Concerns about a new skink!!

[lunartome]

Hi there, everybody! Okay, so on the 8th of November, my father and I purchased a blue-tongued skink. As this is only the second reptile I have owned, I'm a bit worried I'm doing something wrong! The skink we bought was an unsexed rescue, 6 years old, and a Northern-Southern cross, if I remember correctly. As they were a rescue, their claws were a bit long and I felt a need to trim them before they got any worse. The first few days went very smoothly, they were basking, drinking water, and eating a little food when left alone with it. On the 12th, my father and I decided to trim their claws; I felt awful about having to disrupt the skink's resting and they huffed a few times during the clipping, but I worried that they would only cause problems if I waited any longer. Since then, our skink has not come out of where they've burrowed. I know that skinks can sometimes seem to disappear under their bedding for a day or two, but I'm worried that this is due to extreme stress or fear in the animal. Does anybody have any idea why they won't come out or if this is just a regular skink behaviour? Thank you!

[Dood]

Adults are often only fed once or twice a week and pretty much inactive the rest of the time so it is perfectly normal for skinks to hunker down for several days, and if they go into brumation (sorta like hibernation) they can hide for weeks or months

However, you say your skink is a rescue and only healthy skinks should be allowed to go into brumation - can you post pictures of your skink so we can assess its body condition to see if it can afford to miss a couple meals?

Another possibility is broken bones from Metabolic Bone Disease (MBD) - this was quite common in reptiles in the 80's as it was before the importance of UV lighting and vitamin D was fully understood, unfortunately even today reptiles kept by uneducated owners can suffer from this disorder

[lunartome]

Thank you for the reply! As far as I can tell, they're definitely healthy! The person who we bought them from had them for quite a bit with no health issues (although they didn't specialize in skinks), but they were taken in from their previous owner due to an inability to take care of them. My main concern is really whether or not they've gone into hiding due to stress/fear due to my pulling them out during the first few days of their acclimation time and clipping their claws, or if they're just doing what skinks do. I'm probably more worried than I need to be, but the last thing I want is a damaged creature, physically or otherwise.

[Scincus]

I've had Azúl for more than a year and there are times where she is active all day and then sometimes won't appear for several days. I wouldn't worry too much.

[lunartome]

Thank you as well! Again, my only concern is really the timing/the fact that we've only had them for a few days so I have no idea how their "normal" schedule (if there even is such a thing with skinks) seems to work.

[Scincus]

It is possible it's from stress. I would just give them time and wait until they start coming out and exploring, then use the opportunity to feed or talk to them to get them used to your presence. From my experience with Azúl, skinks can be very curious, so they will come out eventually, either from wanting to explore, hunger, or wanting to bask.

[Dood]

I agree - S/he looks very healthy and could miss a few meals without harm. S/he also has none of the signs of MBD so the stress of getting its nails trimmed likely caused the seclusion.

[Richard.C]

just out of curiosity, what is a northern /southern cross?

[Richard.C]

and to answer your question its probably still settling in to a new environment,plus the nail trimming on top of that,they often spend time in hiding ,im sure it will pop out again before long

one other thin g to keep in mind also is time of year there,if your ambient temps are coolish,from outside influence,thats often enough all northerns need to slow right down over winter if it gets cool in your area,being tropical of origin

[lunartome]

Thank you all so much! I feel much better about everything. I'm just going to leave my skink be for a while and check on their tank periodically until they decide to come out on their own.

And Richard, according to what I was told, my skink is a cross between a Northern and a Southern/Blotched. As my skink was a rescue, I can't be entirely sure if this is true or not. Assuming the man who sold me my skink was given correct information from their previous owner, I somehow own a cross between a Northern and a Southern/Blotched. Assuming the man who sold me my skink was given incorrect information from their previous owner, I more than likely just own a regular Northern or an intergrade from a Northern and another subspecies based on behaviour and colour. Of course, I'm still new to the whole skink world, so I could be completely wrong!

[JoshChimera]

That is a Northern if I ever seen one. The huge features and large head speaks Northern to me, the orange bands are Northern traits as well! I don't believe it is a cross or mutt.

[Richard.C]

id bet u a southern blotchie that has zero blotched blue tongue in it,lol