Fire Skink
Reptile
Fire skinks are secretive, semi-fossorial West African skinks that spend much of their time hidden in cover, and they're strict insectivores. Dubia and discoid roaches are a solid staple at every life stage. Because they startle easily, a calm, predictable, tong-based feeding routine works better than loose insects left to roam the enclosure.
What to Feed
Dubia roaches are the staple, with isopods, earthworms, hornworms, and silkworms adding variety. Mealworms and superworms can be included in rotation, but favor dubia roaches for juveniles as a precaution, since heavier chitin raises impaction risk in a small animal. Prey should be no larger than the skink's head — notable since this species has a comparatively narrow head. Pinky mice, quail eggs, and berries are occasional treats only.
Feeding Schedule
- Juveniles: daily to every other day — Small dubia roach nymphs (about 50/week)
- Adults: 2–3 times per week — Medium dubia roach nymphs (about 25–50/week), offering as many as eaten in about 5 minutes
Gut-Loading & Dusting
Gut-load 24–48 hours before offering (a general convention; no fire-skink-specific window was located). Dust with calcium before every feeding per current guidance — an older, more conservative care sheet suggests calcium only every third feeding, but the more frequent, every-feeding schedule is the safer default for an actively growing lizard. Fire skinks are diurnal and typically kept with moderate UVB (a low-output tube is commonly recommended); with UVB provided, plain calcium is appropriate for most feedings, without UVB use a D3-inclusive calcium consistently.
Note: sourcing for this species is thinner than most others — no vet-school or AZA source was located; core numbers rest on a small number of specialist care sheets that agree closely with each other.
Common Mistakes
- Free-feeding loose insects instead of tong-feeding a shy, easily stressed skink — a missed feeding can go unnoticed if the animal hides rather than competes for food
- Offering insects larger than the skink's head
- Over-handling around feeding time, which suppresses feeding response in this skittish species
- Overusing treat items (pinky mice, eggs, berries) as regular meals