Skink abnormal behavior

[BrendanAW]

Hi guys, I am posting this to get some experienced thoughts on my skink's behavior. I got him a week or two ago and he was very active, both in the tank and out. Now he just sits in my lap, when he is in his tank, he stays burrowed. In the first week, he was always out and looking around. But, I do stay up late at night with my light on and talking with friends. I am wondering if I am stopping him from getting the sleep he needs and that is what makes him stay burrowed. I don't see any signs of sickness but this still scares me. Normally, I wake up to see my skink out and about. Instead, he remains burrowed most of the day. Please give me your thoughts! I am going to post a picture for the people that want to see his physical state and for some people from the last post when he had a substance on his lip. (you can see a scar on his mouth)

Update: Skinks belly is very pink were it was previously white. He huffs a lot when you even mess with the lid of his tank. He is burrowed 24/7 and seems very disturbed. I am hopping it is just shedding time and he is not sick. He seems to burrow immediately in the same spot as the previous time when I put him back in the tank. This is my first skink and all of these things seem a little foreign to me so I am just looking for some help.

Mr. Skink

[BrendanAW]

I just realized his belly if very pink, a sign of shedding I think? I bought a baby skink two days ago and I think she is going to shed too. She has pink on her belly as well.

[Logancrook]

Sounds to me like at first he was just exploring his new environment. Now he is settling in. He is probably just fine. I doubt your light being on will keep the skink awake. I know the light doesn't bother mine. Maybe if you are being really loud it would affect him. They are rather lazy animals so he should be okay. Hope I helped!

[BrendanAW]

Yeah, thanks for giving me your thoughts. I still want a few more answers and I want to know why both of my skinks bellies are pink!

[Dakota]

Sounds exactly what Logan described.

[indyana]

My skink's belly has always been tinged pink; it appears to be his natural coloration, as I've seen no change over the years.

[Logancrook]

I have a Merauke and her stomach is just pink. It always has been. I know your skink isn't a Merauke but his stomach might just be pink.

[bluetonguerocks]

couldn't agree more with Logancrook

[BrendanAW]

Updated Post with questioning of shed

[Logancrook]

It could be that he is shedding. They get very irritable when shedding. My skink's stomach doesn't change color when shedding begins, the color just get very dull. That doesn't mean it never happens though. Another possibility is that your substrate irritates his stomach. The stomach is dragged across the substrate constantly when moving or burrowing. If the substrate irritates his stomach then this may be painful. The constant pain may make him irritable. I hope it's just that he is shedding! If he sheds and it doesn't get better, try changing his subtrate.

[Toria Dawn]

I have an IJ and his tummy is naturally pink. He goes into hiding and/or gets very irritable and uncomfortable when he is about to shed, which he is about to do now actually (of course one week after I cleaned his whole terrarium and put in new substrate, lol).

[Susann]

BTS scales are very hardy; I would highly doubt the substrate has anything to do with the color of his belly. Lots of BTS normally have reddish bellies, so that is nothing to worry about.

The fact that he is staying hidden a lot after being active last week could be caused by anything ...or nothing at all. It could be because of shedding, it could be because he is annoyed by something, it could be he's calming down after a stressful move, it could be he always prefers hiding and he now is showing his true colors, it could be his temperatures are off, it could be the start of a slow week or month. See what I mean?
If the fact that he stays hidden is your only sign, then there is nothing to worry about at all.

How old is he? Has he eaten while you've had him? Pooped?

[BrendanAW]

He is about a year old, eats almost anything you put in front of him. He has not defecated in a few days, but he has eaten twice. So I'm not sure whats going on with that, but I am a bit calmer now and I think he probably will today. He does not have any sign of sickness and last night he came out to eat. (willingly) Sorry about the post asking for help, it is my first skink and I do care a lot for him and when he seemed off, it scared me.

[BrendanAW]

Ok... now he is on his side braced up against the tank. He seems to be breathing faster, they don't seem labored.... But I really worry about him, he doesn' like it when he is flipped over like this. When he breaths, his entire body seems to move. I'm quite scared right now. He just doesn't look normal.

[Richard.C]

northerns,easterns to often have pink flushes to belly scales,that can go away and later return over a year

behabiour sounds normal to me,very active in new environment,read checking it out,then hiding alot,read getting used of new surrounds ect

the last bit u say on its side against enclosure,is it between something and side of enclosure,have u also measured your enclosure temps?

[Linnea]

flipped over?
what temps are you tank?

not pooping for a few days is fine.

[BrendanAW]

He is on the cold side of his tank which is probably about 60's 70's, the heat side is 92. He was in the substrate just rolled over on his side.

[Linnea]

a recommendetion would be to get a temp gun to accurately measure the temperature. surface temps can be a lot colder and warmer than you might believe

he doesnt keep rolling over or look a bit like hes scratching himself, does he?

if he is shedding this is normal, he might also just be exploring....but just in case also look for mites. small black or red/white dots running between the scales.

[BrendanAW]

He is eating a lot more than normal now... We have a skink chow we make for him consisting of greens, chicken, and a little bit of fruit. He gets that every two days. He also has pellets we leave in there for him to eat if we are gone on vacation for a extended amount of time. But currently, he is devouring the pellets. It seems his appetite has increased greatly.

[Linnea]

an increase in appetite is a pleasant thing usually happens during summer and then it slows down to next to nothing in winter.

maybe not include the fruit in every feeding? it is a lot of sugar to feed as a staple.

how old is your skink?
its great that he eats, but if he ever stops eating frequently you can give him food more seldom than every 2 days. depends on the portion size and your skinks age though.