BLUE TONGUE SKINKS

Hi,

My Bluey has seemed happy since I got him in September. I’ve been feeding him grain free cat food, bluey buffet, tinned and fresh snails (from supplier, not wild caught). Very recently I gave him waxworms for the first time. He seemed fine and all was as expected. Today he pooed in his dish, and it contained 2 or 3 seemingly completely undigested waxworms.

I haven’t seen this before. His appetite has been fine, and he ate quite a bit last night. I did a forum search and found a post that reckoned undigested waxworms could mean intestinal parasites! I obviously hope this is not the case. Could it be anything else? I’m wondering if I need to take him to the vet, or whether I should simply keep an eye on him.

Cheers!

I've seen undigested waxworms in other reptiles (I do not feed them to my blue tongues, they're really not the best choice). If it indeed was parasites I think they would have appeared sooner. I would just monitor him for now, and lay off the waxworms. They are nutritionally devoid anyway. The only time I use them for anything (other reptiles/insects) is to put weight on something or coax a poor appetite.

Doesn't necessarily mean intestinal parasites. Some of mine have also passed undigested food before although it doesn't happen very often. Make sure your skink has the proper heat. They need to be at an adequate body heat in order to digest properly. Sometimes skinks that eat right before the heat turns off at night have digestive issues. If you purchased your skink from anybody except a trusted breeder, then I would recommend a parasite check just in case. Many of the Indonesian imports tend to have them and those Indonesian imports are what are commonly found in pet shops and reptile expos. Sometimes, symptoms won't manifest for several months and the results of letting those things go untreated can be fatal.

Thanks guys. You’ve put my mind at rest.

Breeder is reputable, so CB.

I’ll monitor the situation and keep him off the waxworms, as well as try and feed as early as possible. Ironically I decided not to feed him crickets because of the lack of nutritional content. Will stick to snails and cockroaches (and silkworms) for live food.