Monkey-tailed Skink — Fact Sheet
Corucia zebrata · Monkey-tailed Skink
📋 At a glance
| Adult size | 60-80 cm |
| Lifespan | 20-30 years |
| Subspecies / locality | Preserve island locality and subspecies records; do not pair by appearance alone |
| Origin | Solomon Islands; Bougainville form also in Papua New Guinea |
| Activity | Crepuscular / nocturnal |
| Difficulty | Advanced |
| Legal | CITES II; EU Annex B; proof of legal origin required |
🏠 Enclosure
- Adult minimum: 120 x 90 x 180 cm for one animal
- A compatible pair or established family needs much more usable volume and duplicate resources
- Quarantine and introduce unfamiliar animals gradually; keep a separate enclosure ready
🪨 Enclosure furniture
- Connected canopy of thick trunks, grip branches, cork hollows, shelves, and dense foliage
- Warm, intermediate, and cool hides and feeding ledges
- 8-12 cm moisture-buffering substrate over drainage; only verified non-toxic plants
💡 Lighting
- Bright visible light plus linear T5 UVB over part of the canopy
- Ferguson Zone 2; measurable low-to-moderate UV with deep shade beside it
- 11-13 h photoperiod; no visible night lighting
🌡️ Temperature
- Basking surface: 30-34°C
- Warm zone: 24-28°C
- Cool retreat: 22-25°C
- Night: 20-24°C
💧 Humidity & water
- Target 60-80%, with short 70-85% peaks after misting
- Offer drinking droplets plus a heavy clean bowl, optionally another elevated bowl
- Maintain cross-ventilation and drainage; do not leave saturated surfaces
🍽️ Diet
Offer regularly:
- Safe fresh browse, pesticide-free leaves and flowers, dark leafy greens, and varied vegetables
- Offer adults fresh food 3-5 times weekly
Use in moderation:
- Papaya, fig, berries, melon, and other fruit
Avoid:
- Avocado, rhubarb, onion-family plants, unknown ornamentals, routine animal protein
Supplements:
- Controlled calcium and reptile-herbivore multivitamin according to UVB and diet
🍂 Seasonal rhythm
- Keep a stable tropical thermal range; change photoperiod gently rather than imposing winter cooling
- Monitor reproductive animals and group feeding access closely
🩺 Health — warning signs
- Weak grip, soft jaw or tremors → calcium/UVB problem
- Retained shed on toes or tail → hydration and surface problem
- Bites, pursuit or exclusion from food → social incompatibility
- Wheezing or skin lesions → stagnant wet housing or illness
- Persistent weight change → diet, stress, parasites or disease
Persistent or severe signs require a reptile- or exotic-animal veterinarian.