BLUE TONGUE SKINKS

Hi,

This is my first skink and I have had him for about 1 year. He has stopped eating, became inactive just laying not moving around. He is also what appears to be gasping for air with his mouth open. I can see the big gasps when he inhales and his lungs gets very inflated. I have been to the vet three times where he got pinicillin plus something to get him to eat. I don't remember what that medicine is called but it didn't work. He also got an x-ray scan and there is nothing to see on it. He appears to be healthy since nothing can be seen but he is not. I was hoping someone could shed some light on the matter and hopefully someone can tell me what is wrong with him as I fear he will not survive this without the correct help.

I truly hope someone can help! Thanks for visiting my thread.

Sounds to me like a respiratory infection. I would find another vet with reptile experience ASAP that can diagnose him for certain and administer the proper medication before it's too late. RI's can rapidly become worse and kill your skink. Typically caused by improper husbandry (low temperatures and/or humidity). What species of skink do you have and what are the temperatures both in the hot and cool side and humidity kept at?

From the FAQ section, here is advice on Medical Emergencies. Scroll to the topic on Respiratory Infections.

mb606587 wrote:Sounds to me like a respiratory infection. I would find another vet with reptile experience ASAP that can diagnose him for certain and administer the proper medication before it's too late. RI's can rapidly become worse and kill your skink. Typically caused by improper husbandry (low temperatures and/or humidity). What species of skink do you have and what are the temperatures both in the hot and cool side and humidity kept at?

Would RI show up on an x-ray? Because the vet said that there was nothing to see on it. The temperature is 36 degrees during the day and 33 degrees during the night. There is ca 4 degrees lower on the cool side. My skink is a northern.

ccbj wrote:

mb606587 wrote:Sounds to me like a respiratory infection. I would find another vet with reptile experience ASAP that can diagnose him for certain and administer the proper medication before it's too late. RI's can rapidly become worse and kill your skink. Typically caused by improper husbandry (low temperatures and/or humidity). What species of skink do you have and what are the temperatures both in the hot and cool side and humidity kept at?

Would RI show up on an x-ray? Because the vet said that there was nothing to see on it. The temperature is 36 degrees during the day and 33 degrees during the night. There is ca 4 degrees lower on the cool side. My skink is a northern.

Forgot to say that I keep the humidity at ca 35%.

Maybe try to bump up the humidity closer to 50%. I have a nothern too, and to maintain ~50% I mist his tank every single day. This varies depending on where you live; in Canada, it gets pretty dry.

How's this skink doing?

He is on his second try with antibiotics. So far he is still snorting a bit and taking big breaths. I am so at a loss here. His enclosure temperature is 36 degrees with a humidity of 36%.

Wth do I do?

Please post a picture of your skink. In the off chance you have one of the various Indonesian species of skinks rather than a Northern, your humidity would be far too low and causing the issues. I just want to rule that out first.

If it is an RI I found the best possible thing was getting a nebuliser and using it so mine could breathe in f10 (there’s previous topics on it) it made a difference where antibiotics didn’t and now every time he shows any hint of one (he seems to have a bit of a weakness in his chest where he comes down with them easily) I do this twice a day for a week and he’s right as rain again. Hope your skinks okay. Keep us posted

Okay, he has now stopped eating. I have been trying to care for him all this time and I am lost - so is the vet. Twice with antibiotics now and STILL no improvement.
About the question whether he is a bluey or not I have posted a pic on him, maybe that could clear up some things.
Lastly, which nebuliser do you recommend? I will def buy one!

Yes, this is a blue tongue. Hard to tell exactly the subspecies by your pictures. Have you tried force feeding carnivore care or something close to it? Is the vet your going to an experienced reptile vet? What's your temps? Humidity? What is your set up like?

ccbj wrote:Okay, he has now stopped eating. I have been trying to care for him all this time and I am lost - so is the vet. Twice with antibiotics now and STILL no improvement.
About the question whether he is a bluey or not I have posted a pic on him, maybe that could clear up some things.
Lastly, which nebuliser do you recommend? I will def buy one!

I will check which nebuliser I have as soon as I get home tomorrow. I know it is a human nebuliser and cost around 70quid but maybe people can suggest better ones?
Has your skink been tested for parasites?

Looking at what you’ve said, 36 humidity is really not enough, I always keep mine above 60, so if you increase that it may well help.

Hard to be certain but there is a very real possibility your skink is a hybrid, a cross between two different species, which oftentimes can make it difficult to pinpoint exact husbandry requirements. The easiest way to rule that out is by determining the source your skink came from. Breeder, pet shop, expo? If bought from a breeder, then who? Have you tried maintaining the humidity above 50% as was suggested? I would even go so far as saying over 60%.

I have bought a Terra Exotica Maxi Fogger now, should be here in a few days that should help keeping higher humidity because I have never had 60% before.

Temp wise I keep it at 36 celcius during the day and around 33 celcius at night.

My vet is a specialised vet in reptiles but he doesnt know what to do.

Havent tried force feeding him yet but I have offered him so many different meats, veggies and fruits but no luck so far. I will buy Carnivore Care and try that!

MY SETUP https://imgur.com/Yum9cQV This is what my setup looks like. I know the bulb is way too close to the substrate but I use a dimmer to control the temperate and not make it too hot for my bluey basking under it. I also use Arcadia T5 39W D3+ for lighting. Do you recommend buying a different enclosure?

It does not look like an indo but would need more pictures. I do not know anything about the seasons in your country, but could it be possible he is attempting brumation?

Pictures:

https://imgur.com/BoaiYtS
https://imgur.com/qP37Cta
https://imgur.com/pwH57I5
https://imgur.com/3atOqie
https://imgur.com/2tTIawC
https://imgur.com/l6QUrgu

I cant seem to get the pictures to show directly on the website?

I will confirm you indeed have a Northern BTS, although they rarely suffer from RIs, yours looks very underweight and I can see scales that have not shed properly. IMO he is being kept too dry. I would also supply a basking area where he is not basking directly on the substrate, more like a platform. Is that substrate Aspen shavings? I'd change that out for coco husk or similar, I do not know how it is marketed in your country. Basking temps should be around 90-110, mine seem to like just around 95.

Yeah it does look Northern for the most part. There are alot of IJ x Northern crosses floating around overseas in Europe, and sometimes the IJ's can look pretty similar to the Australian skinks so it can be difficult to know for sure. Is your skink still having labored breathing and gasping? How long has it been off food now?