New BTS....

[Rynxprs]

skink2.jpg

skink1.jpg

I just got this "guy" two weeks ago. He stays buried 98% of the time, and constantly hisses and jumps at me when i go digging for him. Granted I'm not home during the day to know if he comes out. But i have yet to see him bask at all.

He ate the 2nd night i had him, but not a few days later. I left some bearded dragon pellets in there for 2 days and he never touched them. I put some fresh vegtables in there 3 days ago, he didn't touch it for the day. I put some in yesterday morning and he did eat some during the day.

I had a BTS about 4 years ago, died unfortunatly, but he was super friendly , always out basking, etc.

Any pointers to help calm him down?

[Dakota]

You won't see Halmahera's bask often at all. And also note, they are (in general) more fossorial-natured than most other Bluetongues.. so keep that in mind.

As for the "taming", just give it time and take it slow. Baby Halmahera's tend to be kinda jumpy, but usually grow out of it with time, patience, and handling. Hand feeding always helps, too!

ETA: In my experience, them not basking lets me know the temperature in the cage are ideal. And what type of protein are you feeding him? Mine love dogfood! I don't even bother feeding veggies, but that's me..

[Rynxprs]

how do you handle hand feeding?

about 20 min ago I moved the bedding around to find him, thats why he turned around and jumped at me, while hissing and puffing.

He's now out on top of the bedding, so I got some food together for him and put it in there, the entire time, he was puffing and hissing, as i'm putting the bowl down in front of him.

[Dakota]

I would first let him start on his own (small amount), then once that runs out and looking for more, slowly bring a bite-size and they usually take it then.

[Richard.C]

Bring in new suroundings,and scared its very common for most bluetongue species to stay hiding and be picky eaters when first brought home,best thing to do is not dig them up and hassle them,let them feel the security of being able to hide away from you if they are scared,which a hissy jumpy baby obviously is

A good sign of cage temps being on yhe hot side is an animal not basking often and staying away from hot areas,thats generally regarded as a sign u may want to offer them more of a temp gradient,but rule that out with newly aquired animals,as often there insecurities is ehat leads to them not coming out to bask and eat ect when your about,there natural instinct is to hide when they feel threatened,and hiss and jump when they dont have security,eg digging them up from hiding

Often just leaving them be is the best way for them to learn to trust you and stay out active when your about

[NH93]

Are you 100% positive s/he's captive bred and not wild caught? Just thought I'd ask!

[Rynxprs]

No not sure. I honestly forgot to ask.
http://market.kingsnake.com/detail.php? ... de=1060405

[DianaBlueTongue]

Almost definitely "farmed", which is just a fancy way of saying wild caught anymore. There were LOADS of Hally babies that came over the last few months. Imagine the ordeal a baby reptile goes through when imported. Its quite the stressful traumatic experience. I had gotten two baby halmaheras a couple months ago and they took much longer to settle into their new life with me.

I would also say to leave him be a while, check temps to make sure everythings spot on, and keep offering food and fresh water. He'll come round. After about a month or two I started to see mine emerge more to explore and gain more confidence with me but Hallys are starting to be seen as a more timid, shy type of bts, so just keep that in mind.