Dry skin & not eating?

[Maple]

Hi!

I've been reading up on his situation and I'm getting worried. I've had my bluey Finn since July of last year, I got him at about 9 months old. The past month hes had VERY dry scales and he even has two small cracks at the end of his nose from the
dryness. He's a Northern bluey and I keep his tank at 20-30% humidity, and 70-100 degrees F. I've started spraying his woodchips a bit (I use reptibark, sometimes aspen) just to give him a little extra moisture in there to help his skin. He's already shed once and still had dry skin after, and he's getting ready to shed again. He also laid his first sperm plugs yesterday! (Was very happy to finally find out that he's actually a boy).

He also hasn't eaten all that much over the past 5 weeks (I usually feed him twice a week) since I give him his D3 through his food I'm getting worried about how else I can give it to him. I've tried giving him so many new foods and he hardly ever takes a bite. Please help.

[kayla990]

Sorry to hear how it's going! I know this may sound a little silly, but are you able to post images of your Bluey to confirm ID? As we often see that sellers misidentify them.

Yay - glad you've got gender confirmation, always nice

With the food - if he is a Northern, they can eat less when they are either in breeding season or also when going into brumation. If it turns out you've got an Indonesian, chances are loss of appetite is from the low humidity.

since I give him his D3 through his food I'm getting worried about how else I can give it to him

One method could be to put in a separate water dish with a reptile vitamin/some d3 mixed in. Ideally a vitamin mix that smells nice (I'm not sure how brands differ from here in Europe, but we've had success with mixing Repco phelsumax into the water).

[Janella]

Hi, I am sorry to hear that you are having such a hard time with Finn right now. As Kayla suggested, can you post some pictures so we can verify if indeed Finn is a Northern? Also it will help us look at what is exactly going on. As for not eating I wouldn't worry to much. He is probably going through his breeding season and just being a moody male. My male hasn't eaten good since his started. This can last several weeks. As far as the dryness and cracking. You can try to do a warm soak to help, but the best thing you will need to do is change substrates. I personally like using jungle mix with reptibark on top. This holds my bluey's humidity well and they love to burrow all around in it. About once a week I pour about 16oz of water all over the top of the substrate and it maintains humidity great. It is easy to clean also. I do daily poop and urate cleans and then every 3 months clean the entire enclosure. My Northern and Merauke have never had an issue with shedding. Last thing and most important as well is using a humid hide usong sphagnum moss. This will help also. Finally, if his cracked skin is bad, you may need a vet visit to have something to be able the apply to the cracks to help it heal. Please keep us updated and remember we are here to help.

[splashy07]

Janella said it all, and yes, a picture would do us well to be sure of species. Many BTs are mis-represented when being sold more than likely due to the ignorance of the seller. Some call them all Northerns. Your boy is indeed in season, the lack of appetite and dropping of 'sperm plugs' (which are not sperm at all, they are shed castings of the male copulatory organs) confirms this. Some of my males have not eaten since November when they went into brumation and are now in season. They are often very restless at this time also, especially if there are females present. If you do indeed have a Northern, you may have been told to use aspen bedding. When I used it my Northerns had extremely difficult sheds, so I have switched to a more humidity-friendly substrate. Repti-bark, coco husk, cypress mulch, mix thereof or similar. Ok, now let's see what your guy looks like!