Bigger is always better as long as temperature and humidity can be adequately maintained. My group of 5 skinks live on a network of ceiling suspended branches criss-crossing an approx 10' x 14' room. I have provided them with a 4' x 2' platform on each side of the room to climb down to at feeding time. This is also where the water dishes are kept.

The hanging branch "super highway" is covered with realistic looking artificial plants as they kept eating all the real ones. I have also provided numerous hollows and hiding places for them as they rarely are active during the day and seem to prefer sleeping as opposed to anything else. Nighttime, however, is a completely different story. Shortly after the lights are out, they seem to take on a new personality. Half climbing, half sliding, they manueveur about the branches and truly earn the name "Monkey Skinks".

The room itself is kept at a fairly steady day time temp of 86 degrees. Basking spots of 100+ degrees are provided but rarely used. Great care must be taken not to overheat your animals. This is equally as important as not keeping them warm enough! A skink subjected to steady 95-100+ degree temps will most likely die. If you choose to provide a basking spot, be sure there are ample areas available to your skink to escape to cooler temps. Temperatures should be maintained with the use of both heat pads and heating lamps or by maintaining a constant (86+-) temperature in the room where the enclosure is.

Avoid the use of heat rocks. These have proven themselves many times over to be dangerous to reptiles as they tend to get too hot and burn their bellies. They really don't do much good anyhow. A hot rock doesn't do anything to warm the ambient air temperature. If you rely on a hot rock for the main heat source, the lizard must either sizzle on it at 110 degrees or climb off it and have no heat at all. A good combination of heat pads and lamps placed on the same side of an enclosure will ensure an even temperature gradient. If your skink wants to be warmer, he can move closer to the "hot" side of the cage. If he needs to cool off, he can move to the "cool" side. Be sure that your lizards can't come in direct contact with the heat lamps as a curious skink can easily burn himself resulting in severe tissue damage and possible death. This is a good foundation to setting up pretty much any reptile habitat. Even the smallest reptiles such as baby iguanas need a cage large enough to support a broad temperature gradient. One of the biggest misconceptions with keeping lizards is that if it is small, you can keep it in a small cage. This just isn't the case.