrain them in my hand, for example, when I'm removing old skin. This is very stressful for them and they will usually empty their cloaca (a defensive tactic -very effective one too!) on my hand and freeze. This is why you should handle your skink ONLY when it wants to and how it wants it. Let it move freely on your hand and keep your hand preferably inside the terrarium, so that the skink won't hurt itself when it decides to jump. Also, keep in mind that although Schneiders like climbing they are by no means great at it, so never allow your skink to climb on your clothes or in your hair.
If your lizard is reluctant to climb on your hand, try offering its favorite snack from your palm, for example a mealworm. I don't find Schneiders' nips to be painful when they miss the worm and try to get a piece from your hand.
Actually, on my opinion Schneder's are usually pain to handle. They are quick, inquisitive and ready to jump down no matter how high they are. They are very difficult to try to keep still as they want to be in 100 places at one time. Handling them means moving your hands quickly enough to prevent your skink from a) getting into your hair b) jumping down c) lunging for unknown direction. Even though there are Schneider's that can be handled easily the changes are small and the peaceful pet store lizard usually turns into jumping machine ones it has acclimated to its new home. They are quite entertaining to observe though.
Day rhythm
Don't tease your skink by waking it after it has dug into sand to sleep. It is stressful for your skink. My skinks almost always go to sleep before four a clock. It's very rare to see them roaming in their cages after this, and when they do it's usually just to find a new spot. Mine are most active between 10-12 am.
Journal
It would be advisable to keep track of your skinks behavior. This way you can notice any abnormal behaviors and find many interesting behavioral patterns and routines in its life.
You should write down how much and what has the skink has eaten or if it has refused food. Sheds and how complete they were (incomplete sheds can be an indicator of problems and you might want to adjust the environment accordingly) are also worth taking notes on. Any abnormal feces, activity level, drinking, and anything else that you may consider noteworthy should be written down also.
Salmonella
Most reptiles carry salmonella bacteria as a part of their normal gut flora as asymptomatic carriers. This simply means that they carry the bacteria in their intestinal tracts, but are not otherwise affected by the bacteria, and show no symptoms. Salmonella bacteria live in the intestine, so transmission is possible through reptile feces. This is why good hygiene is the most important thing if salmonella is to be avoided. In humans salmonella causes stomachache, fever, diarrhea, and headache. Typical reptile origin salmonella infection is rarely fatal.
Salmonella cannot be removed from the skink. It is advisable to treat all reptiles as potential salmonella carriers. To minimize the risk of salmonella infection, wash your hands after handling lizard or its accessories (preferably not in kitchen).
Transportation
Remember to keep your skink warm (24-30 degrees Celsius/75-86 degrees Fahrenheit) while transportation. A good way to do this in cold weather is to provide your skink with bottle filled with hot water and placed outside its transportation box, this can be wrapped in towels and placed in the box. Never leave your lizard in the car alone, particularly on sunny or warm days (it may get cooked!)
Written by Aino Tuomola 2000-2002