New Bluey Owner (several pics)

[NennaMeerkat]

So after doing some research and deciding I ended up "adopting" a blue tongue skink from a woman who had rescued him from a family that was feeding him live goldfish as well as crackers as his main diet. He is a beautiful thing, but is not used to being handled at all! He is at least 5 years old and I would assume full grown. Not sure on his species, or if "he" is really a he. I call him Mr. Blue or just Blue.

I am posting to get opinions on his condition overall. I haven't been able to really handle him without getting peed on, hissed at with slightly open mouth, and lunged at. Only had him since Wednesday and I haven't gotten him to eat yet either. Tried feeding him Friday with no results. Most of his toes look like his nails are missing all together and there is retained shed from his last shed on almost all his toes as well. I don't want to risk a bite and more stress on his part to mess with his toes to check them out and get the shed off.

So here are some pics let me know what you guys think of his condition. Oh as well as general tank setup. And if any of you can give me tips on how to tame him down let me know. He is just one big ball of hiss right now no matter how long I have him out or what I do with him.

[realis88]

wwooowww nice IJ...
beautifull

[xxmonitorlizardxx]

What's in the substrate?
And what is in the bowl?
You have an IJ welcome

[Jeff]

Welcome to the forum! That's a great looking IJ. He looks to be in remarkable condition if he has been fed mostly goldfish and crackers.

[Katrina]

Welcome! Exactly what Jeff said - he looks great! The toes look fine, I don't see any stuck shed to worry about. If he isn't used to healthy foods then you may have to wait a while before you can get him to eat (as he will be waiting for goldfish and crackers). I'd offer small, healthy meals once or twice a week and don't worry if he doesn't eat much for a while. Some wet dog food is usually a good choice to entice them to eat.

Gorgeous IJ and I love the enclosure.

[Linnea]

crackers and goldfish, and still looking like that you have a truly beautiful little BTS i cant say its totally healthy as i am not yet and experienced BTS owner myself, but to me the toes look good, though on the last photo i think i see the line of shed that is retained, maybe? but it looks loose.
and i dont see any MBD bumps or anything either from the photos....

welcome to the forum~~

[NennaMeerkat]

xxmonitorlizardxx
The substrate is the sani-chips I had left over from my bearded dragon last cage clean out. He can pretty much bury himself 100% in the stuff but he seems to like to "hide" under the flat piece of cork wood I have in there. The bowl is his water bowl (not a soaking tub I usually soak in my tub for my large lizards). It was empty on that picture since I had just cleaned it real good. It is full now, though full of sani-chips. He seems to enjoy "burying" his water.

Katrina and Linnea
I am gonna try to get better pics of his poor toes. Those don't really show the stuck shed or lack of nails. Its mostly on his front feet but there are several toes that just don't seem to have any nails what so ever. He seems really sensitive about me touching his feet in any way.

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Thanks for all the replies guys! What is a IJ exactly? LOL I am not up on my abbreviations yet. Glad to hear he is healthy. The person that rescued him originally (maybe a half a month ago) had him eating things like sweet potato and tons of fruit. She never said anything about him eating greens, which is the majority of what I am feeding as well as yellow squash. I added a little sweet potato but meh no interest.

How exaclty would I feed him soft dog food? Is it the kind that is in a can or are you talking about something like puppy chow stuff? Would it be okay if I softened up some adult dog food (as I got plenty of that) or adult cat food (I got plenty of that too) in some water? Willing to do whatever it takes to get this guy eating. Got a blender that I can make a mash with if I need to get veggies in him as well.

The only troubles I am having is 1. temperature and 2. aggressiveness.

On the temperature department I think the tank is to tall for the UV/Heat bulb to get enough heat down on the bottom. I have other heat bulbs and empty lamps I could use but would that actually help? I could get more of those fake stones to get him closer to the lamp, but he doesn't seem keen on climbing them.

As for aggressiveness he is fiesty and will not stop hissing with a slight open mouth. He will also lunge if I give him half a chance. He reminds me of how young gators will act. He will tuck his back legs against himself and whatever side I touch him on, or foot I try to touch he will begin to roll in that direction or sloppily lunge at me.

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[Katrina]

Most BTS are sensitive to their feet being touched - it usually doesn't indicate pain or problems. Toe issues are fairly common - there is some more info here: viewtopic.php?f=19&t=17987 From the pictures, yours don't look bad at all. A nail or two missing is unfortunate but it won't affect the bluey in any way and they all seem nicely healed and not infected.

IJ is Irian Jaya.

Most people use canned dog food - you can mix up chopped greens or squash in it nicely.

As for heat - you want the surface temperature of the basking spot to get to 95-100F. Anything that heats up the basking spot enough is fine, whether you raise it up a bit or use a higher wattage bulb. Another bulb would also work, but it is probably easier to just get one different bulb. The cool end should be 70-80F.

Aggression will take time and patience. He probably thinks you are a predator. Don't expect changes overnight, it will take time to gain his trust. Good luck!

[NennaMeerkat]

I think I will just get a higher wattage uv/heat bulb. I got the cool side perfect as well as humidity. Just gotta get that high heat up there! It seems he isn't used to a lamp because he "flinches" every time I turn it on or off. I think what was used before was a UTH which I didn't think was good for basking lizards. Having trouble telling when their bellies are to hot and such. Hopefully he will be fine with the lower heat until I get paid on Tuesday. Those uv/heat bulbs in one are just expensive, but worth it not having to have 2 lights on the top of the tank.

[Bird_Brain]

What is your temps and how are you measuring them? Obviously Tuesday is just a couple days away, however, you could just replace the bulb with a regular household bulb to achieve correct temps until you can pick up a larger MV bulb. What watt bulb are you currently using?

[NennaMeerkat]

ReptileKing Right now they are in the mid 80's at the hot spot and low 70's on the cool spot. He spends most of his time right in the middle or under one of his hides. As for how I am measuring temps...at a glance I use the gauge that is in the tank but if I want exacts I have a little heat gauge. Can't remember what it is called but you press the button and on a little screen exact temps pops up.