Help with making my BTS feel comfortable.

[MrKent]

OK so long story short, my Indonesian BTS that I had for about a month got mites (or had them when I got her and It just took me a month to notice them.) It took me a totally of 2 months to get rid of them and be sure they are gone. She has been mite free for about 2 weeks now. I feel that her experience with mites and constant baths and the mite killer stuff being whipped on her every 2 days (per instruction of the bottle) has maybe caused some distrust between Elanor (my BTS) and I. She just refuses to be out of her hides If anyone is around. I know she basks and drinks because I have walked in on her basking and or drinking, but she is quickly back into a hide. She never seemed to eat a lot when I left food out for her (might have been because of the mites) but I now strictly hand feed her with a spoon while I'm holding her. She seems to eat a lot more and has no real complaints that I'm holding her. Could this possibly be a good way to build a better bond between Elanor and I? I know she is a lizard and all a reptile cares about is food/water and where can I be safe. I just want her to be comfortable to be out when I'm around
(side notes she does huff at me a bit when I go to get her out but as soon as I pick her up she is huffs maybe once or twice. And now that her mites are gone she is a heck of a lot more chipper and healthy!)

Id just like some more advice on how to get Elanor to relax around me considering she was only with me for a short while before I had to use tough love to make her all better.
Yes I have read the FAQ.

Thank you in advance for any advice you may give!!!

[alichamp]

How old/large is your skink?

The main thing is obviously to ensure the mites are treated as you have done and monitor for other things to ensure good health. Make sure the set up is right with temps, humidity etc.

You haven't had her long and often these things take time. She hadnt really had time to settle in to new home without being disrupted so now you need to start again. I suggest not handling for a week or two so she can reduce stress and increase comfort and feeling of safety. Give her time and build trust with food and she will eventually come around.

I would also stop hand feeding because that kind of over reliance can be a pain, ie you want her to eat well anyway if you are not there.

[aaronhouts]

One thing that we do is use transparent hides. They're just clear tupperware containers turned upside down with a hole cut in the front.
They're completely see through so they can see us and we can see them at all times, but they still have the sensation of being in a small comforting confined space. When we kept boas, we never gave them hides which forced them to get used to seeing us. I've heard that Bearded Dragons with hides can often be LESS tame because they exposed to humans as much. The see-through hides are a compromise as we weren't sure about going without hides completely for the BTS. Plus, they serve as humidity chambers. They use them quite a bit.

Also, we've noticed that when the humidity drops they get more testy. I'm pretty sure they feel dry and that makes them not feel good so they don't want to be handled. If the humidity is good, they're much calmer. (We have Halmaheras.)

One last thing I'd recommend is to deal with internal parasites (which you may have done already). Getting them to a vet to clean them up may help. This would go under the same type of situation I described above where they'll probably be calmer if they're healthy and feel better.

[Susann]

I think hand-feeding is a perfect way to build some trust with your new skink. Yes, it can lead to some difficulties later with getting your skink to eat on his own, but I personally believe that that issue most often solves itself when your skink gets hungry enough. And you can always start out the feeding by holding him in your hand but then putting him down after a few bites.

Aaron has made some excellent points with both the see-through hides and over-all health of the skink. Sometimes with bad cases of shy or aggressive skinks, we've advised removing the hides, but I think see-through hides can be a good way to get your skink more used to you --besides, with clear, smooth plastic you are better able to sanitize them for a continued mite-free environment as two weeks is not quite long enough for eggs to have hatched yet, so you may want to keep a "sanitizable" environment for a bit longer...

Leaving your skink to have some peace and quiet for some weeks or months even, is never a bad idea, but as you've been forced to start out with some high-stress handling from the get-go, I think you're fine with continued, but calmer and friendlier, handling; teaching him now that, good things happen when the big hand grabs you.