BLUE TONGUE SKINKS

So right away I was able to take out my little month old northern bts and start handling him. He’s super chill but when I take him out all he does it try to find a stop to burrow and hide. Is he too cold out of his enclosure? I want him to be able to chill with me and scratch his head and under his chin and watch tv with me but all he wants to do is hide. Is this because he’s still very new to my home and shy and scared? Or is this gonna be how he always acts? I just want to understand this behavior more so I can find out how to bond with him more so we can go out to the park and play in the grass and actually hang out where we can look up at each other and talk rather than him basically saying “F U, you’re no fun I wanna hide and stay warm and avoid your comforting scratches cause I’m a weirdo!” Haha I know that’s not what he’s really thinking but you get what I mean right? Lol

So yeah is he cold, shy, scared? And if so how do I get him over the hiding so we can really chill more together?

He's a lizard, not a puppy...he's going to act like one. As far as going to the park and hanging out in the grass, I'd advise against that. People and animals walking about will scare the crap out of him and he might just take off. I'd keep to your own backyard if you want to do that, and stay at his level, don't reach down at him from standing. Predators come from above, and that's what they know. Reptiles do not have the ability to reason. They can learn trust in time but reasoning is for humans. Take him out for some playtime every day, offer him treats and try to do this at the same time every day.
Routine and food. That may help you bond. When he's out, no noisy rooms or other animals. They have no idea you will protect them from their perils. Even cats don't want to hang out with you all the time. With reptiles you have to give them a cause to want to. There is no set rule, they're all different just like we are.

*darn I don’t really have a backyard. I’ve just seen so many videos of them having fun on a grassy floor and the only grassy floor where he’d be able to do that is a small quiet park around the corner from me. No dogs go there cause there’s a dog park around the other corner and the playground for kids is on the far other side. So it’s pretty secluded some of the areas I would be taking him when he got older and more comfortable of course. But okay I understand what you mean. So no standing over him, and always use treats to get him to be more comfortable.
I means it’s not that bad. I had a little throw blanket over myself and he was basically wrapped up in just chilling with a tiny bit of his head sticking out and I would just lightly stroke his head down to his chest area cause I’ve noticed he doesn’t really like being touched any lower.
It’s so funny too how when I sniffle (cause right now I’m a little sick) he won’t let me even go near him cause I guess he thinks I’m hissing at him? So I just left him alone yesterday. But thank you for your help. I think I get it now. As of the light scratching on the head and stuff I know reptiles are nothing like puppies but I did hear they like to be lightly scratched or pet on the head or under the chin so that’s what I meant... do they like being touched in that way? Or is that not true?
And i still don’t think you answered the question of if he’s hiding from me or just trying to get somewhere warm? Cause he’s pretty chill when I take him out but he just always wants to find a nice warm dark placewhether it’s up in my hair and neck, under the blanket but still laying on my hand? Either way he’s burrowing into a dark but warm place but never trying to like get away from me by the looks of it. So is he cold or still untrusting of me? Unless that’s what you meant by the treats thing, that he doesn’t quite trust me yet and that’s why he acts the way he does. But I would think if he didn’t trust me or like me he wouldn’t try to burrow or hide near me he would huff and puff and move away from me right?
Ugh I have so much more to learn about their behavior. It’s just so confusing when each one has a different personality so it’s not like I can just look up these things lol so hence me asking my fellow skink owners.

McBoredFace wrote:It’s so funny too how when I sniffle (cause right now I’m a little sick) he won’t let me even go near him cause I guess he thinks I’m hissing at him?

Yep! any sharp breathing sound, shushing noise or even breathless laughter can sound like a 'back off' hiss to your little guy.

McBoredFace wrote:but I did hear they like to be lightly scratched or pet on the head or under the chin so that’s what I meant... do they like being touched in that way? Or is that not true?

