Bitey Skink

[TPceebee]

I only recently got my skink, who is 7 weeks old. I've started noticing some behaviours. Whenever I do something in the tank my skink comes running. I used to think this was curiosity until I offered my hand he decided to have a taste. As I didn't expect it i pulled back and he got scared. So I looked up some past posts on biting skinks and quite a lot of people were saying to let him bite so he learns not to. So I did. I put my hand in, he slowly came over and sniffed my fingers, then he opened his mouth and bit down hard. Then he did it again and again until he was chewing on my finger. I had to then take it away because I couldn't stand any more. Now he thinks that anything that moves is food. He bites fingers, gloves, anything that appears in his home and moves around. He hasn't been displaying at all. He's got stressed when we took him out to deal with his lingering shed but that's really the only time we've taken him out as he's still acclimating. He doesn't like being touched either, but isn't afraid of humans outside the viv. I tried offering food too to get him used to hands inside the cage and he bit me. So I started using tweezers for treats and he chases them down and attacks them. I don't want to start handling until his acclimation time is up. So is this an aggressive skink or a hungry one, is he attacking or eating my fingers, is this perfectly normal behaviour for a baby northern? Also does anyone else have any tips on stopping him from biting things that move (especially my hand) or if not then how long must I put up with nips before he learns not to bite?

[Noah H.]

This seems like normal behavior to me; babies are usually bitey at first, because that's how they figure out what is food and what isn't. Obi bit me quite a few times before he figured out my fingers weren't food. I don't know of a way to stop it, since it's a learning experience for the skink, but don't expect it to last forever. As long as he isn't acting overly aggressive, I think he'll turn out just fine.

[TPceebee]

So what? I have to just keep putting my hand in and letting him bite? I'm not gonna have any skin left on my fingers by the time he's done

[gg259]

What kind of soap do you use? This might sound weird but if you use scented soap (like I do, sadly its the only soap in the house) that could be the reason, or a reason maybe. My skink bit me because she smelled my fingers and since they tasted like fruit thought it was food. I dont think your skinks aggressive as others have said before it just sounds like its a very voracious eater

[TPceebee]

I did use scented hand soaps until I realised that's probably what he's smelling. I also tried using rubber gloves to avoid the fruity smell and he still fancied a good taste.

[J_Couvy]

My skink Hotdog Princess would often go after my hands when I first got her as I was hand feeding her as well. Ever since I started using tweezers she doesn't try to bite nearly as much, so hopefully after time your little guy (he's a boy right? apologies if he is actually a she) will realize that the tweezers mean food and your fingers don't. Of course I got Hotdog when she was almost 2 so she was more mature and I think nippiness in babies is pretty common. I don't like the idea of letting skinks bite until they realize your fingers aren't food; I'm a wimp like that I would try using something that smells a bit off to a skink, that also helped with my girl. I used a simple, un-scented hand sanitizer that smelled strongly of alcohol and would put it on right before I tried to handle Hotdog. I would hold my hand out in front of her face (palm up to her in a "stop" gesture in case she still tried to bite) and she would turn away at the strong scent. You can try it for a while and see if your skink eventually figures out that your hand/fingers smell bad and won't taste good. Hopefully as he matures he will get better as well. I can now pet and touch Hotdog around her mouth and face without the sanitizer and she doesn't ever try to bite (she always rubs her face in her substrate right after eating and I have to brush stuck coconut husk of off her mouth ) Hope he gets better