Emerald Tree Skink — Fact Sheet

Lamprolepis smaragdina · Emerald Tree Skink

📋 At a glance

🏠 Enclosure

• Provide one adult with at least the practical space offered by a 90 × 45 × 90 cm enclosure.
• Height must contain usable branches, not empty air.
• Solitary keeping is the simplest starting arrangement; groups require more space, duplicate resources and separation at the first persistent chasing or feeding exclusion.

🪨 Enclosure furniture

• Fit anchored vertical and diagonal branches, cork tubes and dense pesticide-free foliage at several heights.
• Use 8–10 cm of moisture-retaining soil above a drained base, covered by leaf litter.
• Keep feeding positions reachable for cleaning.

💡 Lighting

• Provide bright visible light and 11–13 hours of daylight.
• Position UVB and heat over the same branch, aiming for UVI 2–3 at the basking animal’s back and near-zero exposure inside foliage.
• Measure through the actual mesh at the closest reachable point, and prevent climbing onto lamps.

🌡️ Temperature

• Provide a 33–35 °C basking surface, cooler air around 24–29 °C and nights around 20–25 °C.
• Use a dimming thermostat and verify air and surface temperatures independently.
• Keep a shaded escape route available even near the upper branches; a tall enclosure can trap dangerous heat at the roof.

💧 Humidity & water

• Maintain approximately 60–80% daytime humidity, with a brief rise after evening misting and subsequent drying of leaf surfaces.
• Supply fresh water in a stable accessible bowl; misting droplets are an additional drinking opportunity.
• Cross ventilation and drainage prevent a humid habitat becoming stagnant and waterlogged.

🪳 Diet

Staple foods — follow the feeding schedule:

• Feed gut-loaded insects such as crickets, roaches and locusts as the main diet, with a small amount of suitable complete fruit-based gecko diet about weekly for variety.
• Feed juveniles daily and adults every other day, adjusting quantity to condition.
• Sweet fruit is occasional; fruit alone, dog food and wild-caught insects are unsuitable staples.
• Choose prey no wider than the space between the eyes; offer smaller items if swallowing looks difficult.

In moderation:

• Sweet fruit is a small part of a varied diet, never the only food.

Avoid:

• Pesticide-contaminated food, spoiled leftovers and unverified wild-collected foods.

Supplements:

• Dust insects with calcium and use a reptile multivitamin according to UVB provision and its label.
• With effective measured UVB, use plain calcium for routine dusting and obtain D3 from a coordinated, label-directed vitamin plan; without effective UVB, dietary D3 needs deliberate provision.
• Do not stack D3 products.

🩺 Health — warning signs

• A thin tail base, persistent hiding, swollen jaw, weak grip or wounds need assessment.
• Check whether another skink monopolizes heat or food before assuming disease, and consult a reptile veterinarian for persistent signs.
• Capture with a container when necessary; never pull the tail.
• Weak jaws and poor grip can indicate metabolic bone disease; repeated straining or abdominal swelling may indicate obstruction or egg binding.
• These require veterinary diagnosis, not extra supplements or home extraction.