Need some advise..

[xxkincadesvanityxx]

It's been a long time since I posted on here.
But I had shorty since November 2nd 2013, I let him settle in for a few days and he started eating and passing normally. I also took him to the vet about his eye, because it protrudes and such. But it's actually harmless, he's just kinda 'special' looking lol!
Anyways, I'm writing here because I've encountered a problem with him. He has started biting me, there were the few nips around december. Even when I tried feeding him, (which I take him out of the enclosure for) He nailed me a few times on my finger instead of going for the food, which I never bled. He really didn't bite down that hard. I was doing this so he would associate getting taken out with yummy food!
So I stopped taking him out for feedings and left the food in the enclosure, which he eats it just fine. However he's been very VERY bitey. I'm actually starting to wonder if the reason for the past owners to get rid of him was because of the biting? He almost got my face today and he nailed my finger pretty bad. Lots of blood, I definitely felt like he could've broke my finger if he tried harder. After he bit me, my boyfriend held him longer. So he doesn't associate that if he bites me, he'll get put back in the enclosure. After I cleaned up, I handled him a little more, just holding him basically. Then placed him back in the tank.
I'm really at a loss on why this is happening now, there are times were I don't handle him at all for a week, but I try to handle him at least 3 times a week. For about 15-30 minutes a day.
Bleh, I'm just really mixed up on what to do.. I know he's a reptile, they do not display affection, however I'm getting to the point where I feel like I need to rehome him. Like, I can't handle him.. Which feels really silly to say, and I feel stupid for saying it. I love him so much! But when he bites me like this, I'm just wondering what is making him feel like he needs to do this? There are good times when I handle him, which I always try and think of the good things. But him trying to bite my face and biting my finger till it bled was a new thing. I really would like some advice on how to handle this situation, I REALLY don't want to rehome him, but I don't think I can keep him if he keeps nailing me like this, especially on how the bites are getting worse.
Someone please help.

[Richard.C]

Doesnt sound like aggression,sometimes curiosity makes them taste test anything,movement can make them go a bit harder with excitement

[Linnea]

do you wear nailpolish and lipstick?
some colours invite for a bite, and lipstick and makeup can smell really tasty even to a skink.

How good is your hand and face hygien?
im asking since i have a skink with a very quick feeding response who will blindly charge at anything that smells nice and chow down on it hard. he moves without thinking and gets very moody easily.
around the mouth and the fingers ar most likely to smell like food and can easily be associated with it too.

if you handfeed anything, stopping might be a good idea. something has attracted him to your fingers, and he might need to forget about it

as for taking him out, does he pee or poop on you? does he flicker his tongue or back off and show his "broadside"?
most, but not all, skinks will display before showing agression that something is off, and they will also show when theyre more curious and happy. otherwise, id not think it was actually agressive behaviour, but rather something that triggers the bite.....im not sure what though.

have you tried taking him out when he is out and running on his own, or are you digging him out those 3 times?
some will be against it, but trying to take your skink out on his own accord can make every meeting a good experience for a starter. and if both of you are too stressed out to get along, it might be a good solution. some say tough love is the best method, but i find it difficult to apply it to every situation.

what does the weekly food look like? lack of nutrition can cause behaviour to change.

has your skink been trying to brumate during winter?
is your skink male, and has he been showing signs of being in the mood for looking for skink girls this time?

i remember someone here used a towel as a safe haven for their skink when they took them out. if they are very much into hiding and you still wanna have them out, giving them somewhere to hide is a nice gesture.

i hope some of these things are useful, im sure youll get tips and tricks from everyone else that are much more useful in the long run, but these are the basic starter questions that might just help a little.

[donkeybuff]

Is he showing any sort of threat display? Huffing/puffing is okay, but is he hissing or displaying his tongue? What you described does not sound like aggression, but curiosity. However, curiosity usually goes away with time. Does he bite your boyfriend, or is it just you?

