BLUE TONGUE SKINKS

Hi everyone

Just looking for some guidance/reassurance:

We got Max from Zach when she (we think Max is a she since we haven't seen spermatoplugs) was a few months old. She's about 2.5 years old now, and she's been doing well. (She was originally named "Amigo" by Zach as a newborn baby skink in 2009, in case you're going back and looking at Zach's baby pics.)

However, this winter was the first time we've been through a brumation, and now I'm concerned about about some recent behavior I've seen. In terms of the brumation, she would stay burrowed for a few days at a time and hardly eat at all. Initially, I didn't think I saw any bowel movements, but it was just buried was all. Still, she went a lot less, and I figured it was because she wasn't eating much. I was a little concerned about the basking temps, but I would get temps from a low of 92 F to a high of 100 F, and it wasn't like she was spending all of her time on the basking rock. In any case, all of this seemed in line with what I read about brumation, so I didn't worry too much. Recently, it seemed like her brumation was ending as she was coming out more, but she still didn't eat the food we presented.

Last night, she actually seemed to be sleeping unburrowed, which was unusual for her, and I noticed some crud near her mouth (see pics). I'm afraid it might be the beginnings of mouth rot, and I'm not sure what to do. I cleaned out her cage completely, and I changed the bulb to a higher watt bulb to get a higher basking temp. This seemed to make her happier as she seemed more active, exploring around.

My question is -- at what point do I need to bring her to a vet? Are there other pointers I need to know in terms of helping her get better from this? Am I off base thinking she might be sick? Is her behavior (the not eating, in particular) normal?

Any thoughts on this would be very welcome!!! P.S. I know her nails are getting a little long -- I will get to that soon.

First off - everything but the mouth sound 100% normal. Don't worry about hiding for days, not eating, not active, less pooping - all completely normal.

I'd leave the temps as they were - should be about 100F on the basking spot and in the 70s on the cool end. They don't need to hotter than that. If they are fighting some sort of infection I would try to keep it closer to 100 F and not allow a night time drop, but I wouldn't do any of that just for a couple abnormal scales on the mouth. Max looks gorgeous!

For the mouth - check the inside to see if there appears to be any redness or sign of infection. If the inside of the mouth looks normal and the only issue is some odd scales on the outside, then I'd try to clean them off with a washcloth and warm water. If the inside of the mouth appears red or the problem is also present on the inside, then take Max to a vet.

If it doesn't appear that the area is red at all or that it spreads to the inside and it is just a couple of abnormal scales on the outside, then keep it clean and avoid feeding wet or messy foods that could stick to the area. Monitor it and if it gets worse or you see any redness, puffiness, signs of infection then take Max to the vet. If it stays the same and doesn't worsen and it is just some abnormal scales then that happens on occasion. Some BTS have weird scales around the mouth. There are a couple thread in the advanced section on mouth issues / stomatitis, so that might give you an idea of what is bad and needs to be seen by a vet. If you can get pictures of the inside of the mouth that might help us determine if it is something a vet should see.

If you are concerned at all, then a visit to a vet is the best course of action. It isn't all that expensive to get a checkup. Good luck!!

Katrina,

Thanks so much for your reassuring and quick reply!! This is going to sound stupid, but how would you recommend that I get her to open her mouth to take a look inside? Will just wiping gently with some warm water get her to open her mouth? I don't want to force anything!

binky

Find a hard plastic spoon, tongue depresser, popsicle stick, something that will not break off if they chomp on it, or even your finger if you are not too scared. If you pry on the sides of their mouth gently they will generally open their mouths.

With mine, I just gently rub the sides of his mouth towards the tip of the snout, and he just opens his mouth. To get him to open wider, i just keep rubbing