Is there something wrong with my cypress mulch?

[AnnaMonroe]

Well, it's been a week and two days that Spyro has been home, and it wasn't until today that I started to become a worried owner.
First of all, the humidity is around 50%, sometimes even at 55%, and goes down to the low 40's often but not all the time.
Yes he does burrow, and run around wiping his face on his substrate, but I don't think that's a good justification for why he sneezes like.. ALL THE TIME. If I had a dollar for the amount of times I say "bless you" to him everyday...
Also, on top of all those sneezes, today he started giving off little "squeeks" every now and then. Scares the crap out of me. I don't know what that means!!
& He also has a weird tendency of not chewing his food (that's actually chopped into tiiiiny pieces) and looks like he's choking half the time he swallows something -_- His eyes squint up and he moves his body strangely. I really don't like that.
Oh and one more thing, can someone like.. show me how bts are supposed to look like when they breathe? Sometimes i'll catch him sitting there and he looks like he's breathing really weirdly, like on his body.

what.is.going.on?!

[Fatal_S]

The sneezing could be an issue, or it could be normal. Respiratory infections are characterized by frequent sneezing, nasal discharge/crusting, nose-rubbing, crackly breathing and bubbles in the eyes. Maybe try having the skink on paper towel for a time to see if the sneezing stops? And check your temperatures. Too cold = very bad. Usually sneezing though is just from them getting dust, dirt, water and food up their nose.

If you have a clean bin, try putting the skink in there for 10-20 minutes, leave it alone, and listen for sneezing. I found that if I was bugging my skink it stopped sneezing (not one sneeze at the vets) but when left in the travel bag she was sneezing all the time. There was also lots of discharge on the front of her tank from all the sneezing. She's on meds now, and her whole tank is toasty warm.

The food thing is totally normal. They don't chew. They gulp a bunch, then have to force it down with a huge swallow and a wiggle. It's rather adorable once you know it's not dangerous.

If a BTS is very relaxed, breathing isn't super noticable. It looks like the sides puff out a bit, then go back in. Sometimes they take a deeper breath that makes them look like they're inflating. They can also take super deep breaths to puff themselves up if they get scared.

[AnnaMonroe]

Thanks for the help, Fatal_S.
His temperatures are checked CONSTANTLY, and are at all times ideal. He loves to bask and take naps on his hot side of the tank, and actually does it frequently throughout the day.

I was wondering about the breathing because I compared it to how we look like when we breathe and other animals too, and it wasn't really that similar since he was puffing in and out rather intensely for a while, so it worried me thinking something was wrong!
Right now he's hanging out, half asleep; no sneezing, & no squeaky noises.

Is 50% humidity bad, btw? He's an IJ.

[Rani-May]

over 50% humidity id say is too high. I usually keep mine between 30-40%

[AnnaMonroe]

What kind of problems does 55% humidity have? It is not constantly that high, but it does get there! I don't really understand why it is so difficult for me to lower it, the lighting is great, the temperatures are all at where they should be. Maybe I have too MUCH mulch in the tank? I have somewhere between two and three inches of substrate, i think i'll take out some mulch on the cold side and bit in the middle since he never burrows there and see if humidity will go down.

[Rani-May]

im not sure of any problems, i just never let mine go above that which is never a problem where i live. i have to mist my tank every second day. You could try putting rice around the area, sock fulls of rice and hang it in a corner if you are desperate, that'll soak up some moisture

[AnnaMonroe]

Thank you, Rani-May :}

[Rani-May]

Thank you, Rani-May :}

You're welcome.

[Fatal_S]

You have an IJ. They are pretty humidity-tolerant. They come from an area that is hot and humid year-round. They also do well in drier conditions, unlike say Indos which do much better with higher humidity. As long as it's not super wet or super dry, I wouldn't worry about humidity. If your tank is dripping-wet, add a drying heat source (undertank heater, CHE) to evaporate the moisture and keep the tank toasty.

IMO temp is much more important for IJs. I kept my IJs the same as my Northerns, and kept ending up with respiratory infections. So I've bumped up the temps a bit for the IJs by adding some heat to the cool side of the tank too. My IJs seem to love spending all their time on the cold side of the tank -.-' No self-preservation at all. Yours sounds much smarter than mine.

[El Lobo]

over 50% humidity id say is too high. I usually keep mine between 30-40%

We need to be a little careful when suggesting temps and humidity for those keeping Northerns and any of the Indonesian species. Our Blotchies have different requirements for keeping because they are cooler climate species. The Lowlands from your area and the Highlands from where I am have evolved to be tolerant of lower temperatures and humidity than those from the more tropical north.

[AnnaMonroe]

Really?! I wonder why they do that.. I never would have guessed that your blueys spend so much time on the cool side.
The only time I ever see Spyro on the cool side is when he drinks water, and runs around all hyper like.
Other than that he's glued to his hot side, he seems to love it there.
His favorite thing to do is sit under his basking lamp and take naps or watch me kill myself on my Stenotype lmao.
I guess every skink really has their own preference?

[Rani-May]

We need to be a little careful when suggesting temps and humidity for those keeping Northerns and any of the Indonesian species. Our Blotchies have different requirements for keeping because they are cooler climate species. The Lowlands from your area and the Highlands from where I am have evolved to be tolerant of lower temperatures and humidity than those from the more tropical north.

Thats why further up i stated and i quote "where i live" almost always if i ever give advice, i make sure to let people know thats how i do it from where i live.

[LarissaLurid]

You have an IJ. They are pretty humidity-tolerant. They come from an area that is hot and humid year-round. They also do well in drier conditions, unlike say Indos which do much better with higher humidity. As long as it's not super wet or super dry, I wouldn't worry about humidity. If your tank is dripping-wet, add a drying heat source (undertank heater, CHE) to evaporate the moisture and keep the tank toasty.

Agreed :]

[El Lobo]

The breathing can look unusual because BTS don't have a diaphragm muscle like mammals. Their ribs expand and contract to inflate and deflate the lungs.

[tylociraptor]

The breathing can look unusual because BTS don't have a diaphragm muscle like mammals. Their ribs expand and contract to inflate and deflate the lungs.

For all I know about reptiles, something like this never came up, so I never knew! That is really neat to know!

[AnnaMonroe]

Yeah, that's really cool and different!! And definitely made me feel better :} thanks El Lobo!