2 Q's in 1

[xStatic]

My skink has been looking like he's going to shed since I got him, which was about a week and a half ago. The past 3-5 days he's become even more and more washed out and all of his colors look a dull pale gray/tan/brown instead of black, orange, and yellow. His tummy has had a light milky pink color lately. How long does it take for a skink to shed after it starts looking this dull? And do they go through a "clear" stage before they shed in the same way a snake does?

Second question is a little gross and weird... today I caught my skink in the act of pooping and it seriously looked and sounded like he was giving out a high pitched screech. I though it might have been air escaping along with the "doody" but he opened his mouth at the same time as the "scream" It wasn't super loud or anything, but a little bit shocking. He did seem to be straining just bit but he passed a pile of stinky poo so I don't think he's constipated. Should I be worried about him? :/

[xxmonitorlizardxx]

In my experience the skink shed within a week of looking washed out. It wold look super washed out at first(very gray and silvery) and the next day it would just look dull, and then within the next couple of days there would be shed everywhere.

The second one is a little odd. Perhaps he was yawning while defecating?

[Tom]

It may sound gross but a pic of the poo might give some insight. Maybe you could describe it? Consistency and dryness? Are we talking gray soft serve or a hard dry pellet? Any urates with it?

I live in a very dry climate and frankly I can't tell if my skinks ever drink their water or not, so I soak them in warm shallow water once in a while to make sure they are hydrated. For small skinks I use five gallon buckets. For adults, I use clean plastic trash cans. Sometimes they flop around for a minute, but then they settle in and just sit. If your skink is dehydrated, this might help.

[Susann]

It can vary so greatly, from time to time and from skink to skink. I've had some that at times have been "dull" or milky for more than a week, it's not anything unusual for mine. I think the most common is for the shed to happen within a week of a big color change.
Some of mine go milky, some go darker.
I don't think it's as common for them to go "clear" as it is with snakes, but they can go back to the pre-milky right before the actual shed.

We've actually had others report a screeching sound with pooping. I've pretty much dismissed that that was what they heard as skinks have no vocal cords, but as you are now the second person I've heard report this, it is a bit of a head-scratcher. Afraid I don't have a good answer for you though other than that I don't think you have anything to be worried about.

[xStatic]

Okay thanks everyone... the poop definitely was not dry at all. He had some bananas a couple days ago so it was not very "solid" This sounds very gross... but it was probably the consistency of thick pudding or toothpaste? And yes it had urates with it, and was a very dark green color (he has been eating collard greens and kale for this week).

Maybe they don't have vocal cords but can somehow force air through their throats in a way that makes a creepy screech noise? :/ My roommate was in the seat next to me and it startled her too. It was very high pitched and honestly sounded like a small animal screaming rather quietly. He also did it twice and it only lasted a couple seconds separated by a second or two of silence before he did it a second time and then he was finished and silent as usual.

The actual pooping process did not take any longer than usual (eg. a few seconds) and I don't feel like it was really straining him, it was just weird.