BLUE TONGUE SKINKS

I was planning on getting a baby nbts from bonita galas, but since the reptile expo was only a few weeks away, I decided to get a bts from there. I got my new bts from deer fern farms. It is a cb northern and I already love him/her. Right now he is acclimating to his surroundings so I havent really seen him much.I know that he may stay burrowed for quite some time because he is scared. The breeder told me that I only have to wait 3-4 days before handling. I always thought that you had to wait 1-2 weeks.Also, his basking temp usually gets around 100-102 degrees. The only problem I am having with his heat is that it takes quite a long time to get warmed up.(2 to 3 hours) Is it okay that it takes so long to warm up? So far he has been doing prettty well. He ate a little bit of Pedigree dog food mixed in with collard greens yesterday. So today I am going to feed him Pedigree dog food, collard greens, and butternut squash. Hopefully he likes it

(Pics coming when I can actually handle him)

Thanks in advance

It takes time in the wild for the sun to warm the area up once it comes up - so taking a while to reach basking temperature is just fine. He'll have plenty of time once it does reach the right temps to bask and do his thing.

3-4 days or 1-2 weeks is just different interpretations - for a CB baby that has been handled before you could shorten it as long as he seems to be settling in well. 1-2 weeks is more conservative, but there is no right amount of time - you'll have to figure out how your little guy is doing and adjust as necessary. It will be different for all BTS.

Congrats on the new baby!

Thanks Katrina. He seems pretty calm as he has only huffed a couple of times. I think I am going to wait about a week before handling just to make sure that he has started to settle in.

Doug Dix is an awesome guy. I personally love him. He is very smart, has some very healthy critters, and is fantastic to deal with and will answer any question you may have. Grats on your new bluey!

I just think of the warming up period as morning and night rises and drops. It happens in nature, so I wouldnt worry about it. The "waiting" period is totally up to interpretation, and is always different for every animal and species.
Collard greens are fine, but I believe they might be an "occasional" green. I use Mustard greens as my staple green, but I did use to use collards. Now I have to go re-read the food chart...