Gravid or really fast weight gain?

[Buddy]

Welcome!!

They can look much bigger depending on how they are lying, so if you are just thinking it has gained a lot of weight by looking at it, it probably is just a different position or more flattened. Do you have a scale you can weigh it with to see if there is noticeable weight gain?

It looks pretty young and has no signs of biting around the neck / shoulders so I would think it isn't pregnant. If it is young, they can put on weight quite quickly.

Thank you!

I know, and that's why I've been observing him when he moves around, and there's no doubt in the fact that he's quite a bit fatter now. He's not just flattening out when lying down, he has put on quite a lot of body mass. Unfortunately I don't have a scale that would work.. He is 1.5 years old.

[Buddy]

a wise answer,bout all you can do i guess
with the pet shop food that was left over,always the chance conditions werent right for them to want to eat,or they turned there noses up at it,some pet shops are shocking for not heating them enough,not sure they are like that there though,or not feeding them stuff they like or want,eg bird food

which would explain it chowing down food for you since being home :p

They didn't have a basking spot or any kind of heat coming from above from what I could see. Just regular lighting. So I guess it could just be the fact that he's eating better now. He seems to enjoy his environment now and there's been a huge change in him since the first day, the little hissing skink who hid away for two full days when he got here is now comfortable enough around me to come right up to me and climb over the edge of his enclosure.

They hadn't been handled at all, the pet store at least admitted that much. The girl at the shop didn't even want to handle them at all, we had to examine them ourselves and even take him out and put him in the box when I had made up my mind about buying him.

[Buddy]

Posting some new pics... What should I do? He has appetite and eats one meal every day. And he's getting fatter by the day.
Should I hold back a little on the food, even though he isn't over eating, or should I keep on feeding him like I do? I don't know what to do here..

Also, found some marks on his scales on the side, but maybe it's nothing?

[xxmonitorlizardxx]

Looks like a lot of the pregnant skink I've seen

[Buddy]

Looks like a lot of the pregnant skink I've seen

Yeah, but it's so weird.. He moves in here and bam, he gets this fat in like 2,5 weeks?

[Richard.C]

what size meal do u feed it ,everyday feeding is alot,but depending on how much you give,im assuming not heaps though,as still eating ever day,what exactly do u feed him,actually he could be a she,lol,babies or not,definatly has puffed up quick compared to first pic,still think possaqbly just its regular meals and proper heating,but could be gravid to,so maybe a complex mix of things and a lining up of the zodiac

[Buddy]

what size meal do u feed it ,everyday feeding is alot,but depending on how much you give,im assuming not heaps though,as still eating ever day,what exactly do u feed him,actually he could be a she,lol,babies or not,definatly has puffed up quick compared to first pic,still think possaqbly just its regular meals and proper heating,but could be gravid to,so maybe a complex mix of things and a lining up of the zodiac

I've been feeding him what he got at the pet shop, until now. It's posted earlier in the thread. (He's going on a diet change asap.) But still, since he's getting what he got earlier and he's not eating all that much, though he has a good appetite, it's kind of weird that he's putting out this much. He eats like half of what I put in (and that's not much according to me) maybe 5-6 bites and then he leaves the rest.

The big question is, should I reduce the food or let him eat? If he's fat, I definitely should, but I can't be sure that he's not gravid either?...

[Richard.C]

5 or 6 mouthfuls a day is a bit,build that over a week,nothing wrong with feeding every day either,its actually probably more natural to eat a little every day than to eat heaps once or twice a week,id say keep feeding it,maybe cut back a little if it gets noticablly fatter

[Fatal_S]

That really looks gravid to me. It's not fat in the same places I'd expect to see one that was simply overweight. No promises though. I would keep up the feeding, at least for the next couple weeks. Make sure to dust with calcium+D3 if you can. And I would remove those little chips and put down something more sanitary in the case of babies popping (paper towels/towels).

[Buddy]

That really looks gravid to me. It's not fat in the same places I'd expect to see one that was simply overweight. No promises though. I would keep up the feeding, at least for the next couple weeks. Make sure to dust with calcium+D3 if you can. And I would remove those little chips and put down something more sanitary in the case of babies popping (paper towels/towels).

Thank you both for your answers.. I'll keep feeding him the way I've been doing for now (with a diet change though) and see what happens.

Fatal_S: I dust his food with CalviRep VIT D3+
Okay, thank you for the tip! Better be prepared...

[Buddy]

You're probably all getting tired of my gravid-or-not questions by now But I came across some pictures here at BTS and I saw a resemblance between this skink and my own. (Pink T. Monkey - I hope it was ok to borrow your pictures)

This bulginess of the lower part of the belly, is it a sign of a gravid skink or could a fat skink look like this to? My pictures aren't the best, just took what I had in my phone atm, they're a few weeks old. (S)he has a really bulky lower belly.

I've had him/her for 11 weeks now.

[xxmonitorlizardxx]

I sorta use that to determine if a skink is male or female.

[Susann]

Was she this big when you got her? Or has she grown a lot lately? Could we see some pictures of her when she was new to you, to compare?

(Jag är föresten en med-Svensk fast jag bor i USA, om du vill skicka mig privat meddelande går det bra.)

[Richard.C]

Does look gravid,if not its a big fatty boomba,lol,in the northern hemisphere baby season is just stsrting in earnest,any time from late may to september depending on when they cycle

The wait continues ,its always ten times longer when u have to wait,lol

[Buddy]

Does look gravid,if not its a big fatty boomba,lol,in the northern hemisphere baby season is just stsrting in earnest,any time from late may to september depending on when they cycle

The wait continues ,its always ten times longer when u have to wait,lol

I have a shed coming up again any day now, so hopefully something happens after this. (S)he really looks gravid, and the heavy breathing is still there, for a few weeks it changed into small, fast breaths at times, but now I've noticed it coming back again. Eats every third day now. She was hidden away for almost 2 days until last night, and when she came out she looked fatter and bulkier than ever.

[Richard.C]

Showing all the signs of gravidity,they often get restless late term,breathing changes alot like u have witnessed,though they often slow down the eating late term,more just a nibble here and there,though some can woof right through to,not the norm though

[Morgans]

Wow what a weird case.... I really have nothing to place as far as an opinion on whats going on but I am curious to see what comes of it all. I hope (s)he is going to be okay.

[Buddy]

Richard: Still has a good appetite though, asks for food every third day. She's learned to stand up and scratch on the glass when she's hungry, and she does that about every third day. Very inactive these past days, but I'm guessing it's the shedding coming up. She was inactive the days before last time as well.

Morgans: It is, never thought this would happen when I bought the skink from a pet store. If anything does happen, that is. I'll keep updating...

[iLoveMyLizard]

Keep returning to this thread to see progress, your skink deffinitely looks preggers

[Buddy]

Keep returning to this thread to see progress, your skink deffinitely looks preggers

Trust me, if the babies come, everyone here will know it! I'm so looking forward to them now, so if this is just a fat little skink, I'll actually be kinda disappointed.