I'm new and I have a question

[zoe o.]

Hi! I am Zoe. I am 11 and have had my skink, Piccolina, for 3 years. I got her as a baby for free from my neighbor who breeds them. He moved away shortly after I got my skink. She was so little she fit in the palm of my hand. When she first shed, I didn't know she could have a problem with the skin not coming off of her toes all the way. Before too long, some of her toes died and fell off. The exotic vet said to make sure it came off and soak her toes if it didn't. Now her feet are fine. They just look bad from the mistake I made. Here is a baby picture. My mom was holding her.





Now look how big she is!





I have been reading a lot here. I didn't know there were so many different blue tongued skinks! I thought she was a Northern BTS but now after I read about all the other kind here, I am not so sure. If you look close at her pictures she has light colored eye streaks and her front legs do have black markings on them. Wouldn't that make her an IJ? But her marks on her back look like a Northern. Can you tell me what she is?

In the pictures she is very light peach and gray but I think she is due to shed soon. She usually is darker.

Also, her feet are yellow. Is that normal?


Thanks for a neat place to spend my summer reading!

[Leigh]

I think the first thing to say is, ,the advice given to all newbies is read the care sheet, this site has the best info and experts anywhere on the planet,I saw that you had your skink on its back, they realy dont like that much and can hurt themselves trying to get right way up,you'll be inundated with welcomes and questions soon, stick around and post pictures, photos=friends

[Zach]

Hello!

Yeah, be very careful turning a skink upside down -- sometimes they can wiggle so hard they can actually displace bones.

You definitely have a Northern -- the top of his head looks so funny, almost flat....that's interesting -- I'm assuming it was born like this since the first pictures is so tiny.

Good eye with the black markings. While Northerns do consistently have perfectly clean front legs, it's not uncommon for darker Northerns to have a few black specks here and there (on the front legs). Great observation though, because typically, speckly front legs (forelegs) are scene in the Irian Jaya.

Yep, BTS toes are very delicate, so continue to monitor them regularly! What substrate are you using?

Welcome aboard.

[Marie]

Hi Zoe, welcome to the forum. You have a beautiful skink. One of my skinks also has problems with her feet. After she sheds, I make sure all the dead skink is off her feet. Even though I remove all the shed, she is still losing toes. Sometimes I think that once the toes start dying, it's hard to stop the process. Keep up the good work and feel free to ask more questions!

[zoe o.]

[quote="Leigh"]I think the first thing to say is, ,the advice given to all newbies is read the care sheet, this site has the best info and experts anywhere on the planet,I saw that you had your skink on its back, they realy dont like that much and can hurt themselves trying to get right way up,you'll be inundated with welcomes and questions soon, stick around and post pictures, photos=friends [/quote]

THnaks you for saying welcome! I know she doesn't like being on her back. My mom had her in her lap and I had to hold her down so we could take the picture. I wanted to show her tummy so you could see her markings and wanted to show a good look of her feet because they are yellow. I don't ever really hold her like that.

[zoe o.]

[quote="Zach"]

Yep, BTS toes are very delicate, so continue to monitor them regularly! What substrate are you using?

Welcome aboard.[/quote]

A long time ago when her feet had the problem we used pine shavings. My mom says Aspen too but some of the stores near us only had pine.. But mom figured out that wasn't the problem. The problem was that her tank was on top of my dresser and we didn't realize it but the airconditioner vent thingie in the ceiling was blowing right into her tank and made her very dry. Now we have her in a different spot. She hasn't had any problems with her toes since that one time a couple years ago. Just last week we switched away from shavings. I bought some fabric stuff made for lizards. It says Zilla on the box. We bought 2 of them so when one is being washed and dried the other one goes in the tank. We also changed the look of her tank. We gave her a big fake plant and we made a humidity box out of a tuperware container. Mom used a saw to cut a hole in both ends for Piccolina to crawl in and out of. Inside we but some kind of fluffy moss that was soaked in water. It stays pretty damp in there and boy does Piccolina love it!

There is one thing that we need to change. Right not her warm spot is from a heater pad made for under the tank. Now i read that she should still have a light and a flat rock to lay on. She has a regular fishtank light above her with the special bulb. I think mom said we will go today or tomorrow to get the other light. I will see if I can have her help me post some more pictures so you can see her tank.

One more thing! Is it ok if my mom comes here too to ask questions? It takes me forever to type all of this. Mom usually checks what I write and helps me. Does she need to get her own log in name?

Zoe

[Usersafe]

Yep, BTS toes are very delicate, so continue to monitor them regularly! What substrate are you using?

Welcome aboard.

A long time ago when her feet had the problem we used pine shavings. My mom says Aspen too but some of the stores near us only had pine.. But mom figured out that wasn't the problem. The problem was that her tank was on top of my dresser and we didn't realize it but the airconditioner vent thingie in the ceiling was blowing right into her tank and made her very dry. Now we have her in a different spot. She hasn't had any problems with her toes since that one time a couple years ago. Just last week we switched away from shavings. I bought some fabric stuff made for lizards. It says Zilla on the box. We bought 2 of them so when one is being washed and dried the other one goes in the tank. We also changed the look of her tank. We gave her a big fake plant and we made a humidity box out of a tuperware container. Mom used a saw to cut a hole in both ends for Piccolina to crawl in and out of. Inside we but some kind of fluffy moss that was soaked in water. It stays pretty damp in there and boy does Piccolina love it!

