Here's Rosco!

[donkeybuff]

Open mouth hissing usually goes away soon after they acclimate. Depending on the personality of your skink, huffing may remain or it may not. It usually decreases with age and trust.

[jdheff1982]

Open mouth hissing usually goes away soon after they acclimate. Depending on the personality of your skink, huffing may remain or it may not. It usually decreases with age and trust.

He has only opened mouth hissed once and that was yesterday when I attempted to finger feed blue berries. After the first one, he proceeded to bite the heck out of a plastic bin; then he calmed down and gently took the remaining berries.. Other times he huffs, he does it with mouth closed. Like today when I fed him his dinner, he huffed when I approached with food; but, once he realized I had food, he calmed down, approached the dish and ate with me still holding the dish. He didn't seem bothered when I retracted my hand out of his cage.

Hopefully, his mood will even out once he's done shedding.

[jdheff1982]

I hadn't updated in a while, so....

Rosco is doing very well. I feel he is sensing the outside temp changes and hasn't been as active; but he may be settling in still. I am able to handle him w/o much more than a couple huffs then he calms down. Today, I had him out for quite a while. I initially held him in my arms for a bit. Then, I thought he'd enjoy roaming around on the floor; and, he did. I didn't do this for too long not knowing what he might get himself into. However, when he went walking by the vertical blinds, he began swaying his back-end back and forth and had his back arched a bit. It was funny. Afterwards, we settled down in my recliner where he managed to squeeze himself between me and the chair arm and take a nap. He slept a good 20 minutes before picking him up and holding him in my arms some. I'd say he was out for at least 30 minutes before letting him back in his tank. I promptly fed him some new wet dog food by BilJac (turkey and sweet potatoes stew) and a couple of small blue berries. He seems to enjoy eating chunky food over paste/puree.

A couple days last week, I found Rosco rubbing all over the tank glass and hides. He managed to knock off a loose scale from his snout, but the rest of his body isn't loosening up. Since then, he hasn't been trying to remove the skin. His colors have been looking dull since the day I got him. I wonder how much longer before he actually sheds?

Anyhoot, I need to get some pics up again. I'm not much of a photo junkie and don't even think about snapping any until after the fact. Maybe I'll try for a video.

Without communities like this one, I may have decided on a different reptile. Thanks for all the help!

[jdheff1982]

Something else I am curious about. I hardly ever see Rosco using the cool hide. I'll find him on top getting a drink or just sitting there; but, hardly ever do I see him use the actual hide. He spends more time buried in the hot side hide or basking on the hide. The basking area is in the high 90's peaking around 100 degrees. I switched the 100w ceramic heat emitter to a 65w spot lamp (rear) and added another 60w regular bulb towards the front of the tank on the same side. The UVB lamp shares the same space as the other 2 lamps. His cool side is in the mid to upper 70's (in the hide) during the day. During the night, my apartment has been dropping to low 70's if not high upper 60's which would be the same temp for the enclosure.

Rosco seems fine otherwise. He eats well, he's active at times, his general mod is good, and he's alert. I stir in a proportioned amount of calcium+ d3 + multivit into a can of wet dog food based on the instructions provided by the supplements. I feel I am giving him everything he needs.

Is my concern misplaced? Thanks!

[donkeybuff]

Sometimes, they just prefer one hide more than the other. My northern spends almost all his time basking or in the hot side hide. As long as he is healthy, there is nothing to worry about.

[jdheff1982]

Well, November 1st marked my first month with Rosco; and tomorrow, will mark his 1 month and 1 week since birth. I'd have to say, Rosco has come a long way since then. As with any newly acquired BTS, Rosco was shy and a bit defensive; but, would settle down in a short order. After 2 or 3 weeks of persistent interaction and handling, he has finally become accustomed to me. He barely huffs when I enter his home, he "runs" to his food dish (barely gives me time to set it down before going at it), he will climb out of his enclosure if I leave the door open and I'm there, he's pretty active, and he will tolerate "petting" (kinda funny, he'll roll his mid section in the direction of the side I'm rubbing). One of his favorite things to do while I'm holding him is climb into a button up shirt and tickle me to drooling as he is climbing my chest to shoulder, LOL. Anyways, Rosco has proved to be the best lizard I have attempted to raise to date. I imagine that sometime down the road, I may get another. And who knows, maybe I'll get into the breeding scene, too.

