"Drake" Our new family member! She's not so happy :(

[jshep_23]

I was finally able to find a place for my Rainbow Boa, and adopted Drake, my Northern BTS last night from Ardvark Pets, a store that I have been dealing with for over 6 years. (Actually I know she's from Mel's Exotics so thanks Mel!)

She's a beautiful animal! But just a question, after I got her introduced to her new home, so was very aggressive. You couldn't be be in the room without her huffing and hissing. And now she is just hiding in the cool end of her terrarium, under the substrate. Is this a normal reaction for a skink in a new environment? Jeff at Ardvarks had said that she has been a little feisty since she arrived at his store, but I feel bad for her. Obviously there is an adjustment period for her to get used to her new home, but out of all the reptiles I've owned (a lot), I've never had one so fearful.

Any tips or words of wisdom would be appreciated. Thanks!!!

[jshep_23]

...And I just noticed the FAQ forum and I think I found most of my answers. Everyone loves a noobie (at least that's what I keep telling myself). Thanks tho!

[kenn]

...And I just noticed the FAQ forum and I think I found most of my answers. Everyone loves a noobie (at least that's what I keep telling myself). Thanks tho!

Hehe
Good luck!

[Linnea]

hello!

we need photos to help you with specifics. if you have a very feisty bluey, and its one of the indonesian species, it is likely to be wild caught and has gone through quite a lot in its life.

it takes time for blueys to warm up to people, some become very docile and comfortable in out environment and some take a lot of extra time, work and effort to become even a little bit more comfortable.

hiding on the cold side is normal. make sure she has plenty of good hides. give your new bluey at least a week to settle down in its new home.

check for mites, and if the bluey is thin, do a parasite check at a vet. it comes with bluey purchases from stores.

the deep and low huffing sound they make is not really a sign of aggression. some blueys do it more often than others, and more easily. its to signal "here i am", "be careful", "mind me", "thats uncomfortable". hissing with an open mouth however is a sign of aggression but that one you will notice very easily if you ever see it.

if you need any more help, please ask. and welcome to the forum! (dont forget to check out the food charts too)

[Fatal_S]

Linnea, it's one of my babies, a CBB Northern.

I'm so happy you found this forum! I've been worried about having my babies sold by a third party. It is concerning that he/she is so shy; I gave Jeff two of my biggest, calmest babies. But a pet store is a busy, scary place for a tiny lizard. Give her a bit of time to settle in and she should return to being a very calm, sweet skink.

[xxmonitorlizardxx]

Jeff bought two of your babies? He obviously wants to make a dark line of northerns

[Fatal_S]

Different Jeff. He had some people requesting BTS and decided to ask me. I'd prefer he sell CBB over WC, so I agreed. I'm not terribly comfortable with the idea of putting my babies in a store, but at least it's a reptile store with decent staff. Very glad to know that a baby found a great new home though

[Katrina]

Welcome! Great to see Mel's babies going to a good home.

[dsteamn]

It might be hiding, but might be brumating too. Once it comes out, the more you handle it, but more comfortable it will become. If it snaps at you when you try to hold it, you can always use a hand towel or small cloth. Cover it before you take it out, then keep in wrapped in the towel while you handle it. It will come to realize you are not trying to hurt it, but in the meantime, you will have a little protection if it does try to bite.

[jshep_23]

Thank you very much everybody! And I am very glad it came from you too Mel! I have heard nothing but great things about you, and your BTS's! She did come out and have a bite to eat last night, and she went to the bathroom too which is good cause I've heard that sometimes they may shy away from food for a while after moving to a new environment.

She was pretty fiesty, even in the store too (Let's just say she knows what the employees fingers taste like now!). But I figured it was because, like you said, she was in a busy store. I'm just giving her her space for a couple of days, and I will try handling her later this weekend. It's not the bites I'm worried about, I just don't want to stress her out any more than I have to.

I'll post pictures every once in a while, and keep you informed on how she's doing! Thanks again!

[Spindown]

Jeff at Ardvarks had said that she has been a little feisty since she arrived at his store, but I feel bad for her. Obviously there is an adjustment period for her to get used to her new home, but out of all the reptiles I've owned (a lot), I've never had one so fearful.

Oh man, you should have seen us when we got our first skink...an Indo, 99% sure was WC. He pooped on us all the time (although mostly on me X_X), peed on me a lot, and huffed and huffed and huffed. Thankfully we are patient He has come around, grown SO much, and been such a wonderful little guy that we ended up getting 3 more (so far) and got us SO hooked into BTS its silly!

I never would have gotten one if it hadnt been for this forum, and I printed off the caresheet and the diet charts and still read them. This site has been SO invaluable to us and our brood!

[jshep_23]

Jeff at Ardvarks had said that she has been a little feisty since she arrived at his store, but I feel bad for her. Obviously there is an adjustment period for her to get used to her new home, but out of all the reptiles I've owned (a lot), I've never had one so fearful.

Oh man, you should have seen us when we got our first skink...an Indo, 99% sure was WC. He pooped on us all the time (although mostly on me X_X), peed on me a lot, and huffed and huffed and huffed. Thankfully we are patient He has come around, grown SO much, and been such a wonderful little guy that we ended up getting 3 more (so far) and got us SO hooked into BTS its silly!

I never would have gotten one if it hadnt been for this forum, and I printed off the caresheet and the diet charts and still read them. This site has been SO invaluable to us and our brood!

That reminds me how my Cali KingSnake was. But after a couple of weeks of handling (and lots of bite marks), he calmed right down. Ended up being my most docile snake! But I just had my first out-of-tank interaction with my new BTS and it was fantastic! No poop! No pee! No huffing or hissing and no biting! She was a sweetheart! Gonna take me some time getting used to handling her tho! I'm used to bigger snakes, or tiny geckos. My BTS was a little more adventurous than I thought she was gonna be!

[Spindown]

LOL at least its hard to feel like you are going to "squash" a BTS One reason I rehomed my cresties is because I always felt like I was going to smoosh them by accident. I definitely do NOT have that feeling with my skinks, its awesome to have such a solid lizard