BLUE TONGUE SKINKS

I have a northern blue tongue who is about 1 years old now and is pretty big. Today i gave him a big horn worm as a treat he chewed it right down. 5 minutes later hes walking around his cage and i am laying in bed. All of a sudden i start hearing a crying/shrieking/squealing sound that was pretty loud and i look over and he is pooping. His poop was pretty big and he NEVER makes noises when hes going to the bathroom. Is it a possibility that maybe he was just constipated? It looked like he had a little trouble getting it out which is why i am assuming he was making squealing noises i felt bad. Is this normal? BTW I think i saw a sperm plug in his poop lol.

Sometimes I hear noises when they poop-but I always attributed it to passing of gas-they don't have vocal chords so can't really squeal.

Never heard anything like that happening before.
If you're sure the sound was coming from the skink, I would pick up the poop, pick up the skink, and head straight for a vet.

oh, trust me they must have vocal cords because i heard them make noises before not just mine. i am 100% positive it was coming from him. it was definitely a squealing noise seemed like he had trouble passing the poop. the poop looked normal i already flushed it. maybe he was just a bit constipated?

I dont know on this one. Id go to the vet Dean. He may have something wrong internaly.. maybe some kind of worm.. or worse. I wouldent take this lightly.

well, i have heard him do it once before.... and it was also when he was trying to get a big poop out. I really don't think its a worm. From what? hes around no other animals eats the same canned cat food every week. And like i said he has done this once before a while ago and hes been very healthy. I did some research on these forums and did a "search" for squeaking and i found some older post about squeaking and members who are very high ranked on these forums with thousands of post commented mentioning if the squeaking was related to pooping but no further post were made so i could not find any answers but they didn't really seem worried about it. So maybe an experienced bluey user can post some insight on here before i take any action. thanks.

If you have no reason to believe impaction might be possible and have no other signs off illness (i.e. lethargy etc), then I would wait and see if it happens again. If he is pooping and all seems normal then I wouldn't rush to the vet just yet.

I'd just monitor him and make sure he is eating, drinking ok, temps are appropriate etc. Seems strange, but unless it happens again I wouldn't worry. You don't have any reason to believe he might be impacted, right? Has he been pooping normally otherwise?

yea, he poops normally all the time

Have you checked his cloaca to ensure it is fully closed after defecating and/or urinating, or is there any part protruding which could suggest a prolapse? It is also possible substrate could have entered and irritate and/or infect.

If his faecal matter is bigger and drier it could be some degree of impaction. Urates should also be quite soft on passing and checking them for any signs of small crystals might help to diagnose possible urolithiasis. There are too many possibilities to draw any conclusion as to what is happening, but if he continues to have any degree of difficulty passing body waste I would not hesitate to see a competent reptile vet before it becomes a greater risk to his health. Also, if you believe he is displaying signs of pain, that needs to be addressed promptly, because if any function is causing him pain he will try to postpone that function which will only exacerbate the condition.

Dean wrote:
I did some research on these forums and did a "search" for squeaking and i found some older post about squeaking and members who are very high ranked on these forums with thousands of post commented mentioning if the squeaking was related to pooping but no further post were made so i could not find any answers but they didn't really seem worried about it. So maybe an experienced bluey user can post some insight on here before i take any action. thanks.

Wow, that was a very defensive long sentence!
I'm sorry you didn't like my advice to take your BTS to a vet, but we all use this forum to get other members' advice; what you then do with it is completely up to you.
Maybe if you only want expert help, you should PM the ones you think are competent enough to give you advice.
And I truly appologize for making you feel the need to turn defencive.

El Lobo wrote: There are too many possibilities to draw any conclusion as to what is happening, but if he continues to have any degree of difficulty passing body waste I would not hesitate to see a competent reptile vet before it becomes a greater risk to his health. Also, if you believe he is displaying signs of pain, that needs to be addressed promptly, because if any function is causing him pain he will try to postpone that function which will only exacerbate the condition.

DITTO and AMEN.

No one should get defensive, whether giving or receiving advice - it is great to get various ideas and opinions. Ultimately, none of us are vets and none of us can examine the skink so it is very difficult to assess based on a brief description - if there is any cause for concern then the only course of action is to seek a competent vet. El Lobo gave some other possibilities and great advice.

Based on the first description (i.e. "it looked like he had a little trouble getting it out"), I wouldn't be rushing off to a vet but rather wait and see if the next time he poops there is an issue... but there is a lot of ways to interpret that. Dean - you know how bad it looked, consider El Lobo's advice, possibility of impaction or prolapse etc and how bad it looked and decide if this was a little trouble or very painful to pass. If you think it is a big deal then don't hesitate to take him to a vet.

Good luck, please keep us updated!

I appreciate everyones advice. Sorry if it looked like i was defensive but i was not at all. I was just trying to state that before i rushed him off to the vet like a couple of you suggested i also wanted a little advice from an expert. Possible because they may know whether it is normal or not. Like i said again, i take everyone advice into consideration and appreciate it all.

That said, he seems to be fine running around not lethargic, hes eating etc. I am going to keep watching him.

also i think its safe to rule out impaction because i always feed him in a separate bowl, never seen any substrate in his poop, i use aspen shavings and also never seen him even attempt to eat it.

I'm sure everyone knows this, but don't be too quick to assume that post #s correlate with expertise. Lots of the people that I would consider experts don't post much on forums.

It is tough for newer members to know what advice to listen to, but definitely consider all advice and use your own judgement. Plus, if there is a strong consensus between most then one should probably listen to that - rather than listening to the advice they want to hear!

well good news, he just pooped again. He was completely fine he had no trouble at all and the poop looks normal and wet, not dry.

IMO ingestion of substrate would be only one means by which impaction could occur. Other causes could also be:

Insufficient hydration of the colon/bowel, a common cause. Less common causes could also be: stenosis anywhere within the GI tract and, the more exotic intussusception of the large intestine.

I will repeat, if you believe he is having difficulty passing body wastes and making noises or signs to that effect the only responsible course of behaviour is to seek veterinary advice. A correct diagnosis will not be found searching the Internet.

Ironically, I can't stay on here as I now have to take my parrot on a 4 hour round trip to see a veterinary specialist.