BLUE TONGUE SKINKS

its been quite a time since i visited this forum, but i would like to ask because my skink is a rescue from a bad previous owner, he won't eat anything and its almost a week now. the only time i succeed feeding him is when i offer him an egg and that's pretty much it, because two of my other skink ate like a monster. He also sleeps in a weird position where he gets to the corner of the cage and put his head upward, i am worried if he has a RI but i opened his mouth and check his nose there is no excess mucus. I have tried feeding him every single thing a skink might love so far only the egg succeed and i tried mixing it with dog food and he just wont eat it. I really need your help guys thx

Hey there! While I can't say for sure your situation, i'll pass on a few thoughts in case it can help

Rescue: Aww, any idea how your skink was treated in the past? For example are they underweight/do they have signs of poor sheddings?

Eating: It's possible that if the skink was fed a poor diet before you got them, while somewhat rare - there is a chance that your skink may not realize the food you're offering - is actually food. If you're using dry dog food, perhaps try some of the grain-free wet versions, or other suitable 'smelly' food/cooked chicken etc.

I have heard that some can take time to be comfortable enough to start to eat. If your skink has a bad history (presumably from it being a rescue!) then it may take longer to adjust compared to your other skinks. For adults I believe this can be up to two weeks without eating (as long as there is a water source, they should be able to stay a healthy weight during this time).

I don't suppose you know if it's a wild caught? Difficult to say, but internal parasites could change their willingness to eat. If it's young, I'd try to get a fecal test to rule out this possibility (on the basis that juveniles should eat nearly daily; whereby not eating for over a week would be a concern). If it's an adult, this wouldn't be needed as quickly, since they are often fed 2-3x a week on average.

Overall - for the moment, I'd presume it's part of the adjustment period (if they are an adult).

Humidity/Temperature: As you've already got experience with other skinks, I'm presuming you've got these set up well already Never hurts to double check though. Based on your location, do you have an Indonesian type? Don't suppose you know the subspecies? The main reason I'm bringing that up is in case you've got a Halmahera vs. Irian Jaya/Meruake for long term care

RI: I can't comment on the sleeping position as not seen that before, but what is making you suspect a RI? Are there additional sounds while breathing? It's good that so far you've not seen any discharge/mucus. If they have been kept in a dry environment before being rescued, I'd try to keep vigilant with humidity levels. If you do start to hear strange breathing sounds, then I believe the best advice would be to get your skink checked by a reptile vet.

Completely agree with everything Kayla said. Also if you provide some pictures, so we can see exactly what state your BTS is in that will help also.

Also agree with above replies, just one more thing to add..could he/she be attempting brumation?

yes he is in a very severe condition and i still would consider him as underweight. there are no poor shedding whatsoever and it doesn't seem like he would shed any moment

i have tried wet dog food and dry ones maybe i should tried cat food? I have a herbal medicine that will supposedly boost his appetite. finger crossed, hope this works
too bad i can't find a canned snail since they are not available in my country

I have treated him though because he is a wild caught still got no idea why he wouldn't eat considering he is very young and thin

all of my skinks are indonesian one a gigas the other one is a merauke and since the climate on halmahera is similar to merauke and papua the temps and humidity should be fine because my friend's halmahera eats like there is no tomorrow and he's 70 cm super healthy and drinks like a beast, considering that he is also a wild caught

he is fine actually maybe its just a coincidence that he loves to sleep like that because no weird sound or heavy breathing or excessive mucus discharge and his mouth is clean as well no mouth rot. here are some pictures of him, i am very traumatic because my previous merauke died because of the same thing, won't eat anything at all (but the merauke refused every single thing i offer it). I really didn't want to lose this one because he has become very tame, when he sees my arm he would just climb onto it and he literally would stay calm even i flip him over like in the picture. he lost a finger and a little bit of his tail and this is because he is a wild caught. my gigas is also a wild caught and a rescue but he didn't seem to have a problem at all and eats very well.

and in my observation Indonesian skink doesn't brumate since the weather here is pretty hot even on rainy days.

Thanks for updating us! (and glad to hear that you both agree Janella and Splashy! I know you're both very experienced keepers )

jodidelisio wrote:i have tried wet dog food and dry ones maybe i should tried cat food?

As it looks quite young, personally I would try the cat food (wet/pouches for now, should be easier to digest - we find our juvenile Halmahera prefers chicken flavours). Which herbal medicine are you trying? A few years ago we were recommended to use Zilla Jump-Start Appetite Stimulant by a vet - I don't know how accessible this would be, but could be worth a try if your current one doesn't seem to help.

I'm not sure if it's the best route, but considering weight I would try to offer food daily. As it's quite tame, have you tried to feed it out of the tank too? Perhaps it would be more focused on the food in a different situation.

jodidelisio wrote:I have treated him though because he is a wild caught

Ahh, were you given an anti-biotics for an internal parasite treatment? Or was it another type of medicine? Just to be clear on what you've already tried, so then it's not repeated!

jodidelisio wrote:since the climate on halmahera is similar to merauke

While it's true it is similar between halmaheras/meraukes (and knowing you live in Indonesia), for this particular case - I would still try to aim for the recommendation of 80-90% ambient humidity for Halmaheras. Considering it has lost a toe in the past, it can't harm to increase the humidity until healthy again. Plus - it looks like from the belly picture that it is slightly milky coloured - I would suspect it could begin to shed in the next 2-3 days.

jodidelisio wrote:my previous merauke died because of the same thing

So sorry to hear about that never easy loosing a friend.. did you ever find a cause, in case it can give insight onto what's going on here?

And the bump on the hips makes me concerned for Metabolic Bone Disease (MBD); unless I'm mistaking the bumps from extreme underweight issues.. regardless, I would make sure to have a good calcium and calcium+D3 routine to prevent this developing more.

Overall - if you've not already seen a vet, it would be recommended. The estimated age from the pictures; along with not eating for nearly a week for a (suspected) juvenile; and as you've had a similar experience in the past - is concerning - it would be best to get professional help. If you've been doing home remedies so far - seeking proven treatments/antibiotics may be the best choice (you may tried more than herbal/home remedies already, but wanted to emphasize this - in case you've not seen a specialist vet already!).

Now that I see him, I would seriously suggest a vet visit. He seems to have been kept in extremely unfavorable conditions previously. Poor little thing, I wish you all the best. I have kept Halmaheras in the past, and they never stopped eating for a second. There has to be an underlying cause.

I couldn't agree more with Splashy07. She just beat me to the punch. I would get a visit. Keep us posted on what you find out.