Nose rubbing

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BlueTongueBoris
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Nose rubbing

Postby BlueTongueBoris » Thu Nov 30, 2017 9:25 pm

I have a 6 month old BTS named Boris, and he's been rubbing is nose against the glass alot lately. He isn't damaged at the nose and he does it every time I put him back into his enclosure. His tank is a 50 gallon and I take him out 3 times a day for 20 minutes at a time. I'm not sure why he's doing this. Another thing is sometimes he'll hiss at himself when he's walking around the room or comes to an end with a wall or object, I don't know if that's important but I'd like to point it out. He also tried to climb the walls of my room when he's walking around. I would send a picture I just don't know how. :)

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EricaLikeBurrito
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Re: Nose rubbing

Postby EricaLikeBurrito » Thu Nov 30, 2017 11:04 pm

I know this might sound crazy, but is he blind? Do you think maybe his vision is going bad? Maybe he wants to explore a more open space.
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Re: Nose rubbing

Postby kingofnobbys » Fri Dec 01, 2017 12:10 am

ALL my skinks love a nice firm nose rub between by finger tips, their noses get itchy I think and it helps . Even my recently rescued wild water skink enjoys a nose rub now .... maybe Fluffy saw me rubbing the noses on George & Mildred my old pair of Eastern BTs .
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Re: Nose rubbing

Postby splashy07 » Fri Dec 01, 2017 8:01 am

My six month old northern is doing it constantly. Actually thinks he is in season, dropping sperm plugs quite often. Males often go through this the first year, from what I have seen personally. No guarantee yours is a male, though, unless you have seen sperm plugs too.
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ReptiFiles
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Re: Nose rubbing

Postby ReptiFiles » Fri Dec 01, 2017 9:17 am

Considering he's technically an "adolescent," teenage hormones could be a factor here. But tell us a little bit more about your husbandry:
- What kind of skink do you have?
- Warm/cool temps and humidity?
- What type of substrate are you using, and how deep is it?
- Does he have a hide or two?
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Check out my research on captive husbandry for BTS: https://www.reptifiles.com/blue-tongue-skink-care-sheet/
1.0 Tiliqua gigas evanescens
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BlueTongueBoris
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Re: Nose rubbing

Postby BlueTongueBoris » Fri Dec 01, 2017 3:49 pm

ReptiFiles wrote:Considering he's technically an "adolescent," teenage hormones could be a factor here. But tell us a little bit more about your husbandry:
- What kind of skink do you have?
- Warm/cool temps and humidity?
- What type of substrate are you using, and how deep is it?
- Does he have a hide or two?


Um he's a Northern Blue tongue skink, his warm side is 95, and his cool side is 75, not sure about humidity.
I use Ask an bedding by Alfapet. Vet recommended.
He has 1 hide and a reptile stick he likes to go on top of and under it.
BlueTongueBoris
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Re: Nose rubbing

Postby BlueTongueBoris » Fri Dec 01, 2017 3:50 pm

splashy07 wrote:My six month old northern is doing it constantly. Actually thinks he is in season, dropping sperm plugs quite often. Males often go through this the first year, from what I have seen personally. No guarantee yours is a male, though, unless you have seen sperm plugs too.


When he poops he poops with a white blob as well, I don't know if that is sperm or not.
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Re: Nose rubbing

Postby BlueTongueBoris » Fri Dec 01, 2017 3:52 pm

EricaLikeBurrito wrote:I know this might sound crazy, but is he blind? Do you think maybe his vision is going bad? Maybe he wants to explore a more open space.


I don't think he's blind, but I'm not 100% sure either, he's eyes are full of color and no dullness. I can call his name and he'll look right at me, he's very alert. I'd love to take him outside but it's extremely cold. He has tons of space so I don't understand why he's doing this. He has a 50 gallon tank plus my house which is 2 stories. He's been to every room of my house. Lol
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Re: Nose rubbing

Postby EricaLikeBurrito » Fri Dec 01, 2017 4:38 pm

He might just be looking for a mate then. Your skink might be dropping urates not sperm plugs. You can look up pictures of sperm plugs online.
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Re: Nose rubbing

Postby BlueTongueBoris » Fri Dec 01, 2017 4:44 pm

EricaLikeBurrito wrote:He might just be looking for a mate then. Your skink might be dropping urates not sperm plugs. You can look up pictures of sperm plugs online.


Oh, thank you lol. Btw, does he seem a bit fat to you? I just fed him yesterday but I just wanted to know :)
This might sound silly but, he won't drink water unless I tap on it... He won't do it himself, he'll ignore it or trample over it, I have let him do it on his own for 2 weeks and he didn't drink at all...
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EricaLikeBurrito
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Re: Nose rubbing

Postby EricaLikeBurrito » Sat Dec 02, 2017 12:43 pm

He doesn't look fat to me. Maybe he can't see the water? My skink will stare at his water and flick his tongue at it to see where the water is then start drinking.
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Re: Nose rubbing

Postby BlueTongueBoris » Sat Dec 02, 2017 9:59 pm

EricaLikeBurrito wrote:He doesn't look fat to me. Maybe he can't see the water? My skink will stare at his water and flick his tongue at it to see where the water is then start drinking.


You're probably right, lol thanks.
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Re: Nose rubbing

Postby ReptiFiles » Mon Dec 04, 2017 11:43 am

BlueTongueBoris wrote:Um he's a Northern Blue tongue skink, his warm side is 95, and his cool side is 75, not sure about humidity.
I use Ask an bedding by Alfapet. Vet recommended.
He has 1 hide and a reptile stick he likes to go on top of and under it.


