BLUE TONGUE SKINKS

Hi guys! I finally got my bluey five days ago. Not sure of the gender, but I'm calling her Kirby and just using she/her for now. She is a northern BTS.

The breeder recommended trying to handle her for just a few seconds a day to get her used to it right away. I did so, and while she wasn't super comfortable, she didn't do much after a few huffs and puffs. She comes out to eat, and even let me stand with the front of the enclosure open while she ate and I talked to her. After feeding yesterday, I reached in to move something and I think she wanted to bite me! She opened her mouth wide and came toward my hand. There was no huffing or hissing and no other signs or defensiveness at that moment.

I was wondering if she was still hungry. She is a voracious eater. She comes right out for food and DIGS IN. She seems to love eating. Anyway, I took one of those soft rubber spatulas and placed it about a foot from her in the enclosure, and sure enough she made a bee-line and sunk her teeth into it. So, I fed her some more. She was born on 6/29 so I have been feeding her cat food with veggies mixed in every day. I was going to switch to every other day once she is 4 months.

I don't want to stress her out, but do you think she was trying to bite to see if I was food, or does this sound like an aggressive/defensive thing? It really freaked me out. She seems much more comfortable now then just a few days ago when I brought her home, she pokes out of her hide and seems to recognize that I am the food bearer/caretaker.


I was going to give her a few days before trying to handle again. What do you guys think? Any tips? Thank you!

Young skinks are often voracious eaters and are still trying to figure out what is edible and what is not. Normal behavior, I would say.

Thank you! I figured as much, just want to make sure I don't stress her out any more than necessary. She really seems super curious and already adjusting. I'll try to post pics later if I can. Appreciate your input so much, thank you!