Does my skink need help with shedding?

[Dx3]

Hey everyone! For anyone that doesn’t know I took in a rescue skink a couple months ago and have been taking care of him since. He’s 5 years old and… I don’t know how to describe it other than he doesn’t have any natural instincts. He didn’t know how to catch live insects, couldn’t tell what was food and what wasn’t, 0 danger sense, etc… He only recently just started learning to eat live insects. My younger skink that I purchased developed those things at a young age and is always getter better at certain things. My point being that I can give my younger skink a warm soak and let them loose in their tank and they’ll have all their shed off in like 10 minutes flat while the older one doesn’t seem to know what to do and had already lost a toe before I got him. I’ve given him a warm soak but he doesn’t seem to know how or want to work the shed off on his own. What should I do? (The first 2 pictures are my younger skink before and after a shed. They come up when they’re done like they’re proud to get it all off. The second 2 pics are the older skink. He doesn’t burrow much but when he does he stays in that same spot for days.)

[mb606587]

Your second skink appears Irian Jaya. I'm not a fan of aspen bedding even for Northerns as it's not effective for generating or maintaining humidity, but it definitely shouldn't be used at all for an Irian Jaya. Your skinks should be able to shed properly without soaking if the humidity is appropriate (50%-60% for a Northern, AT LEAST 60% for Irian Jaya, aim higher). I'd change the substrate to cypress mulch (Forest Floor bedding at the pet store), or an organic soil at Lowes or Home Depot with plenty of sphagnum moss mixed in. Mist and monitor your humidity regularly, increase humidity as much as possible during times of shed, and only assist if absolutely necessary.

[Janella]

Yes, I completely agree on this. However, if you are noticing stuck shed then a humid hide or a soak will help with that.

[Dx3]

I appreciate the feedback but I think I didn’t clarify enough nor is it that visible from the pictures. They do have cypress mulch mixed with aspen for some fluffiness. Humidity in the larger ones enclosure is up. I don’t give them warm soaks because their tank isn’t humid it’s just to loosen them up and get them started to work it off themselves. The Irian Jaya just simply won’t do anything. He’s not burrowing and working off. It’s like he doesn’t know that he’s shedding. I’ll give him more time but like I said he was already missing a toe before I got him.

[Janella]

Hi again, I still would get rid of the aspen. We have found it just doesn't do well with skinks. Especially, IJ species. I would try as we suggested with just cypress multch and plain soil combo, Zilla Jungle mix and Reptibark, or Ecoearth. You can add some sphagnum moss in a humid hide to help. Or just mix around the enclosure as well. This will help with the humidity and shedding issues. Also