How long until my bts warms up to me?

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probablyaflower
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How long until my bts warms up to me?

Postby probablyaflower » Sat May 19, 2018 1:50 pm

I've had my bts for well over a month now and he (or she) doesn't seem to be warming up to me just yet. How long does it usually take and when can I start handling regularly? I've been doing a little bit of hand feeding and it has worked out well.
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Re: How long until my bts warms up to me?

Postby Angel_BTS » Sat May 19, 2018 4:28 pm

Hi! I find that having a set time to handle them works well - I usually handle mine in the morning and in the evening. I have 2 Blueys - one is more outgoing than the other, but one likes being handled more than the other. It also depends on their personality. Some blueys love attention, and some are more introverted. Keep up with the hand feeding, and handle him/her at a set time each day, that way your Bluey can get into a routine with you. Hope this helps :)
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Re: How long until my bts warms up to me?

Postby Janella » Sat May 19, 2018 6:13 pm

What type of skink is this? As mentioned some aren't as personable as others. I would continue with the feeding and definitely try to handle daily.
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Re: How long until my bts warms up to me?

Postby jdheff1982 » Sat May 19, 2018 10:15 pm

Are you doing any trust building exercises? Such as offering a treat from your fingers? Did this with my Northern and he warmed up to me in about 2 or 3 weeks.
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Re: How long until my bts warms up to me?

Postby Happyherper » Mon May 21, 2018 12:52 pm

if you put something like a shirt that they can hide in and smells like you that can speed things up.
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Re: How long until my bts warms up to me?

Postby probablyaflower » Tue May 22, 2018 12:36 pm

Thank you for all the responses, I'll try them out!

To answer the questions:

- He is an Indonesian of some sort. That's all the info I was given from where I got him.
- I give plenty of treats by hand but he still hides whenever I walk too close to his enclosure or whenever I open the doors to it.


Thanks again for all the help.
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Re: How long until my bts warms up to me?

Postby Angel_BTS » Tue May 22, 2018 2:17 pm

One of my Blue tongues used to always run and hide every time I walked into my room. Even if she was basking on her rock, she would still bolt into her hide. It takes time to get them less skittish with our day to day activities. I’ve had her for about 3 months now, and she has only recently become comfortable with walking around her enclosure while I’m in the room.
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Re: How long until my bts warms up to me?

Postby Janella » Tue May 22, 2018 6:11 pm

If you can post pictures and we can help identify him.
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Re: How long until my bts warms up to me?

Postby probablyaflower » Mon Jun 04, 2018 6:13 pm

Here are some pics! Sorry it took so long to post them - I've been finishing school and also went on vacation for a bit.

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Re: How long until my bts warms up to me?

Postby Janella » Mon Jun 04, 2018 6:31 pm

Cute Merauke! My Merauke is just the sweetest thing. So gentle and loving. I wish I could have like 10 of them!
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Re: How long until my bts warms up to me?

Postby probablyaflower » Mon Jun 04, 2018 6:40 pm

Thanks! I hope mine warms up soon so I can have a buddy to hang with.
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Re: How long until my bts warms up to me?

Postby Janella » Mon Jun 04, 2018 6:41 pm

Just keep handling and spending time with yours and you will. :ohyes:
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Re: How long until my bts warms up to me?

Postby kingofnobbys » Mon Jun 04, 2018 9:39 pm

If he's wild caught / trafficked , will take a while to learn not to fear you and tame up. Patience and baby steps are keys here . Let him take things at his own pace.

If he's captive bred , he'll likely warm to you a lot faster , having never learnt to fear humans.

Try placing your hand in his tank with a trempting food treat in it .... food treats work wonders at taming a lizard.
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Re: How long until my bts warms up to me?

Postby probablyaflower » Tue Jun 05, 2018 2:39 pm

I'm pretty sure he's captive bred, my brother's friend works at the store I got him at and says they breed the skinks themselves.

On a completely different note, he sneezes a lot and it's starting to worry me. They aren't dry sneezes, they seem more runny and sometimes stuff flies out of his nose. Any suggestions?
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Re: How long until my bts warms up to me?

Postby Janella » Tue Jun 05, 2018 3:07 pm

Not good. Vet visit immediately. Sounds like a respiratory infection
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Re: How long until my bts warms up to me?

Postby probablyaflower » Tue Jun 05, 2018 4:06 pm

Alright, I'll set up an appointment when my vet opens tomorrow, they have a few reptile specialists. The soonest I can get him in is Saturday unless someone can give me a ride there. Do you think he will be okay until then? :(
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Re: How long until my bts warms up to me?

Postby Janella » Tue Jun 05, 2018 4:25 pm

Hopefully so. Just watch him close.
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Re: How long until my bts warms up to me?

Postby kayla990 » Thu Jun 07, 2018 11:13 am

Aww, how has he been doing now? Have you been able to check if your humidity is correct or if the hygrometer is reading correctly? (try searching for the 'Salt test hygrometer' if you are unsure if it is accurate). Just in case, double check your vivarium temperatures in the meantime, as this can also be a cause for RI (and useful to know for the vet visit).

And.. arrh, I always do this - but what colour are the belly scales? (if you know, don't need to force him out for it!).. as so hard to tell if it's Merauke or halmahera (for me anyway, I need to learn your ways Janella if you're already confident on Merauke!). The reason I want to make sure is if (s)he is a Halmahera, would need to keep higher humidity overall to keep them healthy :)
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Re: How long until my bts warms up to me?

Postby Thee » Tue Aug 07, 2018 9:58 am

Mine got used to me after feeding it a few insects and touched my hand while trying to figure out what is food and what isn’t, considering it’s a baby , it took something around 1 week to get comfortable with handling and sleeping outside the Vivarium.

From my experience, the more they can explore, the more they will gain confidence, therefore they will feel it’s easier to adapt to a companion

Always talk to them and play them classical music to give them a calm ambient

Hope this is useful, I only have one week and a half of experience but I have also posted some pics showing mine getting comfortable around the house
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Re: How long until my bts warms up to me?

Postby kingofnobbys » Tue Aug 07, 2018 11:14 pm

Depends on whether it's been captive bred or wild caught and trafficked.

Captive bred never learnt to fear humans and will be "friendly" pretty much from the getgo.

Wild caught have learnt to fear humans and other large animals so it will take time and patience for it learn you are not going to hurt / eat it and to learn to trust you , this is something that will only happen when the skink is ready , handfeeding is a great way to earn the trust of skink.

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