BLUE TONGUE SKINKS

My BTS has a definite kink at the very end of his tail. I've had him for many years and he has always had it. I've never questioned it. But out of curiosity, what causes tail kinks in BTS?

tail kinks can be a birth defect, and old injury and is also a common sign of MBD. id lean towards it being either a birth defect or old MBD issues where it was previously owned, since it seems to be more usual issues when people write here.

do not worry if you are supplementing calcium and D3 though - it wont progress with regular care, but it also wont heal.
since it sounds like your skink is healthy and happy, he is just fine, even with a few kinks

if its at the very end of the tail,the tail tip,that actually can happen a bit,especially in older animals,usually sits up in the air compared to where it should,not sure what causes it,might just be injury from them exploring,a few of my blotchies outdoors have it

yes i have observed this in a few blueys in the outdoor pit.. hmmm i have always figured it was from a misplaced stone it got caught on or some other injury related problem my indoor speciemens dont have that issue and there alot cleaner too!! lol

I don't know for sure what causes it, and I have never had a skink develop a kink while I had it, but I bought a skink with multiple kinks in her tail once. I asked a long-time breeder about it, and he said that it is commonly caused by the skink not getting enough calcium at some point. He said it is most common in captive females who normally get enough calcium, but when when they get gravid they require extra calcium because the developing babies use so much. Apparently the available calcium in the female's system will be used to meet the needs of the growing babies first, and she will have to get by on what is left over. Sometimes that will result in a short-term calcium deficiency for the mother, and it is believed that this can be manifested in tail kinks.

I don't think this explanation has been proven or anything, but it is logical, and it came from a very knowledgable source. As a result, I always increase the amount of calcium/D3 that I give my skinks when they are gravid.

ive seen quite a few males with those type kinks jeff,the male i got with the 2 kunnanurra females also has it,zig zags abit from the tail base,even has a bit on his back,could be a lack of calcium growing up fast i guess as well as being a lack of calcium in its mother,which puts them behind the 8 ball from the beginning

Lizzie has a kinking her tail and we put it down to an old injury from her traumatic past life with prior owners. She also has what looks like a badly healed broken rib. Dont worry unless it seems to be causing your lizard pain.

I have a two-year-old with a bit of a kinky tail (We call him Captain Hook because of it~) that the breeder claimed was a birth defect. He was only a month or so old when we got him so we were sure it wasn't MBD. We always add calcium supplements to his meals and he's started to sort of "grow into" his kinks. His tail is still pretty crooked, but it's less noticeable then when we first got him. He's living a perfectly happy life with his crooked little tail! <3