New Adult Blue Tongue

[Ellie_A]

I got a blue tongue from a local reptile rescue a few months ago and he seems to be fine and healthy but I still have a few questions. I am currently using eco-earth as a subtrate but he doesn't seem to dig in it, I have read that digging is normal so do you think that changing the substrate would increase his digging behaviour?
His previous owners were feeding him only canned cat food so I am having a hard time getting him to eat different things. He loves scrambled eggs and I usually give him 3 eggs once a week. I have tried various fruits and veggies and he won't eat them, these include mixed greens, blueberries, raspberries, strawberries, green beans, and bell peppers. He shows no interest in superworms or frozen thawed pinky mice. I haven't tried crickets yet as I think he is too big to be interested in them. I have resorted to feeding him cat food occassionally because he won't eat anything else but I don't really want this to continue. Any ideas for other food to try him on?
He also doesn't bask and I have never seen him in his water bowl. He spends most of his time hiding in his flower pots and only really comes out at feeding time (and usually not until I have left the room). I have no problem with his shy behaviour as I have many reptiles that prefer to hide, I am just worried that he is unhappy.
I am getting a custom background, hides and basking spot made for him so if you have any ideas or pictures of your own enclosures please post them here!

[Rhianimal]

I also adopted an adult blue tongue. The old owners insisted he didn't like doing anything, but he had a bad cage setup and I'm sure that didn't help. He is much more active now in his cleaned and redone cage:



He really likes the PVC pipes. He likes to hang out in them and look out at the activities in the room. And he does use them for hide boxes as well. throughout the evening he slides along in them and seems to play a little. Your skink might like the same. I am told many skinks like things like the pipes!

The substrate is coconut husk and eco-earth, which is expandable soil-like coconut bedding. He has 2-3 inches of it everywhere in the cage and does like to dig. But it's more lazy skink digging. How much substrate do you have?





My guy is pretty shy too, but I think that is just how his personality is. He likes watching halfway out of his hide areas. Doesn't really bask. Has only stumbled through his water a few times. I am going to look into trust training for my skink and it may be something that you feel is worthwhile too.

[Ellie_A]

His eco-earth is about 2" deep at one end and 4" at the other end. I will look into the pipes. This may be a dumb question but are both ends of your pipes accessible? Does he go in one end and out the other? Or are the pipes wide enough that he can turn around?

[Rhianimal]

His eco-earth is about 2" deep at one end and 4" at the other end. I will look into the pipes. This may be a dumb question but are both ends of your pipes accessible? Does he go in one end and out the other? Or are the pipes wide enough that he can turn around?

They're 4" wide pipes, but surprisingly he seems to be able to squirm so he can turn around without much effort. The pipes are y-shaped, so they have a third opening that you can't see because it's against the glass on the sides--sort of a viewing hole almost entirely obstructed by substrate to not disturb him. Each pipe is really 3 pieces of PVC pipe joints connected together.

He typically crawls in one end and doesn't move around much, then he'll turn himself around or just continue through the pipe, or curl up in the dead-end area out of sight. This morning he was asleep in one pipe with his face against the glass. He might like watching out.

[LarissaLurid]

Skinks LIVE to burrow lol. I'd definitely keep a good few inches of burrowing substrate, it will make him very happy. Mine is burrowed all the time when not awake. Also, when you give meat or dog food (I wouldn't feed cat food to adults since it has taurine in it) mix the greens, veggies, and fruits into the meat to kind of hide it so he still gets what he needs. A good portion of the diet needs to be veggies and such. I'd try feeding some ground turkey or other lean meats mixed with veggies/fruits or organic/top quality dog foods mixed with it. I'd also add multivitamin powder and calcium supplements to each meal, as well as calcium w/ D-3, 1-2 times per week to make sure he doesn't get MBD. Also, he is probably more shy right now since he is most likely not very socialized at all, and it seems like the last owners just were bored of him and let him sit in the cage. So I'm sure he will be less shy with more time spent out bonding.

[Katrina]

If you give him 3 eggs per week, he won't have appetite for anything else! I'd read the frequently asked questions section over - viewforum.php?f=24 and then start offering small, healthy meals weekly and not worry if he doesn't eat for a few weeks. Once he is hungry he will be much less inclined to be picky! IF you keep filling him up with his favorites then he will never try other, healthier options.

Welcome!

[Alioop]

Ditto to what Kat said. And the diet of canned food, while lacking veggies and variety, really isn't that bad. Canned dog food is widely accepted as the best protein source, just blend some chopped up greens into it.

Also, wouldn't worry about digging. Some do, some don't. There's certainly no reason he needs to be digging into the substrate, he probably just feels safe and secure and doesn't think he needs to hide.

[Ellie_A]

Thanks for all of your advice. I am going to the grocery store today to stock up and plan on making some veggie cubes. I will see if he eats them willingly but will also try to wait him out because he seems to be a good weight right now. I am also going to add some PVC pipes for him and change his basking spot to a rock that is a little easier for him to climb

[LarissaLurid]

I wouldn't wait until he starts losing weight to feed him. He needs a regular feeding schedule and as the other said smaller meals with variety, not a ton of a treat at once. My young one eats daily, but i'd try feeding yours perhaps every 2 days or so (not really sure his exact size though, but every few days is good, i doubt he will get fat lol.), not waiting until he gets thin.

edit: unless you mean not give him his eggs and such that are the only thing he eats. if you mean that, then yea don't worry he will eat right eventually. as i said, i'd try mixing veggies and such into the meat so he will eat it much more willingly.

[Ellie_A]

I wouldn't wait until he starts losing weight to feed him. He needs a regular feeding schedule and as the other said smaller meals with variety, not a ton of a treat at once. My young one eats daily, but i'd try feeding yours perhaps every 2 days or so (not really sure his exact size though, but every few days is good, i doubt he will get fat lol.), not waiting until he gets thin.

edit: unless you mean not give him his eggs and such that are the only thing he eats. if you mean that, then yea don't worry he will eat right eventually. as i said, i'd try mixing veggies and such into the meat so he will eat it much more willingly.

Sorry, I was not clear in my post. I meant that I would make him some healthy food and hope that he eventually gets hungry enough to want to try it (without me giving in and feeding him eggs). I plan on mincing up some squash, zucchini, mushrooms, yellow pepper, bok choy, red chard, and lean ground beef (as this is all I could find at the store today) and making it into small batches for him. I will try him on it every 2 days until he decides to eat it.

[LarissaLurid]

Sorry, I was not clear in my post. I meant that I would make him some healthy food and hope that he eventually gets hungry enough to want to try it (without me giving in and feeding him eggs). I plan on mincing up some squash, zucchini, mushrooms, yellow pepper, bok choy, red chard, and lean ground beef (as this is all I could find at the store today) and making it into small batches for him. I will try him on it every 2 days until he decides to eat it.[/quote]


Sounds great! I'm sure he will come around, that's a good mix of food. (although i wouldn't feed TOO many mushrooms too often bc they just have a lot of water in them and not a ton of nutrition, if i remember correctly, so i only feed them every once in a while to my skink)

[Ellie_A]

Sounds great! I'm sure he will come around, that's a good mix of food. (although i wouldn't feed TOO many mushrooms too often bc they just have a lot of water in them and not a ton of nutrition, if i remember correctly, so i only feed them every once in a while to my skink)

I knew about the mushroom thing so there will only be a couple included in the whole batch. I had to pick some up for pizza so I figured I would get a couple of extra ones.