BLUE TONGUE SKINKS

I'm not sure if I'm just being a worrywart because my skink is both relatively new and I'm new to caring for a BTS or if there's something up with their head. Does the brown spot or dry spot look weird to you? I keep her on zoomed forest floor and she's basically only came out during the last month with me scorching her out to make sure she's not dead so I'm wondering if the under layers of the substrate she's on aren't getting enough humidity if the dry spot is of concern.

Hi there,

That definitely looks like stuck shed which means your humidity isn't on point - what humidity reading are you getting across the enclosure? Also what do you mean by 'scorching out'? - I hope you don't mean increasing the heat and forcing your skink to emerge? Needless to say, do not do that.

Yeah, I agree it's stuck shed; and let your skink take its time to feel accustomed to you, rather than forcing it out like that.

Gaining a skink's trust can take a while (my Northern took a while,) remember they aren't domesticated like a dog, or cat where it takes little time to gain trust. I would give it small treats like an occasional blueberry, maybe a little bit of shredded chicken, a dubia roach, etc. and let it learn to trust that you're not there to hurt it. Talk to it softly when you're by its cage, and let it get used to your voice.

Did you manage to get a hydrometer by chance?

*scooching, not scorching. Basically she's done nothing but hide in the substrate and I have to physically remove her so she can get food and water, otherwise she will refuse it. If the bit on the top is stuck shed that means the substrate she's been hiding in is much drier than I initially expected. The humidity will fluctuate between 25% and 50%-ish before and after a spray down. Would just soaking the substrate thoroughly help out or would that just spike the humidity even higher and give her a respiratory infection?