BTS babies dying

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Breadpitt
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BTS babies dying

Postby Breadpitt » Wed Nov 04, 2020 9:41 am

So my blue tongue (indonesian) gave birth about two weeks ago and out of the 11 babies only two are alive at the moment. They are really lethargic and simply refusing to eat anything. Even if I force feed they just spit it put. The two that are left now were the most active of the batch, they were chasing mealworms like crazy a few days ago, but now they are getting less active and, again, refusing to eat. I was wishing to keep at least those two alive but now my hopes are way down.

My setup is the closest as I could do it (based on most online guides) I measure the temperatures and humidity constantly and have a UVB light on top 10h a day. As far as the food goes I have tried mealworms, a variety of canned cat/dog food, a gel for bearded dragons and ground turkey.

I have tried posting about this everywhere for weeks and nobody seems to know anything about the subject. Even the vet (who only seemed interested in my money) didn't really know anything and only gave me some multivitamin supplements.
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Re: BTS babies dying

Postby mb606587 » Wed Nov 04, 2020 10:46 am

What are your temperatures at? Also, have your adult properly vetted out for internal parasites. If the mother has them as many imported skinks do, they can be passed onto the offspring.
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Re: BTS babies dying

Postby Breadpitt » Wed Nov 04, 2020 12:12 pm

mb606587 wrote:What are your temperatures at? Also, have your adult properly vetted out for internal parasites. If the mother has them as many imported skinks do, they can be passed onto the offspring.


Temps are at approx. 38C hot side and 25C cold side. Since the mother was imported I've been meaning to check her for parasites for a while but I am still searching for a vet I can trust since not many here in Cyprus are experts on reptiles.
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Re: BTS babies dying

Postby mb606587 » Wed Nov 04, 2020 9:34 pm

Your temperatures seem fine. Obviously, I couldn't say this for certain but with 11 babies failing to thrive from a recently imported mother, I'd certainly think that the mother skink harboring an illness or parasites is a strong possibility. These skinks are oftentimes stored and shipped with numerous other wild caught and farmed reptiles to satiate the demand in the pet trade. In most cases, not all of the reptiles survive the exportation process and maladies are quickly spread. While an adult skink may be strong enough to survive or be asymptomatic for extended periods, babies often cannot.
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Re: BTS babies dying

Postby Breadpitt » Thu Nov 05, 2020 10:28 am

Another one died today, only one left. The vet's not returning my calls as well so I really worried that I'm gonna lose the last one as well. In the desperate mood i am right now I was thinking wether it is a good idea to give him some Caniquantel plus, which is an anti parasetic used mostly in dogs and cats. The main ingredients (praziquantel and fenbendazole) don't seem to harm skinks, after a small research, and this might be a bad idea but I thought I'd ask here.
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Re: BTS babies dying

Postby Breadpitt » Fri Nov 06, 2020 6:38 am

Nevermind, the last one died today. sad.
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Re: BTS babies dying

Postby mb606587 » Fri Nov 06, 2020 10:44 am

Sorry to hear. I don't think that Caniquantal would have helped.
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Re: BTS babies dying

Postby Bluesrains » Sat Nov 07, 2020 4:26 pm

I'm So Sorry About The Fate Of Your Animals. I Don't Like Saying This But One Should Never Buy WC Anything!!
Secondly, You Should Always Do Research Before You Buy Any Animal! If So, You Would Know, WC 9 Times Out Of 10 Have Worms & Parasites! You Should Also Research The Seller! If Something Is Worth Doing, It's Worth Doing Right The First Time. Don't Set Yourself Up To Fail.
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Re: BTS babies dying

Postby Breadpitt » Sun Nov 08, 2020 7:30 am

Bluesrains wrote:I'm So Sorry About The Fate Of Your Animals. I Don't Like Saying This But One Should Never Buy WC Anything!!
Secondly, You Should Always Do Research Before You Buy Any Animal! If So, You Would Know, WC 9 Times Out Of 10 Have Worms & Parasites! You Should Also Research The Seller! If Something Is Worth Doing, It's Worth Doing Right The First Time. Don't Set Yourself Up To Fail.

That's true, however here in Cyprus one can only find indonesians which are mostly WC. Ive been looking to buy a northern from abroad with no luck. Also when I got my bts I had no idea that she was pregnant and neither did the let shop (they told me it was a male).
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Re: BTS babies dying

Postby dsteamn » Tue Nov 10, 2020 12:22 am

Do you know how much the babies weighed? How long did you have her before she had them? I suspect she probably threw the litter rather than carryi them to term. I breed Northerns and have seen them do that from stress.

When babies are born too early, they can be active but fail to thrive within a couple of weeks. The placentas are usually too large for them to eat.

It's sad you had to go through this, but you did all you could. As long as Mom is ok, that's what's important now.
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Re: BTS babies dying

Postby Breadpitt » Tue Nov 10, 2020 1:29 am

dsteamn wrote:Do you know how much the babies weighed? How long did you have her before she had them? I suspect she probably threw the litter rather than carryi them to term. I breed Northerns and have seen them do that from stress.

When babies are born too early, they can be active but fail to thrive within a couple of weeks. The placentas are usually too large for them to eat.

It's sad you had to go through this, but you did all you could. As long as Mom is ok, that's what's important now.


That kinda makes sense. I did not weight the babies, but I've had the mother for 2 weeks before she gave birth and she was imported into the country another week before that. So she's been through a tremendous amount of stress and she hasn't even been fed properly.

She is pretty much ok now, still going to have her checked for parasites today.

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