New owner to a 4 m.o. Northern BTS!

[marisa]

Hey guys! I am a new owner as of yesterday to a 4 month old Northern BTS and wanted to post a few pictures to say hey. I received him from a breeder in Florida, who has been in communication with me and encouraged me to handle him right away, as she said he'd been handled daily, multiple times a day. I've found that he's very aggressive (hissing and even biting) when being picked up but seems to calm down after a few minutes. Hopefully this will pass as I think he's quite a looker and I'd like him to be sociable. Thanks for looking!

[Jeff]

Hi Marisa. Welcome to the forum. That's a nice looking northern you have there. It's great to have you on board!

[Fatal_S]

Gorgeous, but I'm surprised at the advice. No animal wants to be bothered multiple times a day, especially an animal that has to get used to a whole new world. Personally, I'd stick with the old standby - give them some time to settle in and then win them over with food

[marisa]

Actually, I was surprised at her advice too, as I had read differently. I suppose she is confident enough in her handling to believe that he is quite tame and will settle into being handled again readily. However, I don't want to cause damage to his behavior either by handling him prematurely (causing him to be aggressive as he associates handling with fear) or by waiting to handle him (causing him to "forget" being handled so often before). I'm confused on how to proceed and a bit concerned as I am moving a short distance away on Sunday and he will not be exposed to nearly as much traffic and people as he is now.

[camwin]

Marisa, My little guy from the same group is acting the same, way. I chalked it all up to his long and dark journey. mine is only hissy until removed from his habitat, then immediately calms down and starts to explore. But when i have first pulled him from the container he tried biting me and ended up with a mouthful of paper towel.

[Rani-May]

very cute little guy

[marisa]

That's awesome, that we have sibling skinks! Mine is 813-6; I've named him Ajax. Yours definitely has darker eye bands, which looks neat. Tell me if you have any luck "taming" your little guy... I am considering switching to the "gradual trust" method if I don't get any improvement with mine over the next week. He's still hissy when I reach into his home, but does calm down as soon as he's out. I'm thinking he may be territorial or something, I don't know. I placed him back in his cage after he'd been eagerly climbing around, exploring some paper towels, cardboard, and my hands outside his terrarium... then I reached back in a minute later to pet him and he hissed again. ? Maybe this is just normal behavior?

[camwin]

An older member might be able to indulge more information. Is yours a probable male or female?. Haha Aeon and Ajax siblings. More information on the attitude, he is definitely not too enthused about me reaching in, but as soon as my hand is on him he becomes very calm. Today he sat on my chest and watched a whole episode of Top Gear without so much as moving, while i gently pet him. I don't know if that's how they will always act, maybe just new territory/sorroundings. I'd love to see your setup also.

[Fatal_S]

One thing to note is there's a big difference between a hiss and a huff. Huffs are a closed-mouth puff of air. Breath quickly out your nose and you'll get about the right noise. Huffs are a very normal noise for a skink being bothered - think of it as a "please don't eat/hurt/step-on me" noise. Even completely tame skinks will often huff.

A hiss is an open-mouth warning. Often accompanied by flaring the tongue and gaping the mouth wide open at you. The skink is telling you to back off, now. The skink is very upset, and you need to give it a moment to calm down.

[camwin]

So huffs are perfectly ok? even throughout life? Also when i reach in to hold the little guy, he arches his back and huffs and tries to make himself as bulky looking as possible. He never once opens his mouth and flares his tongue or hisses. Is this normal behavior?

[macaroni_thief]

Huh, if the breeder is Bonita Galas, I received the same advice from her when I bought my little girl/guy from her a month or so ago. I thought it odd as well. My skink did not respond well to the instant handling, and had the open mouthed "Ima' bite you" face. Actually, I did get bitten once, so I decided to go with what I normally do for new reptiles and just leave the little one be until all settled in.

Now my skink only huffs, and comes out to greet me for dinner time. I think it doesn't hurt to earn their trust slow and steady. It seems to make for a happier animal.

[marisa]

Ok so this is good news to me... although sometimes I am unsure of the difference between a huff and a hiss, merely because sometimes he huffs so loud/long it sounds more like a hiss... but his mouth isn't open. However, good to hear from another person who received a BTS from Galas. Today, I decided to put my hand in his terrarium right in front of him and let him come up of his own free will, instead of picking him up... took three tries but he climbed on and I was able to take him out with no hissing or biting at all, just a little huff as I lifted him.

[Vegasarah]

That sounds pretty normal. Like Fatal said, even very tame skinks will do the closed mouth huff. I was lucky in that even though Rocket was young when I got him, he never went through a mean phase. He has always been very friendly and taken to handling very well. He will often climb up on his hide when he sees me in the room. He reaches up the side of the tank like a little kid that wants to be picked up, you know the hands above the head "Up! Up!" thing! Its adorable, he's so curious and gets upset when he sees me bustling around the room without taking him out and putting him in my hoodie. That is his favorite spot, he likes to curl up in the hood of my jacket and watch the world go by. I handle all my skinks every day(that's why I miss them so much when brumating!) so that they are very tame, but if your little one is putting up a big fights, slow it down. You just need to build trust with your little skink. Treats are also a great way to win them over lol

[dsteamn]

My male huffs every time I pick him up, and I've had him for years. Sometimes when I hold him, I make little forceful breathe sounds like they do, and he copies me. I call them love puffs. A hiss is something you cannot deny. Their mouth is always open and often moving toward you to bite you.

Skinks will often flatten when you reach in from overhead. Its kind of a defense mechanism for them. In the wild they are prey to birds and whatnot, so they react when things come at them from above. You can try putting your hand in further away from him and moving towards him as opposed to coming down right on top. That may help with the flattening a bit.

Congrats on your little ones, both of you. They will bring decades of enjoyment.