BLUE TONGUE SKINKS

SO I thought my skink was brumating... and now I'm really stumped.

I guess I should start out by saying that I am typically home starting in the evenings and go to bed about midnight. Ajax, my BTS, has been what I THOUGHT was brumating, because he'd been burrowed and sleeping all day long, only coming out in the evening to eat if I offered food or to bask for a little bit. BUT, I've noticed that actually he's been up all night long! I suppose that when myself and my housemate come home in the evenings about 6 PM, we cause him to wake up... and I guess he's just thinking that it's morning then? He get really active right about 10-11 PM and when I go to sleep, he's still out and about. In fact, I woke up in the middle of the night last night about 2 AM and checked on him, and he was alert and basking himself! Then of course he's buried by the next morning when I wake up between 8 and 9.

I have received advice to play ambient noise or music to him when I want him to be awake... I don't mind if his cycle is 12-12, but I hate that he's apparently been waking up for an all nighter with no interaction. I'm especially concerned that he's not getting the UV exposure he needs, as his light cycle has consistently been 9AM-10PM every day since I got him and he's therefore only getting a few hours of exposure a night. Is there any way to amend this situation? I was home all day today and thought he'd maybe get up earlier because of the noise, but he's just now come out and it's already 6:22 PM here.

Not sure what to tell you about the waking up at night, but as long as you are feeding a proper diet, with some calcium & D3 supplements...he doesnt need any special UV.

Actually, this happened to me a while ago. I had to pull an all nighter to finish up some assignments, and my skink stayed up because the light was still on. He was nocturnal for about a week until I decided to clean his cage. I woke up at around 8 one day and he was awake, so I took him out to clean his cage. He stayed up until about 1 PM exploring before he went to sleep. After this, he eventually normalized himself.

Nice to hear from someone who has had the same issue! I feel like he should settle down after the lights are turned off but he apparently doesn't. Hopefully he'll get it right over the next week or so. I feed a calcium+D3 supplement (just a pinch over the food) every other feeding and I feed every other day. Is that going to be enough for him if he decides to stay on this weird nocturnal cycle for a while, or should I supplement every meal?

Sounds like you're worrying a bit much - I'd just keep offering a healthy diet with calcium occasionally and give him some time to settle in. Your bluey will know what he needs, so if he needs UVB he will go out during the 'day' and bask. Lots of blueys don't get any UVB lighting but just calcium and D3, so you really don't need to worry too much. If you've only had him a short time he is probably still adjusting and just being shy. If temps are correct and he has access to everything he needs, he'll make sure he is getting the heat and UVB etc that he requires. Time and patience will overcome the shyness. Good luck!