Lazy or Brumating?

[Doyle_the_Skink]

Hey all, thanks for the help on my questions. Hopefully you can answer this one as well: I've got a bluey who's about 7 months old now (growing so fast!) and spends most of his time in the hide. I know he gets out and about during the day because he's always eaten plenty and I've done plenty of cleaning up after him but I'm hoping to get her more "socialized". By the time I get home, he's usually curled up in the back of her hide but I have tried to take him out as much as possible on the weekends/holidays. I'm wondering though, is his laziness actually brumation or do I just need to break the sedentary habits by taking him out more routinely? I always hold him properly and usually just let him roam around the living room to find the blueberries I set out. I've also tried the talking method which seems to be working pretty alright and definitely helps establish eye contact. ALSO wondering if it's best to let him hide when he's hiding or if I should be forcing him out to socialize (he's always super chill once he's out and calmed down).

[splashy07]

If he's eating a lot he's not brumating, could be slowing a bit due to season. What type of BT is he? By nature, they'll retreat to their hides at the end of the day, and depending on the time you get home from work, he might just be dozing off. I really don't like to grab them out of their hides unless totally necessary, it would sort of be like someone grabbing you out of bed. Results may not be favorable. Id stick to play time that he favors. Sometimes mine will hide in the day, too, and I can entice them out with a favorite food on tweezer type things, then you can put some more in there (I put snails or squished bugs on a paper towel) and he may come out looking for more, and that will be a favorable experience for out time.

[Tokkay]

Definitely agree with what Splashy said, but I'd also like to add that some skinks just seem to prefer spending more time hiding/burrowing/sleeping. I have a northern who I don't tend to see very often unless I go digging for him, while my Kei Island skink is always at the door begging for snacks when he sees me. It sounds like you're doing a good job of socializing him if he's calm when being held (I've had my Kei Island boy for two years and he still doesn't like being taken out of his enclosure).

One thing to consider if he's always hiding in the same hide is the temperatures in your cage. I noticed my northern always buried under his warm hide so I turned his temps up a bit and now he's become more active and uses other hides in his cage as well, so possibly raising or lowering your temps a bit could make a difference- just make sure you keep them in the range that they should be.