BTS eating less

[vm88]

Hello everyone!

First off, I'm a long time lurker, first time poster. This community has been an invaluable resource!

I bought Hans from Zach back in September, and at 5.5 months old he's grown to almost 16 inches already. He's always been a very voracious eater and would eat almost everything I gave him. I recently went back home for four days and left him with a bowl of water. When I returned last Wednesday, I found that his water had all dried up and that he was extremely thirsty. I left him a bowl of fresh water and he drank for a long time. However, ever since I returned, he only eats about half the portions that he used to eat. Otherwise, he's still behaving pretty normally. He's pretty active and curious, though he has his lazy moments. He poops regularly, so I don't think he's constipated. He doesn't look like he's about to shed because his scales haven't started turning dull. The only things I can think of are dehydration and a drop in temperature. It's gotten pretty cold in NYC lately, so I've turned up the heat after seeing that the cool side was in the upper 60's. His basking area is, and always has been a consistent 95 degrees though.

I usually feed him about every 2-3 days, and he eats the entire portion. I've been feeding a bit less because I figured he might not be hungry, but he's still not eating as much as he used to. He's still interested in the food, and eats very eagerly, but he just randomly stops eating about a little more than halfway through his portion. Should I be concerned?

[Katrina]

Welcome lurker!

Don't be concerned at all. During winter many BTS will eat less. I'd recommend only feeding once or twice a week, just to save you time. Slowing down in winter is totally normal and they really don't need to eat all that often or all that much - they can go for months without food if in good condition, so he'll be just fine. You'll probably find his appetite perks up in spring.

[vm88]

Thanks for the swift reply. =)

[Jeff]

Welcome to the forum! As far as the question goes, I would agree with what Katrina said. Besides winter, some skinks will take a few weeks off from eating at other times of the year too. As long as there are no other signs of a problem, it is generally nothing to worry about at all.

[Linnea]

welcome

my skink hasnt eaten for 5-6 weeks (except a little papaya) and he still looks as dashing as ever. as they said, no biggie

[Lauriek]

It's winter in your neck of the woods so I would say your skink's circadian rhythms have told him to slow down. Brumation time, even if he doesn't actually brumate.
On the other hand, it's summer where I am and a couple of mine are demanding food everyday ...