BLUE TONGUE SKINKS

i was wondering if bts could eat goldfish? i dont see why not but let me know. i feed my bts a staple of dog food and collard greens with some fruit and insects in their hes still a juvenile. Thanks =)

A BTS would probably eat anything you gave them, but it doesnt necessarily mean its healthy.

i nthe case of goldfish, they are quite fatty, and goldfish which you havent bred yourseld likely contains a variated mix of chemicals from where it grew up - fatty fish store chemicals in their body fats.

another argument on this forum is, that BTS does not eat fish in the wild. they eat dead animals and veggies and fruits and insects and such, but never fish.

i do not think it is harmful to give fish once as its usually quite nutricious, but im not sure it is a good idea. its hard to tell if they feel bad from what they eat.

the diet otherwise sounds good, however you could probably exclude the insects if you give them to him since hes a juvenile bts, dog food is much more protein rich and with veggies its without doubt great for any bts at any age although dubia roaches are great staple feeders along with dogfood too. mixing is always good.

do keep in mind the fruit is a treat no matter if its an adult or a juvenile, it is not recommended to be fed at every feeding.

I'm not sure that BTS would never eat fish in the wild. In fact many blueys such as Easterns in the wild occur near watercourses which tend to dry out in summer here in Southern Australia - would think that anything edible would be up for grabs.

I think you will find that the reasons for not giving fish are more to do with the possible transmission of parasites, particularly cesstodes, trematodes, nematode worms, or worse etc. Dead fish can also be a concentrated (infective dose) source of salmonella and other bacteria. Of course all of these things are in the unlikely category and blueys are particularly resilient to bugs.

All the same any animal kept in an enclosure with it's own faeces like blueys inevitably are are subject to high egg burdens from parasitic worms etc. Most will have at least some species of worms in their systems and I'm not sure whether the jury is actually out as to wether it is better to allow them to live with them vs. treating with chemicals which are in effect poisons. It is just good practice to avoid possible sources of new and nasty ones.

I have a skink who (in her old home) had her own little goldfish pond to fish from. She also ate things like spaghetti and chocolate cake. She is a huge, healthy female who now eats a more normal diet.

In regards to fish, 1) it is one of very few natural sources of D3, which is good. 2) human-grade contains mercury, which is extra bad for smaller animals. 3) pet-store-fish could contain any number of gross and dangerous chemicals. To me, fish is okay once in a while, but I try to stick with human-grade foods. However if I knew the goldfish were from a chemical free source I'd have no trouble offering it very occasionally.

Also, most insects are fantastic for skinks at any age. As I get more money I offer more and more insects, small rats, worms and snails. All these are great skink-foods (in additional to regular meals.

Fruits have various vitamins that are good, but IMO they should be fed only sometimes and not with normal food but as a snack during bonding time

My guy was actually a rescue whose previous family fed him Goldfish and goldfish brand crackers. He is still alive after 5 years of this diet but when I got him he didn't look in good shape. Of course that doesn't mean it came from his diet, I mean I didn't see his home setup before I got him. Overall he was dull, somewhat skinny, and had several scale issues. Since I have had him these things have all cleared up and he is slowly gaining weight.

I personally try to stay away from something that is so far off base as food for any of my animals. True I do give my BTS dog food mash as his main source of protein but that is because in my area crickets and other insect protein sources are hard to find and generally expensive. Veggies however come 100% pesticide free and organically grown.

I would think with all the better choices out there (and cheaper in the long run) that dog food or insects would be a better and generally more natural choice for protein than goldfish.