There is one thing that we need to change. Right not her warm spot is from a heater pad made for under the tank. Now i read that she should still have a light and a flat rock to lay on. She has a regular fishtank light above her with the special bulb. I think mom said we will go today or tomorrow to get the other light. I will see if I can have her help me post some more pictures so you can see her tank.

One more thing! Is it ok if my mom comes here too to ask questions? It takes me forever to type all of this. Mom usually checks what I write and helps me. Does she need to get her own log in name?

Zoe

Sounds like you're doing a really good job with her. Yes, under tank heaters are not generally recommended for our skinks. They could possibly burn themselves on it. I use a light that generates heat and also the UVB light for all of my lizards. The two together work well and if you have a digital temperature gun you can see exactly how hot the basking area gets.

The humid hide is a great idea also as they will go in their on their own when they're about to shed. Tell your Mom she's welcome to post here under your name or with her own.

Steve

[Marie]

I think it's great that you are trying to learn more about your bluey. I also like how your mom is helping you out. I wish more parents and kids were as responsible as you! It seems like you found out that you need to change a few things about your enclosure. If you can post a picture of your set-up, we can tell you how it looks. As usersafe mentioned, your mom is welcome to post under your name or under her own. Most people on this site will want to help you because they care about blueys. Don't be afraid to ask anything.

[Lisa]

Welcome! Your bluey is gorgeous

As blueys are basking animals, overhead heat and light is better than underneath. And as with most reptiles, they gain more than just heat from the sun. It helps them digest food, aids in absorption of calcium etc, so the best thing is to try and mimic the sun as best you can.

Yes, low humidity can cause problems with feet shed. If after a couple of weeks there are still bits hanging on, you can soak the feet for a few minutes and gently rub it off. The moss thing seems to work well for many people over there, America just must be alot less humid than Australia (well yes, it is!) so it seems that this does the trick for many keepers.

Hope to see more pics soon!
P.S. You write beautifully for 11 years old Puts some of us oldies to shame!

[zoe o.]

[quote="Lisa"]
P.S. You write beautifully for 11 years old Puts some of us oldies to shame![/quote]

My mom helps me make my posts. She makes sure she knows what I am doing on the computer all the time. (YUP! Here I am! Cindy... Zoe's mom. LOL!) Also she makes me use the spell check thing which is a pain because we have to copy the writing I am doing and open it up in Word to check the spelling. Then I copy the fixed one and post it back here. If I didnt most of my stuff would be really hard for you to read. Typing neatly is easier than writing neatly! Also we have computer class in school. I am in 7th grade and the teachers are tough.

[Lisa]

Hello Cindy! Sometimes when you type on here quickly it does funny things, I think sometimes it anticipates what you're going to write, so it pays to double check!!

I remember when I was at school we got our first computer when I was in 3rd grade. One computer for the whole school!!!! Now it seems there's one for every kid!

[mewzic-7123]

well at least u dont need to clip ur blueys nails, mine just wont stay still real nice skink u've got

[Zach]

What a great mom! I tend to answer posts more seriously when people write correctly. I tend to skim over the: "my like bts, plz help me thx" sort of posts. I really shouldn't, but we get a lot of posts and I find myself putting my time into the posts that are easiest to read.

Plus, it builds great practice! Kudos to both of you.

[Tyler]

P.S. You write beautifully for 11 years old Puts some of us oldies to shame!

My mom helps me make my posts. She makes sure she knows what I am doing on the computer all the time. (YUP! Here I am! Cindy... Zoe's mom. LOL!) Also she makes me use the spell check thing which is a pain because we have to copy the writing I am doing and open it up in Word to check the spelling. Then I copy the fixed one and post it back here. If I didnt most of my stuff would be really hard for you to read. Typing neatly is easier than writing neatly! Also we have computer class in school. I am in 7th grade and the teachers are tough.

If you download firefox2 you don't have to copy and paste your writing into Word. It has spell check and some other neat accessories with it. www.mozilla.com

[Zach]

I believe the google toolbar also has it...but Firefox all the way!

[mouseinamilkbottle]

Yeah, I have the UK English dictionary. It red underlines my typos for me!

[Leigh]

Yeah, I have the UK English dictionary. It red underlines my typos for me!

How do you add that to here, with two finger typing and an on loan brain cell I take ages to type

[Funda]

I can type without looking

f.C

[mouseinamilkbottle]

Yeah, I have the UK English dictionary. It red underlines my typos for me!

How do you add that to here, with two finger typing and an on loan brain cell I take ages to type

Step 1: Download and install Firefox.
http://en.www.mozilla.com/en/firefox/

Step 2: Download the English (British) dictionary add-on.
https://addons.mozilla.org/en-US/firefox/browse/type:3

It works just like the dictionary in Microsoft Word - you right click a red underlined word and it comes up with alternatives, or the option to add the word to the dictionary. It works in most web-boxes (like this one, for example!).

They have the same add-on for Thunderbird, the Mozilla email client, too, which is really useful.

[Leigh]

Thank you Ruth, I'll/you'll all have to put up with some mistakes, as its a work p.c. and they dont let you download anything like this, and they ban us from youtube and the such like, cheers anyway.