"Ask an bedding by Alfapet?" Not sure what that is. Can you clarify? I know your vet recommended it, but gotta double check. Not all vets know their stuff, especially when it comes to BTS.

I'd recommend bumping your basking temps to 100-105 if possible. Australian BTS subspecies like Northerns endure (and seemingly enjoy) blazing hot temperatures in the wild, so he'd probably appreciate it.

Adding more accessories to your terrarium can help prevent nose rubbing. He's probably bored. Add more hides and things to climb over. Mine love to hide in artificial plants.

He does look a little chubby, but probably not unhealthily so. What and how often do you feed him? Also, do you know his weight? If you have a kitchen scale you can use that.
Mariah Healey
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Check out my research on captive husbandry for BTS: https://www.reptifiles.com/blue-tongue-skink-care-sheet/
1.0 Tiliqua gigas evanescens
1.0 Tiliqua scincoides intermedia
BlueTongueBoris
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Re: Nose rubbing

Postby BlueTongueBoris » Mon Dec 04, 2017 9:04 pm

ReptiFiles wrote:
BlueTongueBoris wrote:Um he's a Northern Blue tongue skink, his warm side is 95, and his cool side is 75, not sure about humidity.
I use Ask an bedding by Alfapet. Vet recommended.
He has 1 hide and a reptile stick he likes to go on top of and under it.


"Ask an bedding by Alfapet?" Not sure what that is. Can you clarify? I know your vet recommended it, but gotta double check. Not all vets know their stuff, especially when it comes to BTS.

I'd recommend bumping your basking temps to 100-105 if possible. Australian BTS subspecies like Northerns endure (and seemingly enjoy) blazing hot temperatures in the wild, so he'd probably appreciate it.

Adding more accessories to your terrarium can help prevent nose rubbing. He's probably bored. Add more hides and things to climb over. Mine love to hide in artificial plants.

He does look a little chubby, but probably not unhealthily so. What and how often do you feed him? Also, do you know his weight? If you have a kitchen scale you can use that.


I want to get him some plants but I don't know if fake ones are toxic and where to get him more accessories.. I also don't know his weight, And I feed him every 2 days. Can you recommend where I can get some things for him? And I didn't mean to say "ask an bedding" lol I meant to say and for his bedding, it's Alfapet. :lol:
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Re: Nose rubbing

Postby ReptiFiles » Tue Dec 05, 2017 10:36 am

That makes more sense! Aspen is a fine bedding for Northerns.

Fake plants are usually not toxic. If you're worried about excess dye, you can soak them in boiling water and let dry before adding them to your skink's enclosure. I've had good luck finding artificial plants for cheap at thrift stores. As for other decorations, you can get them for less from local classifieds like Craigslist, but used items need to be thoroughly disinfected (boiling water, chlorhexidine, F-10, etc) before they're safe to use. I find it's just less hassle to get accessories like that new from the pet store or reptile expos. You can also shop online at places like Josh's Frogs, New England Herpetoculture, Northampton Reptile Centre, and Reptile Basics, but it's hard to gauge size when you're not viewing these items in person.

At 6 months old, feeding every 2 days is fine. After he hits the ~1 year mark you'll want to scale back to just 1 or 2x/week.
Mariah Healey
Author of ReptiFiles.com, a free online educational resource for reptile owners
Check out my research on captive husbandry for BTS: https://www.reptifiles.com/blue-tongue-skink-care-sheet/
1.0 Tiliqua gigas evanescens
1.0 Tiliqua scincoides intermedia
BlueTongueBoris
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Re: Nose rubbing

Postby BlueTongueBoris » Thu Dec 07, 2017 9:10 pm

ReptiFiles wrote:That makes more sense! Aspen is a fine bedding for Northerns.

Fake plants are usually not toxic. If you're worried about excess dye, you can soak them in boiling water and let dry before adding them to your skink's enclosure. I've had good luck finding artificial plants for cheap at thrift stores. As for other decorations, you can get them for less from local classifieds like Craigslist, but used items need to be thoroughly disinfected (boiling water, chlorhexidine, F-10, etc) before they're safe to use. I find it's just less hassle to get accessories like that new from the pet store or reptile expos. You can also shop online at places like Josh's Frogs, New England Herpetoculture, Northampton Reptile Centre, and Reptile Basics, but it's hard to gauge size when you're not viewing these items in person.

At 6 months old, feeding every 2 days is fine. After he hits the ~1 year mark you'll want to scale back to just 1 or 2x/week.



Thanks! This will definitely help!
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Re: Nose rubbing

Postby splashy07 » Fri Dec 08, 2017 7:38 am

No, he is not fat.
And no, he is not blind.
And skinks/reptiles in general do not have to 'see' water, they can sense it, same with food.
Sounds like just a normal adolescent male to me, although roaming doesn't always indicate male.
Just my observations with my own animals. And no mater what you do, if this is the case, he may
still act like this seasonally. Best to keep the cage simple but functional and comfortable, and easy
to keep clean and watch for those sperm plugs.
BlueTongueBoris
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Re: Nose rubbing

Postby BlueTongueBoris » Fri Dec 22, 2017 4:48 pm

splashy07 wrote:No, he is not fat.
And no, he is not blind.
And skinks/reptiles in general do not have to 'see' water, they can sense it, same with food.
Sounds like just a normal adolescent male to me, although roaming doesn't always indicate male.
Just my observations with my own animals. And no mater what you do, if this is the case, he may
still act like this seasonally. Best to keep the cage simple but functional and comfortable, and easy
to keep clean and watch for those sperm plugs.


Thank you very much!

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