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cause for alarm?
Posted: Sun May 05, 2013 7:11 pm
by Dan
My Northern has bright clear eyes and a clean nose and seems to breathe normally, but I have noticed a very small amount of clear frothy spittle on the sides of his mouth when he is excited and flicking his tongue a lot. He doesn't act sick at all, just wondering. Is this something other keepers have experienced?
Re: cause for alarm?
Posted: Sun May 05, 2013 7:13 pm
by Katrina
Yeah, it is fairly common. If that is the only issue then it is no cause for concern.

Re: cause for alarm?
Posted: Mon May 06, 2013 9:00 am
by UroFreak13
What exactly is it, saliva im guessing?
Re: cause for alarm?
Posted: Mon May 06, 2013 9:25 am
by Susann
They have "saliva" in their mouths just like you and me, and it is quite normal for it to build up in the corners of their mouths when they are out exploring with their tongues going a mile a minute. It CAN be a sign of other problems IF there are other symptoms as well, but like Katrina said, if your skink is otherwise healthy and that is your only concern, then it's usually not a concern.

Re: cause for alarm?
Posted: Mon May 06, 2013 4:36 pm
by UroFreak13
Cool, I've never seen it but just curious thanks for the info
Re: cause for alarm?
Posted: Mon May 06, 2013 4:37 pm
by Dakota
Almost like when a bull-dog is running a long-time.. and hang their tongue out.. then you start seeing foam coming from the mouth..

Re: cause for alarm?
Posted: Mon May 06, 2013 5:05 pm
by UroFreak13
True
Re: cause for alarm?
Posted: Mon May 06, 2013 5:07 pm
by UroFreak13
But if your dogs tongue is blue there is a problem

Re: cause for alarm?
Posted: Mon May 06, 2013 5:09 pm
by Dakota
Isn't there a blue-tongued dog?
we are getting so OT..

Re: cause for alarm?
Posted: Thu May 09, 2013 4:38 pm
by Dan
Thanks for the reassurance.

The skink looks healthy and I figured he was just working his saliva into a lather by flicking his tongue around, but I wanted to make sure I wasn't missing an early warning sign of something worse. I know that bubbles from the nose or eyes would be a totally different story, but what I've experienced is just in the corner of his mouth when he holds it slightly agape, and only when he's been excited for a few minutes.
And no, you're not getting too off topic--the dog is a good analogy. I believe it's the chows and some shar-peis that have bluish tongues, though nowhere near as pretty as the skinks'.