I just got my first ever BTS. I've got questions!!

[tbcorbett]

Hi everyone! I got my Northern BTS today! I'm super excited, since I've wanted a bluey since I was like.. 10 years old!! My baby is only one month old. I got her (or him) just this morning! (The little guy is tucked into bed now as I'm typing this.)

When I picked her up from the Shipping Center, I had brought a large, portable terrarium so she could have something more comfortable to lay in on the drive home. Out of her shipping box, she was super grumpy (as expected) but I had brought her a couple blueberries as a peace-offering. I didn't really expect her to eat them right away since I knew she'd be stressed from the shipping experience, but she actually instantly ate one as soon as I put her in the portable terrarium!

Now that she's spent the daytime in the vivarium I set up for her, I've formulated a few questions that I didn't previously have. I've read the FAQ, but still feel the need to ask these directly!

1. How long should I wait before taking her to a vet? I want to get her screened for parasites and any other potential health issues. I'm aware this is gonna be super stressful for her, so I wasn't sure if I should wait a couple weeks. But I'm also super anxious about waiting, too!! I was reading up a lot about Pinworms and the other kinds of creepies that are common in Blueys, and it has given me a lot of nerves. Saw some seriously sad posts!

2. Is it common for these guys to poop inside their hides? I've got two very nice hides set up for her. The one she seems to prefer is very deep, with a decently large/heavy corkwood roof, so as follows it'll be a bit difficult for me to properly know if she poops inside it. I figured there might possibly be someone with a lot of experience keeping Blueys who could attest to how common it is for them to poop where they sleep! I want to keep her home as clean as possible, without stressing her by constantly uprooting the whole hide- If I can.

3. Is it okay to give her a slightly larger amount of fruit, just for the initial taming process? I know it should only comprise 10% of their diet, BUT.. I really badly want to get on her good side!! I'm not going to handle her yet as everything I've read says wait a week or two until you do, but when that time comes, would giving her a tiny bit of fruit once every day or every other day be alright?

Speaking of food... how smart are these little guys when it comes to feeding? Most resources I used said it was alright to house your skink in their full-sized enclosure right from the beginning, even when they're very young. That's what I decided to do! Since my enclosure is so large, I'm worried about her not knowing when or where the food I set out for her is! She retreated into her cave really fast when I set out some food for her earlier and didn't want to come back out. There's a designated spot in the tank next to the water dish that I prefer to put her food down at, so I'm wondering.. are they good at detecting food that isn't directly in their faces?!?

I'm so sorry if any of these questions are obvious and/or stupid! I've just got a lot of first-time-parent jitters and want to make sure I'm on top of everything. I've got some pictures of my baby at the following link if you wanna see her! https://imgur.com/a/cx9PpXz (All the pictures were taken from outside the glass!)

[ThisName]

1. I don't know if taking them to the vet is really necessary. Most vets don't even have much knowledge about reptiles so you'd have to search for a vet that's specialized. I think some users here may be able to give you advice on how to screen her for parasites (I think you mean mites?). Does your skink have any symptoms that make you think it has pinworms? Does she come from a reliable breeder?

2. My skink doesn't seem to poop in his hides but every skink is different. It won't do any harm to check the hide from time to time. Maybe it's best to do it when your skink is already out of the hide but if she doesn't come out I'd just lift the hide after a few days.

3. I wouldn't recommend this, especially since your skink is still so young and too much fruit can be harmful. I am personally extremely careful with fruit and I rarely fed him fruit during the two first months (and the chart is a bit vague, how often is 'occasional feeding' after all?). Most skinks do seem to like butternut, even as a treat. Mine eats it without me having to mix it with his meat.
One thing to look out for is that your skink doesn't start seeing your hand as food. My skink goes crazy when I feed him fruit- in his world everything has turned into fruit including my fingers, toes and legs. (It's hilarious and he luckily stops after a while. But there are stories of skinks who don't stop biting because they associate hands with food.)

Don't worry too much about 'getting on her good side'... Every skink has their own personality. I also didn't wait two weeks to start handling my skink- since I also took him out of his enclosure to feed him. But aside of that I am a 'lazy' pet owner and I didn't handle him a lot. Despite that he grew into liking the attention and will scratch at the glass asking to come out.

They will smell the food when you put it in their enclosure. Mine usually needs 5-10 minutes to 'warm up'. Though I personally prefer feeding them out of their enclosure especially during first few weeks so they get used to you.

She has a beautiful dark colour by the way!

[tbcorbett]

@ThisName

Thank you so much for your detailed response!!!! That helped me a ton. Regarding the parasites, I meant ones that would be intestinal! She doesn't have any symptoms that would make me think she has any, but I read that sometimes your animal doesn't display any symptoms at all until the "infestation" gets huge. Checking up with a vet would purely be for preventative measures, but I agree it's probably not necessary! Though I might look into getting a fecal examination anyway without taking her in if it's possible, just to put my mind at ease that she isn't carrying any little nasties. The breeder was super reputable, his name is Frank Payne!

As for the food situation, I gave her some veggies and dog food this morning in the designated spot, and she definitely sensed it from the other side of the tank, ran over and gobbled up a ton! It made me feel so much better to see her eating really well.

Your method of taking her out to eat is a really great idea, and I might try it in a few days. She still seems really grumpy with me, and runs into her hide any time I get my hands near her.


As for the fruit, I will definitely keep that in mind and make sure not to give her very much! And be careful with the hand feeding too. I don't wanna give her any finger/toe/leg biting habits, even though it does sound hilarious and cute : P

Thank you so much for your help again, I really appreciate that a ton!!!!

[mb606587]

If your skink is a Northern, it was bred here in the US. Internal parasites are typically a problem associated with wild caught and imported skinks. The likelihood of this issue, especially if purchased from a reputable breeders, is very low.

[tbcorbett]

Thank you so much! That makes me feel way better. I tend to worry about every little scary possibility, no matter how small a chance there is that said possibility will even occur : (

But you helped me out a ton Mb! Thank you so much!

[rixusaku]

Your bluey looks exactly like the morph my bluey is! First one I've seen since I got him

Sooo pretty! Congrats on your new friend. ^^

[tbcorbett]

Your bluey looks exactly like the morph my bluey is! First one I've seen since I got him

Sooo pretty! Congrats on your new friend. ^^

That's so cute!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! : D Your little buddy is super special <3 Thank you so much, I'm so excited to finally have one!!!!