BLUE TONGUE SKINKS

So my blue tongue skink monstro is about 9 months old (can be kinda braty and grumpy at times) got him from a breeder in New York from this website and have had him about 5-6 months and has been a good eater (unless it's greens) never had troubles with him I normally feed him wet dog food with a mixture of different veggies like carrots and peas and feed him different types of feeders in between normal feedings but these past 3 weeks he refuses to eat I put food in his dish and he ignores it and let's it dry out and wastes it and if I go to feed him worms or something I hold it out with tongs he normally Rushes them but instead now will close his eyes back up a bit and turn his head away but also has been acting odd for one scratching the side of his tank second rubbing his head on the glass and third and most recently purposely goes into is water bowl and tries to get threw the glass I take him out and put him under his light to walk straight back into his water I tried putting a blanket over it thought maybe he saw something he wanted to see but it didn't stop him so I'm really concerned nothing has changed in his tank temp and humidity are the same if anyone knows anything on how to help monstro be back to normal please respond

Try switching up his protein. They do get bored and picky when offered the same thing for every meal. I switch between cooked ground turkey and ground beef/high-quality dog food about every other feeding. As for the veggie situation, if you chop them up super tiny or blitz them in a blender, he has no choice but to eat them. I would also stop offering feeders in between meals. It sounds to me like he's gotten picky because of that, and a picky skink is not a hungry one, to quote a moderator on this forum. Their metabolisms are not like ours; they don't need to eat every day. How often do you give him his regular feedings? At 9 months, it is recommended to feed about 1-2 times per week.

There is a fantastic food chart here that will help you give him a varied diet and show you when/how much to feed: http://www.bluetongueskinks.org/forum/app.php/page/food-chart

These guys are super intelligent and need to be stimulated, but they're very sensitive. If he's scratching on the glass, it could be a sign of stress. He may not feel secure in his home, which could also be contributing to his food aversion.
A few troubleshooting questions: Does he have deep substrate to bury in? Are there enough hides for him in his tank? Is it loud where his tank is located? How often do you handle him, and do you ever dig him up or remove him from a hide to do so?

Keeping in mind what Laceflower said and double checking all of the above, if it's not one of those things, this overall situation sounds like mating season behavior to me. Males sometimes go off feed and dig around more so if everything in your tank checks out, he may just be uninterested in food for now and scratching out of mating instinct.

I believe you got Monstro from me. I would suspect that Monstro is a male. Sounds like male behavior this time of year. They will often go off food for a month or two and roam the tank, climb the sides trying to get out in search of a female. Just keep offering food on a regular basis. I would love to see an updated pic!

Yep, probably a boy! My holdback from last years breeding season is a confirmed male and is exhibiting the exact same behavior for weeks, just starting to calm down and pick at food again. He is nearing 8 months.

StaceyLeigh wrote:I believe you got Monstro from me. I would suspect that Monstro is a male. Sounds like male behavior this time of year. They will often go off food for a month or two and roam the tank, climb the sides trying to get out in search of a female. Just keep offering food on a regular basis. I would love to see an updated pic!

Yes i did get monstro from you. He has started eating now i give him a ground chicken meat ball about quarter size in diameter and he likes them. But with the scratching problem he has stopped that, but now in one specific spot in his tank will rub his face in the glass and makes a hole all the way down to the bottom on the tank (6 inches) i have dug around that spot and haven't found anything under the ground. As you said this is male behavior at this time of year i hope its only a phase. And i will gladly send pictures of him.