BLUE TONGUE SKINKS

I've been noticing lately that my BTS, Roarschak has been acting very lethargic and not eating very well, and iv become increasingly worried. He is shedding soon and I noticed one of his feet he favors and the toes on that foot sit awkwardly and unnaturally, almost like they are broken (or restricted from bad shed) this is my smallest concern though. He also hasn't been eating and loosing weight rapidly and as said before is very lethargic. He is around 7-8 months old and is a Merauke I have him in a 40 gal with an 100 watt mercury vapor bulb and a humid hide for him during shed. Please any help would be much appreciated!

Does he still come out and bask? If so he may trying to burmate?

What are your cage temps,basking spot temp and gradient from hot to cool end?

This time of year with cooler weather its common for them to lose appetite,being of tropical origin they pick up on cues in cooler climates and often slow right down even when we try to keep them warm

Also its good to offer a humid hide all the time,gigas forms in particular seem to benefit with added humidity in the beef jerky cabinet type enclosures we set up for them,the foot issue could very well be from retained shed,but keep a close eye on eyes and nasal cavity,as gigas are susceptable to a condition which affects both areas

Main thing though is check your temps and adjust if needed,and never hurts to see a vet either,early diagnosis of any issues means easier treatment

Roarschak11 wrote:I noticed one of his feet he favors and the toes on that foot sit awkwardly and unnaturally, almost like they are broken
He also hasn't been eating and loosing weight rapidly and as said before is very lethargic.

This sounds like a vet visit is in order, rather than looking for online advice. Something is very wrong if he is losing weight rapidly (are you sure? Have you been weighing him?).

While you're setting up the vet visit, if you can tell us the temps and everything about the husbandry / diet we might be able to make some suggestions. What are you feeding? Good luck! Hope he makes a full recovery.

Temps: basking 90-100
Ambient: 70-78

Diet: leafy greens (kale, spinach, various others usually get "spring mix" from local natural food stores)
Fruit(sparingly) banana apple blueberries (lots of banana lately to get him to eat)
Meats lean ground beef or turkey and holistic dog foods. (His fav is ulta nutro puppy pate)

He has been basking and acting normally until a few weeks ago that he's been showing these symptoms. I plan on taking him to the vet if he doesn't improve by the end of the week.
He has been hiding in his humid rock since he's been trying to shed which is normal for him, he does hid a lot just as his normal even before when he was eating well and acting healthy. ( iv taken him to the vet and he said he was healthy. This was a month or two ago)

Attached are pics of his house sorry if they are poor quality I used my phone. He is hiding in his rock ( also his humid hide. It's full of sphagnum moss.)

Have you weighed him? Is he very thin? A birds eye photo of him might help.

Do you feed the dog food often or more of the beef / turkey? Do you supplement with calcium or vitamin powder?

Hope he shows improvement soon!

This is Roarschak. He is obviously shedding haha how iv been able to tell he has lost weight is that his hips are a lot thinner than they used to be ( I don't have any before pics unfortunately) I also don't have a adequate scale to weight him on at home. I'm a dog groomer so I usually feed him the dog food more just because it's easier but I do mix it between turkey/beef once in awhile.

And I do use calcium at every other feeding.

He does look fairly skinny but the dog food and calcium supplements sound ok - it shouldn't be a calcium deficiency. At this point, I'd see a vet. Good luck!

Hes an indo,not a merauke,a gigas gigas

His lighter weight doesnt look to dire,males often go off there food at this time of year yet remain active,females can to

My guess would be its picking up cues from outside

Not sure on foot issue,could be retained shed,could have injured it,hard to diagnose on the net

[quote="Richard.C"]Hes an indo,not a merauke,a gigas gigas



I just learned this today but thankyou haha I guess I am just being a scared mom about the weight thing because what you say is true.... I think I am going to check him into the vet for his foot at least though thanks for the help though I really appreciate all of it!

No probs,keep a close eye on him just in case anyways,sounds like u do already,and let us know how he goes at the vet

His toes look to me to be a humidity issue, he needs higher humidity.

Very sad news. The vet isn't sure why roar is loosing weight, but he is probably going to loose two of his toes. Iv been keeping his humidity as hight as I possibly can and he usually hides in the humid hide I have for him but some unshed skin has stuck to his toes. Iv been very digilent on the skin on his toes because he has such a hard time with it but I guess I missed some... Very sad...I feel like an awful parent. Is there anything I can do to make him more comfortable or at least try to get the shed off? The vet said one toe is too bad and il hurt him by trying to get it but the other isn't too bad. I feel so bad...any suggestions? Please don't be too harsh I realize I should have taken more precaution and I already feel terrible that he's in pain

It happens, man. At least you are trying to correct the problem, rather than ignoring it. Try putting some Emu oil, or olive oil to the toes, and see if that works it off. If not, try soaking him for a while.

If that STILL does not work, just wait until the next shed, when he sheds there will he oil lubricating his skin making it easy for the shed to come off, try the things listed above again.

Dakota wrote:It happens, man. At least you are trying to correct the problem, rather than ignoring it. Try putting some Emu oil, or olive oil to the toes, and see if that works it off. If not, try soaking him for a while.

If that STILL does not work, just wait until the next shed, when he sheds there will he oil lubricating his skin making it easy for the shed to come off, try the things listed above again.

The worse thing you could do was just leave the shed on! Especially if toes are already starting to fall off! I'd continue to soak/moisturize until you can get it off. Remember not to cause too much stress on the skink.

X2

Waiting till next shed especially with toes already restricted and falling off will just add more issues down the track,if its scarred and skabby already u need to carefully try and remove whats there already,the longer u leave it the harder it is to remove and the more damage it will cause

It also doesnt remedy the issue that prediposes them to it in the first place

What exactly are you doing to keep the humidity as high as you possibly can?

I spray his enclosure twice a day, I have it full of moss and a very moisture absorbing substrate that also has moss in it (jungle mix is what it's called) I also have a humidifier in my room to help. The humidity guava says it's around 80-90%

What can I do to help remove the skin? Oil and warm water hasn't bee helping, should I try gently cutting it? The vet didn't help at all really just took $100 away to tell me he couldn't do anything...

I've always had the best luck with soaking and then picking the skin off with my finger nail. Typically I just let the skink pull its foot away and don't pull the skin off myself. Just get my nail under the edge of it and let the skink do the pulling. It takes time, so give the skink breaks!