Abused Blue Tongued Skink

[MelodyAtkinson]

Hello, so I've recently bought a blue tongued skink as my first pet reptile as apparently they are usually great for first reptile owners. The trouble though is that the pet shop where I bought him from didn't tell me until after I bought him that he was abused or something in his past home! Obviously I was annoyed at this information especially as they told me this AFTER I bought him. But by abused I don't mean neglected I mean that they used to get a thick glove (a welding glove or something along the lines of that) to taunt him and drag him out by the tail to get him out. He's not used to being handled and as he is my first reptile, and pet in general, I'm worried that I will have a lot of trouble taming him down so that I can actually change his water and give him food without the risk of him biting and hissing at me. He seems to be in pretty good health and doesn't really show any bad signs health wise, the day after I got him I put some food in his viv and he ate it so that's a good sign. He also doesn't really use his hides much and likes to sit on top of this wooden log hide.
I was wondering if you guys could give me some tips on how to get him to trust me and so that eventually I would be able to hold him and get him out of his viv.

[Janella]

Hi and welcome to the forum! How very awful for your poor skink to have to go through something like that. People can be so cruel sometimes. It is also bad that the pet store didn't disclose this information until after you purchased it.

So I have a couple of questions. What type of skink is yours supposed to be? Also how old is it? How long have your had it?

The key to taming and building trust in my opinion is time and patience. If you just got the skink, I would wait about 2 weeks before trying any type of handling. I would just offer food and water everyday and start out by gently talking or reading to your skink, so it gets to know your voice. You can try offering your skink some tasty treats like fruit, snails, or something really high value so it learns that good things come from you. Once it learns it can trust you, then you can slowly try to touch with just a little pat here or a rub there. Again go slow slow slow. This poor thing has been through alot and needs to learn that you are a good person and not going to hurt it. Some people even place something with your scent in the enclosure, so your skink learns your scent. Every skink is different and what works for some may not work for others. These are just suggestions so I hope they help. Good luck and let us know how things go.

[MelodyAtkinson]

So I have a couple of questions. What type of skink is yours supposed to be? Also how old is it? How long have your had it?

To answer your questions the pet shop didn't specify what type of skink he was (stupid petshops for you), I'm not sure what type of skink he is but I think he is an Indonesian Blue Tongue but don't quote me on that. The petshop that I got him from says that he is around 5 years old. I have had him since the 17th of December, so two and a bit weeks.
Thank you for the advice!

[splashy07]

Janella's advice indeed, and if you could post a picture so we can help you identify species, as different locales need specialized care. Welcome, and sorry to hear about your pet's previous misfortune. Pet shops often misrepresent animals in an effort to make a sale, unfortunately animals are just a commodity to them, for the most part.

[Janella]

Ha Splashy07, I was just going to type the same thing....

[splashy07]

Looks like we think skink alike! Poor thing. I hate hearing things like this. I used to frequent pet shops and buy whatever reptile looked bad to me. I can no longer do this because of the value and rarity of some of my collections, can't risk disease. So I stay away from pet shops for the most part, with the exception of a shop a friend owns. Some really awful things happen to our beloved scaly friends. Makes me spoil mine even more.

[Janella]

Once again Splashy07 I couldn't agree more. I hate seeing any animal or reptile abused. Breaks my heart. I wish I could save them all, but alas I can't.

[MelodyAtkinson]

Yeah Splashy07, my sister a couple of years ago bought a carpet python because of how bad its conditions were. She wasn't really even in a viv just a container that was meant for a smaller snake and it was at least 4 foot
I'll send a photo of my skink as soon as he's out and about, my nephew is over in my room and he's making him a bit nervous so has gone into his hide.

[MelodyAtkinson]

Here’s a photo for you! Sorry if it’s not the best quality.

[splashy07]

Looks to be a classic Indonesian, and actually looks quite well for his circumstances. They require more humidity than their Aussie counterparts, and are most often imports but nonetheless make good pets with proper care. I'm glad he found you!

[MelodyAtkinson]

Thank you all for your helpful responses! I have his vivs humidity at about 70% is this alright? He seems to be coping with it.
Also I was wondering about what to do with him when I have to give the tank a full clean, like how would I get him out without him freaking out?

[Janella]

Yup, your skink does look like an Indonesian to me as well. The higher the humidity in these guys the better. I personally clean my skinks enclosure every single day for urates and fecal matter. Then I do an entire enclosure clean out every 3 months with the type of substrate i use. I have not had any issues so far. If you are concerned about handling, you could try to gently encourage your skink into some sort of bucket/container to lift it out. Or even wear leather gloves to try to just gently lift it out if you are worried about getting bitten. Again, the key is to gain trust and go slow.