BLUE TONGUE SKINKS

Hi all!

Last month I posted about our first skink, a baby IJ x Northern hybrid we purchased from a breeder. I wanted to post this to give an update as to how he's been.

First off, we've been feeding him everyday (missed maybe 3 different days in the month) to bring his weight up from where he was. He hasn't gotten much chubbier, but he's been growing crazy fast!

Jan 18-19th, 2014
~10.5"

Jan 22nd, 2014
~ 10.5"

Jan 29th, 2014
Still on a daily feed schedule, he's getting a bit fatter

Feb 5th, 2014
Shed again today, he managed to get all of his shed off by scrubbing against everything (especially the log). I only had to gently rub my thumb on his tail tip for that shed to pop off.

Feb 11th, 2014
He's putting on decent weight now. 11 3/4"

Feb 17th, 2014
He's a surprising 12 1/2", wow!

Feb 21st, 2014
13 1/2"

So thankfully he's growing nicely. Also, his feet and his head have been healing nicely from his time at the breeder's.

Here are the pictures:
February 16th, 2014:


February 17th, 2014:
His feet


This one is much better from when we got him, that hanging bit of strangled toe came off easily with the shed he had on February 5th, and he didn't have trouble with shedding this time with higher humidity, a humid hide and a log to scrub up against (he hasn't lost any other toenails besides this one, the angle is just deceiving):



His nose and the top of his head are healing up from the 3-4 layers of stuck shed on the top of his head when we got him:




His growing tummy


Lovely colours




Feb 21st, 2014 (Today):





Overall he's getting a lot more hand-tame, which is nice. He'll only tolerate a few minutes of handling at a time but that time is getting longer and longer, hopefully he'll get used to it soon.

He is so beautiful!

I still firmly believe that northern/IJ crosses are some of the most beautiful skinks in the world

Thank you both very much We're lucky to have such a pretty baby.

Wow, he looks amazing. Like an IJ on fire! Valley, I completely agree with you.

Thank you!

His colours get this stronger yellow along his back and a more striking contrast along his sides, grey against a brown/orange after he sheds. I think he's going to shed soon so maybe I should take more pictures to contrast

Pretty boy 5 days after his last shed:
(Feb 10th, 2014)

He is a handsome little mutt It is great to see that you have been able to get him into great health.

I do agree that this mix of IJ and Northern produces some beautiful animals. I really like how you can see the orange Northern "port holes" transitioning into normal IJ striping.

Thank you! My best friend and I keep him together, and we are so happy you guys like his coloration like we do.

With any luck his colours will intensify with age! It will be interesting to see what this mix of Northern x IJ will look like as adults.