BLUE TONGUE SKINKS

I am a new owner of a blue tongued skink so I am not very experienced but I did my research and got an adult yesterday. He has some redness around his mouth and nose but the pet store assured me he was eating and very healthy and his mouth is not something to worry about. He has not eaten yet, but this could be from me just getting him home. He does sneeze a lot, but he burrows often and it could be him just clearing the aspen from his nose. I am on a very low budget so a vet visit is definitely not ideal. I attached pictures to help out. Please help!

I’m probably for sure that’s mouth rot

Bryson26 wrote:I’m probably for sure that’s mouth rot

Now what do I do then?

I think a vet visit is necessary.. it does look like mouth rot. And while it's difficult to confirm for the moment - it's looking like you've got an Indonesian type (would you be able to get a few more pictures of the pattern.. a full side picture and from above would be great for ID). Hopefully another person can confirm in the meantime!

If you do have an Indonesian, you'll need to fully change out the substrate for maintaining humidity. Aspen doesn't hold much moisture, and runs a big risk of getting a respiratory infection for Indonesians. It's so disappointing when pet stores are useless >.<

In the meantime it's recommended to avoid very juicy/fleshy food (such as tomatoes, mango etc), stick to more solid food in the mean time and keep water sources fresh. As you're a new owner, I wouldn't suggest self treatments. Mouth rot is known to be a painful condition, so try get some help asap. Keep us updated!

First thing you need to do is get him off that aspen bedding. Repti-bark, coco husk, cypress mulch or similar are better choices for humidity-requiring species. Yours is definitely Indonesian, looks Merauke or Irian Jaya from what I can see in pics. Now, do you see any sign of infection inside his mouth? Any cheesy-looking stuff in there around the area? Could be the beginning of mouth rot if you do not see any sign of infection, or it could also be from fighting. Indonesian species are almost always imported, and many come in scarred, parasite-loaded, etc. Many times infections arise from scars as result of conflict. No matter, I would have him vet checked, as I would anything store-bought that has an obvious problem.