Help?

[Tanith]

Hi! I bought my first blue tongue skink about three weeks ago. He seems very healthy. He is still pretty young and he is about 17 inches long. Yesterday, I fed him some chopped up greens, a few superworms and a bit of mushed up banana. As usual, he started to eat almost immediately. Suddenly, he started to shake his head side to side and it looked as though he was about to throw up. Then, he fell over on his side. At this point I was kind of freaking out. Then he stood back up and opened his mouth really wide for a few seconds and then took a few gulps. I found this worrying as he never did this before. Today, he did the exact same thing. He was also rubbing his face against the terrarium glass. He only does this for about five minutes after eating. Is this normal behavior?

[WanderingChai]

I'm no expert, but here's what I think.
I have no idea about the falling over on his side, but if he had a superworm in his mouth sometimes they'll shake it like a dog. Rubbing his face against the terrarium could mean he's stressed and/or wants to come out.

Good Luck!

[El Lobo]

I have seen my blotchies do something similar on only a few occasions, always associated with feeding roaches. The falling over may simply be a loss of balance due to the exertion of the shaking. Rubbing the face after eating is just cleaning their mouth like we might use a napkin. Banana can also stick inside the mouth cavity and require a few gulps to position it properly for swallowing.

Keep observing at feed time for any repeat of the behaviour. If it persists a vet visit may be worth while to ascertain if there is any blockage in the throat from a medical condition to something like substrate lodged.

[Tanith]

Thank you! I'll keep an eye on him and see if the behavior persists.

[Tanith]

I think I found the problem... He is choking on the superworms. He does not chew them properly and they are still alive when he swallows them. They stick in his throat and try to claw their way out. Today, he did the same thing. He looked very stressed and was unable to get it out. I had to pull it out myself. After I did, he seemed okay. Does anyone else have this problem? What should I do?

[Katrina]

I think I found the problem... He is choking on the superworms. He does not chew them properly and they are still alive when he swallows them. They stick in his throat and try to claw their way out. Today, he did the same thing. He looked very stressed and was unable to get it out. I had to pull it out myself. After I did, he seemed okay. Does anyone else have this problem? What should I do?

They don't chew food per se - they swallow it, so that it completely normal. Sounds like the worms you are feeding are too large. Switch to smaller worms or else another protein source. But they don't ever "chew" food. Having them hold their heads up and sort of push the food down is completely normal.