BLUE TONGUE SKINKS

Hello,

New to the forum = and loving it. I have had my BTS (Eastern) for a couple of months now. I have been feeding him/her (Skeeter) what I consider more normal food than Skeeter was previously feed. Skeeter only got dog food, bannanas and eggs, and this was twice a week.

I have noticed once his diet has been changed (for a month now) that he is not pooping as much. I examined for impaction, and there is a firm area by the vent but was wondering if this is impaction or the bones (I saw the X-ray section). I have given him tempid baths to help him - but still nothing. He is very active (more so since diet change) eating and drinking great. Water changed daily and temps very regular (tank temp - not Skeeters .

He has pooped - just not as often as I have read they should (8 hours after feeding). He eats 2 tablesspoons total of a mixture of dog food, greens, snails and fruit/veggie gel. Also getting tomato worms once a week.

Any advise is welcome, and thanks

sounds like his diet change has been very rapid, so it will take more than a few months for his stomach to settle down perfectly.

although, skinks do poop very seldom and are great at hiding it as well. even if they only poop once a week or so, dont be too worried. Also, if a skink is going to shed, some dont poop for one and a half week or so.

if you still worry about impaction then giving a lukewarm bath, letting the skink move around a bit or feeding egg/banana really gets the stomach going.

note that i am not advising you to actually do this, let the more experienced members give you better direction if i wrote something odd.

Welcome!!

Don't expect poop 8 hours after eating, poop once or twice a week is normal, it takes them longer to digest than 8 hours. As long as they are pooping then they aren't impacted (unless you see considerable strain when trying to poop, but it doesn't sound like it).

Easterns are uncommon in North America - I'd be interested to see pictures of it. It could definitely be an Eastern but it is more likely a misidentified IJ or something.

Unfortunately, I don't have a digital camera. Actually, any BTS are uncommon in my area (Wisconsin) this is only the second one I saw available for sale - each were on Craig's list. His head is more gray than the one you have pictured. 12 inches from nose to vent. I did a quick search - here is a link of what Skeeter looks like color wise. Person I got him from didn't know what kind he was, but I had seen others at reptile shows and was told was a Common Eastern. He gets plenty of exercise (his tank is 4 feet x 18" x 2 feet) and he is definately not sluggish. LOL - he goes on his basking rock (which he is just getting used to using, he didn't have one before) and dives into his substrate of shredded paper. He is a hoot!

http://pets.webshots.com/photo/20881578 ... 2798qrCYfj

I read on the caresheet that eggs and bannanas should be given occasionally as a treat. I only give him those once a month - should I increase that?

The animal in the picture you linked is an Irian Jaya.

Occasional / treat type foods I give no more than monthly, you don't need to feed them at all. I am not a huge banana eaters so my skinks probably haven't had banana in the last year. I get lots of eggs given to me, so they eat those a bit more often, maybe once a month. But "occasional" foods don't need to be fed ever, you can feed them but they aren't the best foods out there so I'd just add them in once in a while if you have them on hand. Variety is great, but for occasional foods there is no reason to feed them if it is inconvenient for you.

Looks like I will need to have my son take a pic of Skeeter then - not sure if I will be able to figure out how to post it (have tried in other animal forums with no sucess - not a tech person )...would it be possible for me to e-mail you a pic for ID? I would really like to make sure I am providing proper care for her/him - and I know the Northers have different care than the Easterns).

Perhaps I will give Skeeter some (not inconvienient for me) to help stabalize the tummy.

I don't think the stomach is unstable, I wouldn't worry about it at all. Pooping weekly is completely normal, so I don't think you have anything to be concerned about. As long as he is still pooping, the poop isn't super runny / odd, and he isn't straining or having difficulty passing it then I would assume everything is completely normal.

You can email me a picture and I can post it here. kat.sharko@gmail.com

IJs and Easterns don't have hugely different care requirements, there probably won't be any big changed you need to make based on the ID, but it is nice to know the correct species.

Thanks! I am so glad I found this forum - always better to rely on advice from people who know , which usually isn't the petshop or even the people you get them from.

I also posted a question about heat lamps. I read that using flood lamps vs. heat lamps made especially for reptiles (which as we know are more expensive than floodlamps) can damage the retina...and thoughts about that? I also read that floodllights are fine..so not sure which to trust.

I will not worry about the poop issue, thanks for the assurance.

flood lamps are fine,alot of the so called made for reptile ones are the same,just have reptile packaging,so u pay so much extra for a box,lol