BLUE TONGUE SKINKS

Hi everyone,

I have a question. Basically, I received my Merauke Blue Tongue Skink a few months ago as a captive-born. His mother being an import from Indonesia. I have not tested him for parasites quite yet as the only exotics vet from me is a very lengthy drive. I was not sure if it was necessary for an animal that was born in captivity and not removed from the wild to have a fecal test but I do understand that parasites can be transmitted from birth on some occasions; as well as the chances of him contracting parasites from, say, feeder insects (such as pinworms from crickets) or other sources.

He is very, very active. Basks regularly. Eats well (right now he is on a staple of Repashy's Bluey Buffet, some grain-free dog food, vegetables, live insects and little bits of Pangea.) & is generally a happy skink. The only thing concerning me, however, (and I do apologize for the TMI) is that his feces is very... smelly? I have other reptiles and their poop doesn't smell at all, really. My skink's feces tends to stink badly once he drops it, then the smell sorta fades away after a couple seconds. But it's really a gross smell! I wasn't sure if this is common with Blueys? Is it normal, or is this an indicator of a parasite? Or something else? The consistency isn't 100% solid. It's a little bit runny but still solid, if that makes sense. Urates are fine, though. Color isn't weird.

I also sorta went through it a bit, and didn't see anything of concern, either. I know that most parasites aren't easily seen by the naked eye, though.

So, basically, are Bluey poops just really stinky? Or should I be concerned?

Unfortunately I couldn't find any information online with the same issue I'm having. I hope this isn't too gross, haha.

Hi! I've noticed that when mine eat bugs their poo smells a bit, but not nearly as bad as bearded dragons! Anyway, it couldn't hurt to do a fecal culture if it persists. You can try and leave out the insects for a bit and see if that changes. Also when mine eat eggs....eeeeww! Is his weight ok? Overly thin while eating well could indicate a parasite. How about letting us see him, can you post a pic?

splashy07 wrote:Hi! I've noticed that when mine eat bugs their poo smells a bit, but not nearly as bad as bearded dragons! Anyway, it couldn't hurt to do a fecal culture if it persists. You can try and leave out the insects for a bit and see if that changes. Also when mine eat eggs....eeeeww! Is his weight ok? Overly thin while eating well could indicate a parasite. How about letting us see him, can you post a pic?

The bugs may be it!

He's been eating large crickets for the most part. I really like to use them for enrichment purposes since they move so much. But he's also been given mealworms and superworms in the past. I plan to introduce hornworms in his diet. No Dubias as they're illegal where I live unfortunately. I ordered the Can O' Snails, though! So hopefully he'll take well to those. Here are some pictures of him. The second one is a litttttle bit old (4 weeks ago), he also was about to shed so that's why his color is so washed out. The other is more recent (Jan 26th) - He is, I think, around 6 months old. He weighs around 210 grams. I measured him last night and he appears to be 15 inches long. He is fed Bluey Buffet 2-3 times a week. He gets live insects, fruit and other misc. food items between those days.

Is it not normal for their feces to smell pretty bad? I mean, the smell does go away within a few seconds but it really is nasty at first! It just worried me because my other animals don't smell bad at all.

Actually, here are some more. I just took these, so hopefully they're okay. If I recall correctly, he was at around 136 grams when I got him in December.