handling?

[Linnea]

Another question from me.....sorry guys xD

i read the caresheet about handling and has been following it quite well i hope, but....i kinda messed up somewhere along the lines.

first, i wonder if its okay to lift them up from their hide? im not sure if hes taking a nap ( hes does this often, lazy skink xD ) or if hes just burrowing.

second, i handfed him that banana treat a week ago and had to help him with the apple slices that were too thin for him to pick up, so now, every time i put my hand down to pick him up, he opens his mouth happily and tries to chomp on my fingers.

should i start handling twice a week by lifting him up before he opens his mouth, or is this an indication i might need to do some basic not-eat-fingers practice before?

[Susann]

Out of the four skinks I've owned, none have been, or are, the kind who gets on your hand when you put your hand in the tank. I have to get them out. And most of the time I'm getting them out of their hide. I just make sure that I don't startle them and I always touch them gently for a bit before lifting them up.
If I've prepared food for them, I get them out no matter where they are. If I just want to play, I try to wait till they are out and about.

If your skink is trying to bite your fingers I would definitely stop hand-feeding him. That just makes him think your fingers are something to nibble on. I would also start feeding him out of the tank. That way he won't associate your hand coming into the tank as food. He'll associate your hand coming in with something good about to happen.

I would definitely try to get him before he opens his mouth. And unless he is huffing and acting stressed, I would also handle him for a while before giving him food. Just to give him the idea that YOU are not food, you are just the one who makes the food appear.

[Katrina]

I only handle my skinks if they are already up - I don't disturb them from their hides unless it is for medication and they are sick. I know not many people do this, but I've found that they are out and about more on their own if I just leave them when hiding and let them chose when to be up and social.

They are quite lazy and do spend lots of time hidden. Its perfectly normal.

If I've prepared food for them, I just put it in their. If they are hungry they will come out of their burrow / hide to eat. They almost always do.

If you are concerned with him munching on your fingers, make sure you wash your hands and so they don't smell like food. And feed off a dish. He'll learn that your hand doesn't mean food.

[critterguy]

I found it helped with mine to allow him to bite my fingers and figure out they were not food. That being said they tend to be nippy as babies so perhaps this ceasing of being so indiscriminate with biting was simply him a matter of getting older.

[Linnea]

thanks for all the tips everyone

i picked him up from his hide today as i had to clean the terrarium for a sec too.

i decided to go with the brave version ( = not being scared of a bite) and he decided to explore things more interesting than my fingers today, to be precice, my computer cooling fan. it was off - mode and is not sharp, so a perfect long hide. ill get a photo next time.


i will try to feed outside the cage now and see if this helps for when hes active as well, so that he will enjoy being outside more. thank you again everyone.

[Susann]

I found it helped with mine to allow him to bite my fingers and figure out they were not food. That being said they tend to be nippy as babies so perhaps this ceasing of being so indiscriminate with biting was simply him a matter of getting older.

This skink is a year old.
I shudder at the thought of letting a skink bite me, but that's probably because I was accidentaly bitten by my 7 month old skink (held a snail between thumb and pointer, he opened his mouth and did that forward thrust they do; well my pointer ended inside his mouth). The power in his jaws cracked my nail halfway down the nailbed!

But I suppose if you're brave enough it's probably an effective way to teach them that fingers aren't for eating.