Can confirm my little guy looooves to be rubbed on the back of the neck and on his eyebrow ridges. He gets a bit iffy if I touch his back, and rubbing the hindquarters will probably get him to leave a stinky mess. I don't deliberately touch my skink's tail, because I would hate to accidentally hurt him and have it drop off. Something to keep in mind is that many lizards have a small round indent on the top on their skulls that we call their 'third eye', it's basically a sensor thought to measure light, useful for lizards that bask in the sun. It's visible on most skinks I believe, and it is thought to be very very sensitive. Try not to poke at it too much, it could make the skink uncomfortable.

Ugh I have so much more to learn about their behavior. It’s just so confusing when each one has a different personality so it’s not like I can just look up these things lol so hence me asking my fellow skink owners.

It's very true, each and every single skink has a different personality. Outside his enclosure, he's very inquisitive and digs at everything, and climbs things. I let him sit on my bed or couch with me while I draw for long hours, and he sniffs out absolutely everything before settling down for a snooze. Yours could also be investigating, and as they are burrowing creatures it could just be his way of checking things out.

How does he behave inside his enclosure? defensive or placid?

Well, as far as being touched and whether or not they like it, I think it depends on the individual. I've got an Eastern that will fall asleep in my lap and not move unless I do for hours. She seems to love the attention. Another one won't sit still for a second, and still another that will relax for a while, then want to move on. There are no set rules for reptiles. Many years ago I kept Cyclura iguanas. Some were puppy dog tame and others wanted nothing to do with me unless it was feeding time. They are individuals, just like us. I do believe in time learned behavior can be accomplished with patience, but with some and not with all. We tend to expect a bit much from our reptile friends, they can only be what they want to be. Blue tongues are high above on the rank of reptiles, bit they're still lizards. And remember, you are taking your pet out of a 95+ degree cage and putting him out in a room which I sincerely doubt is the same temperature. That alone will cause alarm, when I think of the number it did on my sinuses when I was in south Florida and walked into an air conditioned restaurant. They're not people, and have no idea whatsoever why the temperature just dropped 25 degrees. Again, they cannot reason.

splashy07 wrote:He's a lizard, not a puppy...he's going to act like one. As far as going to the park and hanging out in the grass, I'd advise against that. People and animals walking about will scare the crap out of him and he might just take off. I'd keep to your own backyard if you want to do that, and stay at his level, don't reach down at him from standing. Predators come from above, and that's what they know. Reptiles do not have the ability to reason. They can learn trust in time but reasoning is for humans. Take him out for some playtime every day, offer him treats and try to do this at the same time every day.
Routine and food. That may help you bond. When he's out, no noisy rooms or other animals. They have no idea you will protect them from their perils. Even cats don't want to hang out with you all the time. With reptiles you have to give them a cause to want to. There is no set rule, they're all different just like we are.

Couldn't agree more ….

Keys are to bonding and gaining the trust of a lizard (skink in this case) are
>> patience from you , the skink will not do anything other than follow it's own agenda
>> take time , small steps , don't rush the skink
>> food treats …. especially when getting the skink to trust you and feel secure and relaxed when around you and being handled by you , handfeeding is a great way to bond
>> routine , make a daily ritual of the bonding / handfeeding session, snuggle time, chill out together time , same time more or less every day …. routine is everything to a skink
>> spend lots of time just being near the skinks tank so it can observe you and see that you are not going to hurt it.

They have no idea you will protect them from their perils

I've seen instances where a pet lizard will dash up under it's keeper's chin/ear or to the back of their neck when someone strange comes too close …. my vet described this as the skink regarding me as his safe place / protector.
I have had a resident wild skink seek me out when there was a neighbourhood cat in my backyard , seeking my protection or asking me to scare the cat away ….
I've had a wild skink run straight to me with a cat in hot pursuit and let me pick it up ….
…. evidence to me that do indeed learn some people can be protectors and they recognize individuals and know who to go to when scared or seeking protection. …. a bit more goes on inside their heads than most give them credit for.

That is really awesome, King, but your situation is different from most pet keepers. I think you are the lizard whisperer!
hahahaha!