Questions about my Halmahera's weight and breathing

[Qtrhorse89]

Hi all,

Thanks for the replies on my previous post. Since these are two new questions I thought it would be best to make a new topic. Nihlus has been here for a week now and seems to be doing good. He doesn't like to come out of his hide, but is eating and pooping. I took him out tonight for the first time since he got here and fed him some mango for a treat and then introduced him to my boyfriend. Nihlus promptly peed on his bed, a lot of fluid came out of that little fella's butt, more than I thought was possible! His urate was a bit chalky though, so I'm worried he is dehydrated. The mango should help some, but is there anything else I can do? He has two clean water sources one on each side of his enclosure. I feel bad about him peeing, I must of scared him somehow when I put him down.

This little fella is ravenous. He will eat anything so far, he will not turn down food. I am wondering if maybe he could stand to put on some weight and that is why he is always hungry or if he is just a hog. He doesn't look skinny, but his hip bones are a bit prominent. I took some pictures for opinions.

Also, I had him up on my shoulder and I realized I could hear him breathing. It's not a distinct popping or crackling sound, but was concerning none the less. Do they make some sounds when they breathe? Was I maybe hearing his tongue flicking or him swallowing? He did just eat a good bit of tasty mango... Absolutely no other symptoms of a possible RI.

Here are the photos...the last one is just for fun when he was either exploring my bed or trying to run away from me...not really sure which.

P.S. Little dude did show his personality earlier tonight. I messed up majorly when I was feeding him a piece of mango and he got my finger instead. He could have done some serious damage with the hold he had, but he just opened his mouth so I could get my finger back and then looked up at me like 'that is not mango, I demand more mango...'

[Susann]

a lot of fluid came out of that little fella's butt, more than I thought was possible! I'm worried he is dehydrated.

Urates are kind of chalky by nature, and if he peed a large amount then it's most likely that he's not dehydrated....

I feel bad about him peeing, I must of scared him somehow when I put him down.

Their peeing is not always a stress-response; when you get a skink out of its cage and they start moving, their bodily functions start moving as well --this is why, if you've fed your skink within 24 - 48 hours (sometimes longer if they've largely stayed inactive since), you might as well count on them pooping within the first 5 minutes of having him out crawling around.

I am wondering if maybe he could stand to put on some weight and that is why he is always hungry or if he is just a hog.

Looking at the pictures, he's probably just a hog. He looks good!

I had him up on my shoulder and I realized I could hear him breathing. Do they make some sounds when they breathe? Was I maybe hearing his tongue flicking or him swallowing?

If they are close to your ear, you can absolutely hear sounds from the tongue flicking. Sometimes there can be "clicking" sounds from the muscles/ligaments(?) in the throat area, or maybe the scales around there (?), sometimes there can be a whistling sound from a keratin buildup in the nostrils, a lot of the time you hear a bit of sound from the tongue moving in and out of the moist mouth; all common.

[Qtrhorse89]

Thanks Susan for the reply! Nihlus is still doing great and we are finally getting to know each other. He's been better about letting me handle him and I'm getting better about realizing that his huffing is all bark and no bite, so nothing to worry about! He huffs until he's on a shoulder or lap and then settles down.

He went through his first shed with me! Finished in less than 24 hours and all went smoothly. He was not appreciative of my in-depth check-up a few days after to make sure he got it all off lol.

Also, yes he is definitely just a hog! He hasn't turned down food at any point since he's gotten here. I had to switch to feeding treats with a pair of feeding tongs. Nihlus decided he really didn't care if he was getting my fingers or his piece of apple! He never bit down hard the few times he grabbed my finger accidentally, just spit it back out and looked at me reproachfully. I decided better safe than sorry though so no more consistent hand feeding for him!

He is in love with my ferret's play tunnel! I had to bribe him out of it with food.