introduction & question about skink weight

[edjonaso]

Hi everyone,

I originally joined this forum october last year, around the same i got my BTS. Been lurking around since then, and i never post because im really busy with school. But i learned a lot about BTS and its husbandry from this forum, and i would like to thank people in this forum for that.

Moving on to my question; i purchased my skink from a local reptile store in toronto, and he was just a little guy back then, but for about a month he was eating like a pig. After that, around November/December he went into a semi brumation, and was eating so little for a couple of months.

He became active again around spring, but now he's become a picky eater. I feed him every other day, and his diet consist of dogfood/collard green/squash mix, calcium/multivitamins dusted superworms, and mice fuzzies as treats. He seem to prefer superworms over dogfood, and he gets bored with certain type of dogfood easily, so i have to switch to different type every couple of weeks (i use spot's stew and wellness). And so far, he wont touch fruits, and any other type of veggies. His basking spot is around 105-108F, and he bask & poop regularly. He's also quite active, and whenever i take him out, he seem alert and eager to explore.

However i feel like this guy is a little on the skinny side, and his body seem a little 'flat'. From most pictures that i've seen, sub adult skink they all look thick and chubby. I've attached few pics of my skink, and can you guys tell me whether he look skinny or not? also, any inputs on how to make skinks eat more variety of food?


basking






afternoon nap




close up!





Thanks in advance for the asnwers


Cheers

[James Wilson]

His weight looks good, but if you feel he needs a little more weight, a rat pup (prekilled or frozen thawed) or two every week will always do the trick.

[edjonaso]

thanks for the reply james.

i always thought that giving BTS rats/mice are not very beneficial, that's why i only feed him mice once every one or two months.

i'll follow your advice, and see if he can gain a little more weight




edjonaso

[James Wilson]

Just to clearify, ratpups are good to put on weight. Once he is at a weight that you feel is appropriate, then I would recommend that you feed items like rat pups very sparingly.

[Katrina]

If he is a picky eater, feed less often. Every second day is a lot of food for an adult bluey, so they will often stop eating the healthy stuff because they aren't really hungry and just pick out their favorites. Wait 4-5 days or longer and then offer a healthy meal. He probably won't be so picky!

Most experienced breeders feed adults only once or twice a week.

[Fatal_S]

Looks to be a healthy size/weight to me.

What Kat said, and mix the veggies/greens/dogfood, so he can't just eat what he likes.

I feed my adults weekly usually, and they don't get a choice to be picky, they happily eat whatever I give them.