Strange behavior? And opinions on sex?

[Shae-Skinky]

Hello everyone! My name is Devyn and I'm new to this forum. About 2 months ago I purchased a bluey baby, and about a month after, my best friend and roommate bought one too. We keep them in a 55 gal breeder tank (in hopes of one day trying to breed them) and there was no hostility when we introduced them. They are so sweet, but my roommates had started acting strange lately. He (we are assuming its a boy) will drag his rear along blanketed surfaces only, then try to lift his leg and sniff his cloaca? Butt? That flap back there that they excrement waist from, Hahaha~ Why does he do that? He is lively, healthy, eating and pooping regularly on schedule. Also, they are roughly the same age as well, 4-5 months.

Here are some pictures of Pretzel (the assumed male who tries to reach his butt)

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These are some pictures of my skink Pepperoni (I'm assuming shes a she!)

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And these are some pictures of them together!

Pretzel top, Pepperoni bottom.
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Pretzel left, Pepperoni right
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Thank you for taking time to look at my post! Hopefully nothing is wrong with Pretzel and its a boy and girl pairing! Hahah!

[alichamp]

Hi and welcome. It is not advisable at all to keep blue tongues together in the same enclosure. Some of the members on here can keep groups, however they are extremely experienced and have been doing this for decades. They pay very special attention to group dynamics and behavior and know what to look for and how to group animals. So most of us would suggest that you keep one blue tongue to one enclosure.

You don't indicate where you got your blueys from, but many blueys in the US are wild imports (so I have come to learn on my time on the forum - I am not in the US). One problem often seen is that they can arrive with internal parasites that can cause problems and so on top of the above, it is also recommended that animals are screened for internal parasites and quarantined. You can use the search box for both these terms.

There is heaps of information on this forum, as well as care sheets etc, so it would be a great idea for you to read through and become familiar with the information about keeping blueys.
Here is the Frequently Asked Questions and the Care Sheet to get you started.

Also, a weird question - are they sat on top of the toilet seat for a photo shoot? That cracked me up They are prone to falling though and can injure themselves if they fall from a height - I learned that the hard way when my bubby bluey fell off a low stool onto the ground. Lucky he was fine, but I realised very quickly then that they seem to have little or no depth perception (or just a reckless attitude) and can't be trusted!!

[Susann]

Ali is absolutely right; first off, I'd suggest taking them to a vet for a fecal. Second, I would get them split up into their own tanks; if they should both end up male, you may return one day to a bloodbath, and a 55 gal tank is big enough for only one adult IJ, not two.
I'd like to see you do extensive research on BTS keeping, and then spend a few years getting experience with what it takes to keep them healthy, before you decide if breeding the two skinks you have is the right thing.

Good luck though, they seem like little cuties
Let us know what the vet says.

[Shae-Skinky]

Alright, so the first thing I should do is buy another 55 gal tank. Get that all setup with proper bedding and the like. I called my exotics vet today to get pricing figured out for the fecal testing. The cost isn't to bad so I can get that done soon (and hope everything is fine and my skink is just a weirdo ).

I'm not sure if my blueys are imported or not honestly, I bought Pepperoni at a reptile expo from a breeder, so I'm about 70% sure she was born in captivity. Pretzel on the other hand is a mystery, because we bought him from petco hoping to save him from the torture of the little cage he was in, hahah! As for the picture, yes it was on a toilet seat. Hahahah! I thought the bathroom had the best lighting for the pictures and the white background would help as well. I was right there with them the whole time, so no falls could happen. They are little dare-devils!

Did you guys happen to lean one way or another on gender? I'm just so curious and need to know if i'm giving the proper He/She titles. You guys are the experts and stare at skinks all the time, so I put my judgement in your hands!

[Susann]

They are right around that size where some of the gender features start to show. Pretzel does look a bit more on the male side, but I'm undecided on Pepperoni... Pepperoni does have a more narrow head, but body-shape is giving me male vibes... These stinkers are so hard to sex from features! I've had a female with a super broad head and I have a proven male right around that same size that has the most female shaped head I've ever seen on a skink that is sexually mature.
So hopefully someone else with experience can weigh in with their opinions...

Appreciate your willingness to separate them though. If both end up male, when hormones start to surge, one or both could be in serious trouble. Stress levels over time can actually be deadly as well, regardless of sex but especially if both are male.

Good luck! Give us an update on the weirdo behavior