Should I be concerned?

[Lily]

I've had my skink for a few months now but something has been bothering me. When I first got my skink the person at the store I got him from knew less than I did, while I was there I notice the skink had an a-symetric jaw, I thought this might be a birth defect or a bump maybe. As I've had him the bump hasn't dissipated, supporting my hypothesis that it might just be his ordinary self, but I noticed a round black spot on the inside of his mouth, I don't know if it's like cats and dogs where the coloration can continue into the mouth. And now thinking about it more the one time he bit me I was touching the side of his mouth. He also sometimes picks up food and puts it back, but when I gave him a raw egg the shell seemed to hurt his mouth, he does eat dried cat food though. Could it be an infection? Mouth rot? Birthmark maybe? I will take him to a vet if I need to but the closest one that will take reptiles is two hours away, not to mention I know exotic animal vet bills can get a bit high. I want what's best for him and what makes him the most comfortable. Any help would be great.

If I can I'll get a picture of the inside of his mouth, I don't really feel comfortable prying.

(I posted this in advanced discussion but I then deleted it because it didn't fit the guidelines)

[kayla990]

Aww, such a shame the store wasn't able to give advice (sadly happens too often..). I would do a vet check, I know it's not that ideal but to me the a-symmetry and scales look very lumpy overall with inconsistent colouring; which is a concern.. Do you know what subspecies you've got? It's weird as to me it looks nearly like a hybrid of a Northern (from the near orange side pattern) and Indonesian (from the back/head pattern) - but hope I'm wrong here as wouldn't know what to suggest humidity wise >.<

To me, it's not looking healthy.. how is the breathing and shedding? If shedding is tough (I think some of the discolouration *could* be from stuck shed?), I'd provide a humid hide and maybe a soak. Do they have all their toes (just difficult to say whether they are hiding in the bed sheet)? As the vet is some distance away, i'd recommend getting a heat pad (ones that 'break' and retain heat for ~40hours) and placing that under a thin blanket, outside of a carrier if it's cold where you are living.

And just something else to check, I'm presuming you've already got a calcium and calcium+d3 routine?

Goodluck to your little one! I can't say I'd be able to guess the cause of the jaw..

[splashy07]

I thought hybrid also at first look or possibly IJ (have no idea why anyone would hybridize two species on totally opposite end of the spectrum regarding care) either way I agree with Kayla's advice so far. He also looks very thin, is he eating enough? Possibly his mouth issue is affecting his appetite also. Would really suggest a vet check although not the easiest solution for you. Good luck, and keep us posted.

[Lily]

Aww, such a shame the store wasn't able to give advice (sadly happens too often..). I would do a vet check, I know it's not that ideal but to me the a-symmetry and scales look very lumpy overall with inconsistent colouring; which is a concern.. Do you know what subspecies you've got? It's weird as to me it looks nearly like a hybrid of a Northern (from the near orange side pattern) and Indonesian (from the back/head pattern) - but hope I'm wrong here as wouldn't know what to suggest humidity wise >.<

To me, it's not looking healthy.. how is the breathing and shedding? If shedding is tough (I think some of the discolouration *could* be from stuck shed?), I'd provide a humid hide and maybe a soak. Do they have all their toes (just difficult to say whether they are hiding in the bed sheet)? As the vet is some distance away, i'd recommend getting a heat pad (ones that 'break' and retain heat for ~40hours) and placing that under a thin blanket, outside of a carrier if it's cold where you are living.

And just something else to check, I'm presuming you've already got a calcium and calcium+d3 routine?

Goodluck to your little one! I can't say I'd be able to guess the cause of the jaw..

I honestly don't know his subspecies, but I'm hearing he looks like a cross between IJ and a Northern :/

His sheddings take up to a week at most, I actually just noticed he's about to go through one right about now, but they're usually patchy. His breathing seems fine, no wheezing, the occasional huffing when he's picked up. He has all of his toes and I do have a heating pad but I've been tentative about using it because I'm afraid of it burning him. It's actually quite cold where I am currently(well at least cold for Georgia a nice 17°F) but my building is actually been kept extremely hot at 80° F.

I'm using Fluker's Repta Calcium(with vitamin d3 and phosphorus free), I haven't seen much about Fluker's online in all honesty.

Thank you for your input! I'm pretty sure I'll end up taking him to the vet though.

[Lily]

I thought hybrid also at first look or possibly IJ (have no idea why anyone would hybridize two species on totally opposite end of the spectrum regarding care) either way I agree with Kayla's advice so far. He also looks very thin, is he eating enough? Possibly his mouth issue is affecting his appetite also. Would really suggest a vet check although not the easiest solution for you. Good luck, and keep us posted.

I recently moved and he got a new tank, I know he'd need time to adjust. He's never been very excited when it comes to eating, I've been trying to give him new things, to see what else he likes besides bananas. I plan on giving him some new veggie mix I bought as well as some cantaloupe, honeydew, and maybe some grapes. Looking at pictures from a few months ago he has lost come weight but I don't know if that was due to brumation or moving around, or both.

I'll keep you guys updated. Thank you.

[kayla990]

Aww, thanks for getting back to us!

A few more questions that have come up:

my building is actually been kept extremely hot at 80° F

To check, so your environment is around 80F in the house (presuming through the night too? as ideally that should drop a bit overnight to allow ~low 70's). But do you have a heater/basking spot in the tank itself as well? As if not, while it's quite warm and *should* be fine overall, I think in this case since your Bluey is having issues that providing a basking spot would be ideal as it can help them regulate their temperatures (along with assisting digestion). Since we're suspecting a hybrid, an average of 100F basking spot should work. If possible, a slightly cooler end of ~75F (opposite side of the basking) would be ideal for a temperature gradient.

I do have a heating pad but I've been tentative about using it

Ahh my apologies, meant a heating pad for transport only as in the tank, I agree that without a thermostat that theres a chance of getting burns and not ideal since they burrow. For the tank, better to go for the overhead basking spot (and keepers tend to put a dark rock underneath that can soak up heat to allow for that 'belly heat' opportunity).

To add; the heatpad during transport would be on the outside/under a carrier to make sure no chances of being burnt!

And good to hear you're already using the calcium+d3. The following may not be too relevant, thought I'd share anyway in case it could be jaw related - or if you've seen any bumps on the spine: I'm not completely sure on the agreed method, but some also recommend to use pure calcium on the D3 "off days", with the idea it's impossible to overdose with pure calcium since it's excreted - compared to the version with d3 (seems to be quite a debate when looking it up... but if you don't have a UVA/UVB light - should be fine to stick with just calcium+D3).

I've been trying to give him new things, to see what else he likes besides bananas

Does he tend to get fruit as a main food source? While not the primary cause, lots of fruity/sugary items can increase the risk of getting mouth rot (hmm, have you been able to see inside the mouth actually? does it look equal colour with no lump/bumps?). As a general rule, it's thought they should get ~10% fruit in the feeding, 50% veggies/leafy greens, 40% protein source (such as insects/meats/complete fog food/eggs etc). Of course you may already be doing that, but figured since a lot of fruits were mentioned on your list - best to double check A good method is to blend it together so they can't be picky.

Do you have an idea of how old they are? As they are looking thin as Splashy said too, maybe try to increase feeding frequency until at a good weight.

His sheddings take up to a week at most

Oh - this seems pretty long! For comparison, ours takes ~2 days unassisted (who is a Halmahera type). Because of the time taken, I'd say that maybe it's better to keep your Bluey on the more humid side of things (~60% on average) and see if that improves things (though you may want to check this thought with the vet). But make sure to provide a humid hide regardless!