Anyhoot, I'm working on a video to upload. I just hope Youtube will take a 2.5 GB file since I recorded it in 1080P on my phone. I want to try to get a live stream setup so anyone who wants to can see Rosco in action. I may use Skype for this and as long as you are a member, calls are free.

EDT: Uploading video now to Youtube; however, it'll take over an hour before I can share.

[Susann]

Well it sounds like you and Rosco are off to a very good start, congratulations! Very happy to hear it

[jdheff1982]

Alrighty, here's the youtube link:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ln9_NwR3Wlk

[Lea]

He looks settled and happy and has a good appetite. I'm pleased you aren't feeding just purée, it's good for their teeth and gums to have that texture and crunch and I'm sure he's enjoying it much, much more.

[jdheff1982]

I haven't posted an update about Rosco in a while. He is doing really well. Eats practically anything I put in front of his face. The last can of dog food I bought was made by Merrick called Thanksgiving Day Dinner. It is a more expensive brand; but, for how little these guys consume, that's ok with me. It contains turkey, sweet potatoes, green beans, and granny smith apples. All natural and no grains. He was ravenous about it! Today, I fed him turkey flavored cat food from Purina. He ate it without hesitation.

I do believe Rosco got the brumating bug. He's been super lazy the past 2 days. I coaxed him out today with his feeding; but could only get half of him out of his hide. I am adding more time between feedings since he's 6 months old now. Once he ate, I found him roaming around his enclosure and soaking in his water dish. Then he went back to half hanging out of his hide under the basking lamp. I was hoping to prevent brumation; but, it will at least inform me of his true sex when spring rolls around.

Here a few new pics a snapped today. The junk on his face is food. The 3rd photo was the best I could take of his rear-end. Any guess on gender? I'm kinda thinking female since I don't see any bulges. Perhaps still too young to tell?

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[donkeybuff]

A full body bird's eye view would make it a lot easier to guess. Although I can't guess his gender, you still have a very good looking Northern.

[jdheff1982]

A full body bird's eye view would make it a lot easier to guess. Although I can't guess his gender, you still have a very good looking Northern.

I'll try for one next time I can coax him out again.

Thx!

[jdheff1982]

Ok, I grabbed a few top-down photos.

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[donkeybuff]

I would say male, but I might be wrong.

[Dakota]

Richard seems to be good at sexing Northerns.. maybe he will chime in.. because I have not got the slightest clue.

[Katrina]

Rosco is too young to sex - wait until next spring /summer and we should be able to give you a decent guess.

[jdheff1982]

Rosco is too young to sex - wait until next spring /summer and we should be able to give you a decent guess.

Thanks! I figured next spring would be the time frame anyways. Especially when breeding season is in full swing.

[jdheff1982]

Haven't posted here in a while, so.....

Rosco is done brumating. However, I haven't seen any signs of sperm plugs, yet. Uncertain how soon after the males do this.

Today, I spent some time replacing the bedding with cypress mulch. Love the new color. I also re-arranged the enclosure, too. I've got pics for your viewing pleasure!

Enclosure:

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Rosco:

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[jdheff1982]

Oh, and I am really leaning towards the idea the Rosco is a "she" I hve yet to see any significant bulging around the base the tail and Rosco is almost 9 months old (5 days shy). And another indicator is the lack of aggression when it see's itself in a mirror. Although, I have no idea if a mirror would produce a reaction at all.

[DianaBlueTongue]

I have no idea on sex but your bluey is gorgeous! I love how much black s/he has, my Burrito looks a lot like yours. Im not too fond of the northerns that have had most of the black bands bred out in favor of the yellow/orange ones. Whatever sex, you have a great looking bluey! Congrats!