My Skink Has White Spots on His Head. Please Help!!!

[mzelinger]

Hello. Hoping someone can help... About a week ago I noticed my Bluey had white spots on his head. I will be taking him to the vet this weekend, but I was hoping someone can tell me if they've seen this before. I'm worried. Thank you!! Mike

[alichamp]

I really don't know I'm sorry. Please keep us posted and let us know how it goes with the vet.

[starscream3232]

Has he shed recently? I've had white spots pop up on my skinks if they have stuck shed on their heads. It's caused by the shed pulling off the top most layer of the scale. Maybe give him a humid hide to better aid him in shedding.

[mzelinger]

Thank you alichamp & starscream3232!!! He did shed about 2 weeks ago and that does seem like a reasonable answer. I am going to the vet on Saturday and will definitely follow up with you. THANK YOU SO MUCH!!! Mike

[Susann]

That looks to me a bit different from the normal white "stuck shed" scales... Does he have access to come in contact with a heat lamp in his enclosure? Burns wouldn't be my first guess for these spots, but I'm a bit stumped as well as to what they could be.
Hopefully the vet will have some answers and it's no big deal. Otherwise, all you can do is keep an eye on things and make sure the spots stay the same size and thickness and don't develop any redness.

Good luck and please give us an update.

[mzelinger]

Hello Susann. His heat lamp is well above him in his cage. He has a rather large one. It's from Showcase Cages and is 60"x24"x24". The heat lamp is pretty high and above a metal mesh. Going to the vet tomorrow and I'll post on Monday at the latest on what she says. Thank you so much for responding to me!!! Really appreciate it. Hoping for the best!

[Susann]

Great to hear. Fingers crossed all goes well.
I've got a couple of the same cages and I really doubt those spots are contact burns.

Let us know what happens.

[mzelinger]

Hello again.
So the Vet tested for parasites and it came back negative. All good there. She thinks the white scales are from some sort of irritation and not to worry about it for now. Couldn't really tell what it was. I took out some items from his cage in case he's rubbing against something in there. I have a log/hide that I took out and also his basking stone which is slate. Has some rough edges, so I definitely wanted that gone and I'll get something else for him (if you have any recommendations I would appreciate it. In the meantime he has a bridge to lay on to bask and he loves it.
On another note, he hasn't eaten for a few weeks. I feed him usually every 5-7 days and all has been well. The vet explained to me (which I remember reading about when researching what type of lizard to get) that during winter they can go into a hibernation state and not eat for up to a few months. I got a little concerned when I offered him some Hornworms for the first time and showed no interest at all. I've watched so many Youtubes and it seems that the Blueys love Hornworms, so I knew something was definitely up. Anyway, I'll continue to offer food every few days, just in case and see what happens. He got a great report from the vet overall and is very healthy.
Thank you again for the support. This website is so great to have access to and to be able to tap into all of the knowledgeable people who participate. Do you know if donations are accepted, and where I might send one to if they are?

[Susann]

From the little bit I can see of your skink in the picture, it looks like he's either a Northern or an IJ, which means he may very well be in his winter slow-down --or "brumation"-- period. For a healthy skink to go several weeks without eating, even though he's basking from time to time, is not anything to worry about, however, with continued basking comes the risk of possible weight-loss, so keep an eye on that if the "hunger-strike" continues past a month or so... With true brumation, skinks will most often discontinue basking, and spend most of their time asleep in the cooler areas of the habitat.

This website is so great to have access to and to be able to tap into all of the knowledgeable people who participate. Do you know if donations are accepted, and where I might send one to if they are?

Thank you so much; the appreciation is much appreciated!
Unfortunately most, if not all, of the very knowledgeable people seem to have transferred their participation to Facebook groups ...I'm with you, I think this forum is an invaluable tool, with a format that lends itself much better to information gathering and sharing than FB ...at least when it comes to anything more than sharing pictures and anecdotals...
I know we have the appreciation and support of most in the BTS community, but, as you can see, participation in the last few years are at an absolute all-time low.

The financing and upkeep for this site are all done privately, and any donations to our PayPal site-upkeep account are VERY welcome:
1btsforum@gmail.com
Thank you so much for asking.

Let us know how things progress.

[mzelinger]

Hello Susann, Thank you again!!! Just sent a small donation. It's from my Paypal account (mikez@champwire.com). I will post again when there is some progress. Will send a better picture too. He's so light in color, the vet thinks he's an albino. Thank you!!! Mike

[Scotts1au]

Hi all sorry to come in on this late. Long time not here, looks like the bluey has been trying to squeeze into a tight spot, or digging under something eg. a rock with its head. Looks to me like scraping of the thin layer of skin off the scutes. Nothing to worry about but you may need to find what it has been getting up to. :-)

[Edward]

I agree 100% with Scott's post above.