Skittish BTS

[Root28]

Hi everyone. I received my 1 year old Irian Jaya on Thursday from Backwater Reptiles. I want to tell you everything that is going on just to make sure I am doing it correct, then I will get into my questions. I did a ton of research before I got him and am experienced in reptiles. The day he arrived he ate and has eaten every other day since. I feed him a mix of grain free premium dog food, collard greens, carrots, and strawberries. ( I have read the feeding chart and care sheet) I follow the 50-40-10 rule and provide him with 2 tablespoons he usually eats 3/4th of it. He also has been drinking a lot. The humility is at 63 and the hot end is at 97 on the basking hide and 82 on the cool end. He has a hide on both ends, basks and hides under the hot end one but prefers to burrow and sleep under the cool end one. The substrate is aspen mixed with coco coir. The aspen is good for burrowing and the coco coir holds the humidity.

He is burrowed probably about 75% of the time, is that normal since he has only been with me for 4 days and is adjusting or do they just do that in general?

He drinks a lot, is that normal?

He is always watching me. If i walk in the room its okay, but if I walk in the room and look at him he will hide. He seems to be very skittish? Is that just because he is in a new place or is this a sign of a wild caught BTS? They told me captive bread, but I am still concerned. I feel like if he is captive bread, he wasn't handle very much. He hisses, a lot. When I put him in his enclosure when I first got him he hissed, I held him yesterday and he spent the whole time trying to run away and hissing, he even bit me, not too hard, I think it was just a warning. I decided not to hold him for another week or two since he may just be adjusting. There are just a lot of sketchy signs pointing towards wild caught. I know I am still in the adjustment period, but are these behavior issues normal?? Everything else about him is great. I am just worried he wont like to be handles and wont be too friendly. Is it normal for them to act this way when you first get them???

[Laceflower]

His behavior is pretty normal, if you ask me. I've had my Northern for 6 months now, and he's only recently become 100% settled and attention-begging. Every skink is different, but new skinks are almost always skittish and huffy regardless of age. No need to worry about that; he'll come around. You seem to have a good handle on it - just keep letting him be so he can get used to his new routine. You could also try covering three sides of his tank to help him feel more secure.

And mine drank a good bit when I first got him, too, and I have noticed that he does drink more often than the other herps I keep. I wouldn't worry; just keep his bowl filled.

I will say, I've heard some sketchy things about Backwater Reptiles, so you may want to keep an eye on him and maybe have a regular new-pet checkup with your local exotics vet (which is a good idea regardless of where he came from). Should be around $50, depending where you are. It's just a precaution, as I've heard of that company in particular selling wild-caught and not 100% healthy animals under the guise of them being captive bred. But if he's eating and pooping, and you don't see mites or injuries, there's no need to stress.

Other than that, I might would lower the cool side to the mid-70s, but your temps and humidity are good, diet is good, and setup is beautiful! Great job!

[Root28]

Thank you so much for your reply! I heard negative things about Backwater after I had received him, which is what worried me. He is in good shape, looks to be little bit of shedding issue at the end of his tail. My ball python had that before, I just sprayed shed ease on it and it is completely fine now. I will lower my cool side temperature, Thank you!

[Janella]

Yup agree with the previous comments. Amazing set up and congratulations on your new guy