[xxkincadesvanityxx]

There's days where he's a little huffy at me, but he's never displayed at me or actually hissed at me. But he has bitten both of us, I handle him more so I've gotten more bites from him.
His diet is Wellness turkey with some carrots, collard greens and the occasional super worm. I feed him every wednesday with his diet supplemented with calcium +D3. I was using beef when I just got him but he seemed to be kinda heavy, so I switch to turkey.

I don't wear nailpolish because the place that I'm living at right now has people allergic to scents. So I don't use anything with smelly perfumes. I do wash my face every morning and don't wear lipstick, I'm really bad about using chapstick too and I know I need it now for the winter months! lol

I do blame things like him smelling some food on me for the couple times he's bitten me. Except today I haven't eaten breakfast yet and he nailed me on my finger. I WAS however hand feeding every now and then, that'll stop for sure now. I was just hoping that he'll see me as a positive thing, nothing negative, but I guess I was sending the wrong message with that one.

When I take him out, I usually hold him for a minute or two, then place him on the ground and he'll go exploring. He'll flick his tongue in and out smelling the place. He doesn't run for a hide, he'll go under something, but then come right out. He's never relieved himself on me nor my boyfriend.
Now when I get him out, there are times were he's running around the tank, glass dancing and I'll get him out. However I have dug him out before to hold him. I should probably stop this too?

He doesn't seem like he's trying to brumate, he's been eating well and I've seen him roam around his tank pushing his water bowl around. I also haven't seen him drop any sperm plugs here lately. He did drop two in december, but since then it's been nothing.
I remember putting him in a blanket while I sat on the couch, he seemed to like it and sat there for a long time. But it's been quite some time since I did this. It would probably make him feel better about being out, he really does seem to like to explore though.


So things to change is to stop handfeeding and don't take him out until he's out and about in the tank and make sure that I don't have the smell of food on my hands/face.

[donkeybuff]

It sounds like it's food related to me. Another telltale sign of food related bites would be him flicking his tongue in and out in rapid succession before the bite.

[xxkincadesvanityxx]

Your probably right, however he didn't flick his tongue out before went for my finger or my face. He was just moving around with his mouth closed and when my finger was right there he bit down.
But I will definitely be more careful on things, I really don't want to rehome him. So I'll do whatever I can to try and help curb that behavior.
Thank you everyone for your fast and helpful responses! I feel a little better about him now.

[Richard.C]

How big is he length wise,you mentioned feeding once per week,he might want more than that,especially if not fully grown,hungry ones are more likely to taste test you

[Fatal_S]

You are most likely to get bitten when you are bugging them in their tank - it's called being cage-defensive, and it's common in most reptiles. It is the reason snake-hooks are used by many people to get their snakes out of the tank. It's an instinct that tells them to let anything entering their space have it, especially if that anything seems suspicious (you are more likely to provoke a reaction if you are being timid instead of confident). A few of my young ones have been complete terrors in their tank, where they will chase my hands around and lunge at me when I first open the bin/tank. The same skinks are often very outgoing once out. Thankfully, even my worst ones calmed down amazingly with age.

I have 2 tips for you:

1) Don't give him the chance to grab you. When you approach, let him know you're there (wiggle the shavings, drum your fingers against the glass, talk). If he is hidden, remove the hide. If he is burrowed, uncover him with quick, gentle strokes over his body. Pick him up quickly and confidently, and in such a way that he can't swing around and tag you. The more confident you are in your approach, the less time he has to object, the safer your fingers are. One you have him, hold him securely against you, wait until he's relaxed (tongue flicking, wanting to explore), then do fun activities (explore-time, snacks, etc).

2) If he's already staring your hand down and you can't grab him, get something that is safe for him to bite (I use one of my cardboard food dishes, or a folded up piece of paper towel) and let him tag that instead of your hand. It doesn't taste good, doesn't make you react, and is just boring to them. Every time he looks like he's going to go for you, make sure he grabs that instead. I've even petted my skinks with it, and poked/rubbed at their faces with it. They become desensitized quickly. Once the skink stops being a dork, pick up the skink and carry on with life. This is also extremely useful if the skink tries to get you while you're doing tank maintenance (water change, spot-clean, feeding).

