BLUE TONGUE SKINKS

Hello all,

I received Rosco this morning in perfect health. When I pulled him out his box and opened his container, he was rather cool and appeared to have been sleeping. I let him sit there in his dish so I could observe him and he me. During this time, I stroked his tail a couple times and got a couple hisses from him. After about 10 to 15 minutes, he perked up and began exploring the kitchen table. He was def. curious about his surroundings with a bit of reserve. I laid my hand out to let him investigate. He did so and began nibbling on my fingers. I instantly thought he was hungry. I grabbed his can of wet dog food (chicken + green beans + sweet potatoes minus grains), scooped up a teaspoon full and fed from the spoon. He enjoyed every bit of it. I even held the spoon to help him get at the bits sticking to it. I was happy to see he approved of the food, lol!

Afterwards, he explored my table some more. I decided to test his mood once again by stroking his back. No reaction. It had been a few minutes since he ate; so, I thought I pick him up. Again, no negative reaction. He was really curious about my arms and t-shirt. A few minutes later, I noticed he was trying to chomp my arm. Dunno why; but, it didn't hurt. I walked him over to his new home and set him in. He quickly found his hide under the basking lamp and that is where he has remained since.

This is the best experience I have had with a lizard. Donna was very communicative through-out the whole process and would very much recommend CaptiveBred to anyone seeking a Northern BTS. I feel her prices are fair; and so far, her animals are in good health.

Here is Rosco eating his first meal.

Rosco is adorable! Have tons of fun getting to know him.

Here's a few more pics I got during his walk-about in his enclosure:

This guy is pretty cool. He's just chillin on the cool side watching me from afar. I watched him earlier trying to cross over his water dish and failed. He slid off the side onto his side. It was quite comical.

he's stunning! congrats

Haha what a personality already!!! Congrats on your new pal!

Anyone care to guess why Rosco would nibble my fingers or arm?

Probably curious. My Irian Jaya used to bite me if she didn't get her way. For example, if she wanted to crawl over my upper arm while laying down, and I wouldn't let her, she would take the stride into biting me.

Dakota Nivens wrote:Probably curious. My Irian Jaya used to bite me if she didn't get her way. For example, if she wanted to crawl over my upper arm while laying down, and I wouldn't let her, she would take the stride into biting me.

I figured as much, but didn't know if it meant something particular. Anyhoot, can't wait to interact with him some more later when I get up.

I wish I could replay the unboxing portion again; or, at least taken the time to record it. I think this unboxing was better than any birthday/Christmas present I opened over the passed 30 years. It seems so distant now.

The only thing I'm not enjoying atm, are the apsen shavings I used as a substrate. Looks too bland. I'd like to replace it with something closer to the NBTS's natural habitat sometime down the road.

Thanks for all the complements!

Very cute, enjoy your new little one! They don't stay little for long

StaceyLeigh wrote:Very cute, enjoy your new little one! They don't stay little for long

So I've been told.... Donna @ CaptiveBred said Rosco's parents were huge. If these NBTS can reach close to 30 inches, there is no way a 36 x 18 x 12 enclosure will be large enough. I'll prolly have to build my own as the vision cages seem limited on lighting capabilities.

Did she say the parents were 30 inches? Most will max out around 2 feet, but bigger enclosures are always better.

donkeybuff wrote:Did she say the parents were 30 inches? Most will max out around 2 feet, but bigger enclosures are always better.

No. She didn't say how big, actually. I just read from here that some have had theirs grow to 27 inches +/-.

I would doubt that.. maybe an odd one or two..

Day 2 went good with Rosco. He seems to enjoy his new home as I find him exploring it often. I held him for about 10 minutes today. Not much of a fuss from him. Did get a short hiss when I first grabbed at him. I then did a hand-under-hand routine until he tired. It was cute though, a couple times he was running a bit faster than my hands were and he had half his body stretched out and his front legs stretched forward all Superman style. Once I pulled him out of his cage, he calmed down and rested in my hands for a few more minutes. He's still biting at my fingers though w/o any sort of display or aggression. Just his tongue flicking really fast. Not hard, just enough to know what he's doing. Hopefully he'll grow out of that soon. I need to get him some treats for when I pick him up to help reinforce positive behavior. At least he hasn't tried defecating or urinating on me yet (knock on wood).

Tomorrow, I'm gonna feed him his full meal according to the diet spread sheet here and add his supplements.

It appears my positive review of CaptiveBred.com has resulted in Donna selling a couple NBTS's since my purchase. I would buy again if I could.

I literally just watched my little Rosco produce his first urate since having him. It was basically clear fluid followed by a moist urate and a fart (lol). I haven't seen an actual "poo" yet.

No poop for 3 days is completely normal for a new skink.

donkeybuff wrote:No poop for 3 days is completely normal for a new skink.

That's what I've read around here.

Had another social interaction session today. Instead of picking him up, I laid my hand inside the enclosure and let him approach me. This worked pretty well. He became curious and bit at my fingers and hand. He wasn't aggressive; so, the bites didn't hurt one bit. Felt like someone was softly squeezing my fingers. After a few soft bites, he backed off to tongue flicking. At one point, I made certain my right hand was between him and his cool side hide. This would force him to take a direct path around my hand and under my forearm to reach the hide. Again, he approached curiously and bit at my fingers a bit. Then he walked away and came back. No biting, just tongue flicks this time. Then he left again and finally decided to pass around my hand and under my forearm. Once he did this, I removed my hand and arm. Afterwards was when he decided to pee, urate and fart. It was comical. Rear legs stretched out with his tail arched upwards and out came his waste! LOL!

By interacting with him this way, I am hoping to deter his biting and become less afraid, if not fearless, of my hands.

Rosco had his first batch of blue berries today. As part of his socialization exercises, I hand fed him 5 blue berries. The first one he took with an attitude. Then he proceeded to bite the heck out a plastic container after which he cooled off. The last 4 berries he took with much more reserve. Almost gently grasping at them and away from my fingers. Afterwards, I laid my left hand and forearm in the enclosure. He wasn't as shy this time around. He checked out my hand with tongue and snout and had half his body in my hand. He walked around the back side and gently grabbed some skin with his mouth. That was it. No more biting, just tongue flicks.

I know he is curious about coming out of his enclosure cause he'll come near the opening and stretch his head up or try to climb the 4 inches of glass leading up to the sliding door. I re-arranged his home just a bit. I added a ramp which leads to the left side opening hoping it will entice him to want to come out and be held.

Anyhoot, I feel this was another successful day.

EDIT: He should be shedding anytime now. I watched a piece of loose nose scale come off earlier. Eager to see how his colors look after the shed!

I guess Rosco will be the type that eats just about anything. I bought a cheap mini electric food processor and puree'd the rest of his dog food. I also added 1 tsp of both calcium+D3 and vitamin supplements into the mix (about 250 grams/8 ounces of food). Now, I'm serving 2 tspn's of the mix + a few blue berries on top. He seems to be enjoying himself. Although, he still doesn't like my hands near him if I approach him; but he will eat with me holding the dish.

Will the hissing be a normal response regardless of how tame he is? I sit in front of his enclosure quite often with the doors open. I made a ramp leading out of his enclosure and he approached me. I held out my hands and he partially climbed on. But decided to go back inside. He is also trying to shed. I've watched him rub just about everything today. Today has been his most active day since Wednesday. Anyways, I'll take any progress made on the little guy.