Carole Baskin's got the eye of the tiger as she prepares for her big "Dancing with the Stars" debut ...

Carole's gearing up for her first dance, which will be to "Eye of the Tiger," but we're told she's not practicing to any specific music ...

With Carole only getting 3 to 4 hours a day of official 'DWTS' rehearsal, she's taking her work home ...

we're told she's recording her practice dances on her phone so she can look back and see how far she's come.

With some rehearsals under her belt, we're told Carole is mostly focusing on dance steps and staying on tempo when she's home alone.