New Skink Really Wants to Eat dog Feces

[Piebald320]

I took my new skink for a stroll outside for the first time the other day and it went really splendidly except for one thing. For the most part it was wonderful and he was like a whole new skink who was happy and adventurous so I couldn't have been happier! Until I realized his main goal was sniffing out old dog poop . I had to wrestle it from him the first time and then he went on to explore in a manner where he was clearly searching for more! I'm not worried about him since I did not let him eat any but I am curious if anybody has any information on why he wants it so bad! Especially since he has not been eating much for me despite being provided with a wide variety of very fresh items. Thanks for your time everybody I appreciate any answers or hypotheses!

[BD99]

Bluetongues are mainly scavengers in habit. They find scraps left behind by faster, stronger predators and have at it. Or find abandoned nests.
My FIRST thought would be that dogpoo smells quite meaty. Like decay, mixed with whatever food your dog recently ate. Perhaps you don't have enough meats or proteins in your skinks diet. Or enough for their liking.
I've found that sometimes skinks crave a certain food for a time, and you can stave them for weeks and not make progress on their diet unless they get that food.

Another concept is it may have been inquisitive about what the poo was. My youngest girl has a habit of biting things that don't get out of her way, or smell funny.

[Piebald320]

Bluetongues are mainly scavengers in habit. They find scraps left behind by faster, stronger predators and have at it. Or find abandoned nests.
My FIRST thought would be that dogpoo smells quite meaty. Like decay, mixed with whatever food your dog recently ate. Perhaps you don't have enough meats or proteins in your skinks diet. Or enough for their liking.
I've found that sometimes skinks crave a certain food for a time, and you can stave them for weeks and not make progress on their diet unless they get that food.

Another concept is it may have been inquisitive about what the poo was. My youngest girl has a habit of biting things that don't get out of her way, or smell funny.

Protein is actually the only thing he's been eating for me so far. He won't touch his greens or fruit even though I've been giving him stuff his previous owner said he eats all the time. It's only been a couple weeks though so I'm hoping this will change! I am thinking about trying to give him a bit of dog food since he was interested in the poop. Thus far I've only been feeding him fresh food since that's what his previous owner preferred

[splashy07]

I've noticed they seem to love things that smell strong (and bad!), think about it, they pull guts from roadkill in their native land. I'd do a thorough check of the yard before his next adventure out there and make sure there isn't anything disgusting that might invite him. If you can't get him to eat vegetables you can mix with some good quality dog food. Most good brands (usually not found in supermarkets) have vegetables already mixed in.