Please know that the skink isn't doing this to hurt you, it's an instinct. And thankfully it's one that even my worst skinks seem to get over with time. I wish I had the ability to upload more videos. Here's 3 videos of my worst offender, Jenga (note that he is also just stupidly aggressive, but I don't have videos up of my skinks who are only cage-defensive):
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5KmdMxhBG0A
This is me using the let-him-bite-something-that-isn't-me trick:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ac8AL6wSlmg
This is my last video of him, where he's suddenly started acting a bit less murderous:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dHv9wiRr0iE
Nowadays I can reach in, pick him up, hold him, let people pet him, etc. He's still not a friendly skink and would love to bite, but he doesn't chase me down in a fit of rage either. Basically, this was my worst case, and he's come a long way. Don't give up. And consider documenting your interactions regularly with a post or a video - you'll be amazed at how he progresses over time.

[Susann]

Fatal rocks! I second everything she said.

I have two whom I would never (at this point anyway) allow to get their face up close to any part of my body; I hold them and carry them facing away from me, and when they are out and exploring I keep all of my body parts out of their reach. Letting him have something to crawl into when in your lap is a good idea of getting him to relax while on you.

[Sebastian]

I definitely agree with Fatal as well. My little one was very nippy when I first got him. One night I was sitting with him on my shoulder, on the couch. He loves to explore so I put my hand in front of him, over my shoulder against my neck, just to stop him from wandering off the back of the couch. He pushed against my hand several times then bit me. I think he was trying to get me to move, in any case, I just held my hand there and didn't do anything. He let go, then tried another bite. This time I still didn't react and he just gave up. He hasn't bitten me since. I think it just depends on their attitudes and how old they are. If they are young, you can certainly try to work them out of being aggressive. Don't give up!

[xxkincadesvanityxx]

Thanks for the advise however he has never bitten me in the tank, he's never made any attempts to bite me in the tank. It's more of when I'm handling him outside of the tank,(around 10 minutes or more) he bites me.
He's 5 years this year, 22 inches long, and 2.5lbs. I thought feeding him weekly would be the best thing for him. But he could all just be taste testing. I know when I try to block him from going under something, he'll push my hand and then bite down, which even for his size I don't move. It's hurts but I just sit there till he lets me go, my boyfriend however lol! When Shorty bit my boyfriend the first time, he flung Shorty a little because he pulled his hand away.

[Fatal_S]

Ah, different kettle of fish then. Is it a slow, thought-out bite? My guys like to do this to my toes if I let them. It's a taste-bite. If it's a more sudden, impulsive bite he may be frightened or agitated.

Suggestions if it's a taste-bite: When you block him, have the flat of your palm (or back of your hand) at his face. Think of it like a wall made out of hand. This gives them very little that they can grab. I prefer the back of my hand against his nose personally (the flat-palm technique is also what I get kids to use when they want the skink to lick them). When you notice him starting to grab, move slightly; either move back a bit, or push forward gently against his nose. Try to break his concentration and make him think again. And when he's being a pest pick him up, face him in another direction, and put him back down. Mine will usually return to whatever they were trying to do, but at least by picking them up and moving them they don't get the chance to bite me. And you can still try the paper-towel trick so that when he bites, it's rather boring for him - they don't seem to like munch on paper towels here.

(My fat tails all constantly try to bite my g/f - maybe certain people just taste amazingly good)

[xxkincadesvanityxx]

There ARE times were it's a slow bite, however the time where he got my finger pretty badly was quick. So maybe it was fear based?
Basically I'm going to wait till he's out and about his terrarium before I get him out again. This time I'll do the blanket method, so let him burrow in the blanket, that'll probably make him feel better.
Paper towel trick? So basically when he's about to bite, replace my hand with the paper towel?
I was thinking if there was a way to, I guess call it 'training'. But if there was a way to curb that behavior with something like that. I was thinking putting vinegar on my hands so they seem less tasty, however that might be opposite! He might like the smell of smelly vinegar. lol!