More advice for the newbie?

[RosiePosie06]

I just checked out the "Medical Advice" page and now I'm being a worry wart again. But better safe than sorry, right? When I saw the respiratory it mentioned sneezing, and I do hear Irwin sneeze. Should I worry? I use aspen bedding, and I know that produces some dust.

Also, can you tell me what a skink's normal breathing looks and sounds like? The medical advice said to watch out for labored breathing, and since this is my first skink and I've only had him for a week, I don't know if I'd notice the difference. I'd like to be prepared, as well as have something else to check if the sneezing is in fact a problem.

[Bird_Brain]

Sneezing is perfectly normal. Since they do burrow in their substrate, their noses are likely to get irritated, thus causing them to sneeze. What you would want to keep an eye out is for moisture coming from eyes and nose as well as excessive sneezing.

Some posted a great video of labored breathing. Ill look for it and link it to this page. I think BTS in general breath heavily.

[RosiePosie06]

Thank you! I had a feeling he'd just need to clear his nose once in awhile. I've kept an eye out and there's no eye or nose moisture:) I'd really apperciate the video!

[Bird_Brain]

Here is the link to the thread I was thinking of.
viewtopic.php?f=4&t=19406

[RosiePosie06]

Thanks!

[Tanith]

I also use aspen bedding and my bluey used to sneeze A LOT! I find that slightly misting his terrarium every 2 to 3 days has really helped and now he sneezes less.

[Susann]

Be aware though, that the skink breating heavy in the video is due to pregnancy. Not RI or sickness.

I find normal breathing in BTS to be very erratic. Sometimes it's deep, sometimes very shallow, sometimes breaths are close together, sometimes awfully far apart, and it's ALL healthy, normal breathing.
Sneezing is totally normal, even when it happens often. When you worry is if you see discharge or wetness from the nose or eyes.

It can be very hard to determine health from just their breathing. I think mainly because their normal breathing can vary so much.
I would suggest you just spend the next few weeks just observing his breathing as you watch and interact with him. Pay attention to how he breathes when he's sleeping, relaxed, moving, eating, climbing around, etc. And try not to worry.

I know it's hard to trust yourself when you aren't familiar with what you're seeing or even looking for. But I can try to calm you with the same thing you may have read or heard from others regarding not just BTS but other animals or your children: once you are used to them, you will KNOW when something is "off". Most often you get more than just one sign when they aren't well.

When Joey got pneumonia, I first noticed his breathing was constantly shallow, he was only taking very shallow breaths. (In a deep breath you will see the area both in front of and behind the front legs move. In a shallow breath you will only see the area in front of the front legs move.) I woke him up, and got him out and moving around. He was very slow, seemed tired, but most importantly, his breathing didn't change with movement, it remained very shallow. The only thing that changed was that he started breathing very often, but still just as shallow. It never got to where he was "panting" or breathing with his mouth open, but I knew something was "off". And then, with hindsight, I recalled that he hadn't been as active as he normally was, and his appetite had been poor, but in and of themselves, those things were nothing to get alarmed about. ALONG WITH the cronically shallow breating however, it gave me more confirmation that something was wrong.

So try to just observe him closely, get used to what his "normals" are, and trust that you will KNOW when something is worth seriously worrying about.
My motto is absolutely "better safe than sorry"! There's nothing wrong with worrying about your critters, and there's never anything wrong with asking questions.

Something you can do to help yourself feel better, if you have the means, is find a good reptile vet, and go see him while Irwin is well. This way you get a feel for the vet, and also a good opportunity to ask what your rescources are in emergencies. Because, I quickly found out, even though there are lots of clinics and hospitals for pets after-hours, there was not one single vet on-call in any of those places who was qualified for reptiles on the night of our emergency. So we had to wait till morning.

[RosiePosie06]

That is really helpful (all of you)! I have mist for his terrarium, so I'll try that. And I'll definitely be sure to watch Irwin and get used to his normal behaviour. I'm still so fascinated with him thatit definitely wont be a chore to watch him:)

[Spindown]

I'm still so fascinated with him thatit definitely wont be a chore to watch him:)

LOL Rosie, depending on where he is in the house, he may spend more time watching you! Mine all oogle me like crazy, its so cute!

[RosiePosie06]

Do they really? How sweet haha! I love how alert blueys are

[Kurt]

LOL Rosie, depending on where he is in the house, he may spend more time watching you! Mine all oogle me like crazy, its so cute!

same. my bluey comes to the front of his tank when i walk in the room.