Shedding

[Miguelito943]

I'm new to BTS but not reptiles. Wanted to know if a BTS is shedding do they loose their appetite as a snake does? My BTS has not had anything to eat since I purchased her. I was attributing the lack of eating because the breeder shipped her overnight with two ice packs. I assumed the coldness started brumation. I've had her for three weeks and she just burrows and does not come out. Today I picked her up as saw signs of shedding from her snout. Again could it be the shedding that is causing her not to eat. Humidity is at 75, Basking area 90-100, Cool area 75-80

Thanking you in advance,

[mb606587]

Yes they do tend to lose their appetite while shedding. A full shed may take a few days. What species of BTS do you have? Hiding for the first three weeks is fairly typical, however I'd start to become a bit concerned if it hasn't eaten in that time though, especially if it's a baby. Whom did you purchase from?

[mb606587]

Also what have you tried feeding? You might want to try keeping basking temps closer to 100 than 90, and see if that spikes appetite after the shed.

[Miguelito943]

Thank you for the information. I have had her three weeks. Supposedly she is an Adult Irian Jaya Indonesian Blue Tongue.
She has been buried in the substrate. I've offered her food ie. snails, veggies, pinky, roaches, crickets, dog food, and eggs. I've tried a combination of solids or pasty liquid form. She licks and tastes it for a little while then back to burrowing. I will raise the temp on the basking light. Purchased from Snake at sunset

[kingofnobbys]

With the diet , excess protein of the wrong kind is converted to extra thick scales that can be more difficult for the skink to shed. This was something I didn't know until I had an issue with George and Mildred having difficulty shifting the shed off themselves ( the advise my reptile vet gave me was I had to help by soaking them in luke warm water and using HerpaShed , and adjusting their diet so less mammal and chicken/turkey meat ,less hard boiled egg, to more insect protein ) .

My skinks usually have a soak at shedding time and it's all done in 1 or 2 days.

[Miguelito943]

Thank you! I will change the diet and soak her. She shed all but two spots. One on the top of her head and the other mid-way of her tail otherwise everything else including her toes came off. Love this bluey!

[mb606587]

I would recommend having your skink checked out by an experienced herp vet. Snakesatsunset typically deals with imported Blue Tongue Skinks rather than captive bred. These skinks tend to come in with a multitude of health issues that would cause your skink to stop eating. Your vet can rule out certain infections and parasites or get your skink on the proper antibiotics or dewormers. Unfortunately reptiles are very skilled at hiding signs of illness from us but one of the telltale signs is a refusal to eat.