Making No Progress

[Halogen]

I've had my skink for about 3 months now and I still haven't made any progress. It still feels like he's scared of me and he doesn't seem to like me. I know they can take a while to become besties with but I feel like I should have made some progress by now.

[Janella]

Remind me of his species? Also remind me of what you have tried so far.

[Halogen]

Remind me of his species? Also remind me of what you have tried so far.

He's a merauke and ive hand fed him, pet him, and just kinda watched him. Is there any other things I should do?

[kingofnobbys]

He's probably wild caught and has had bad experiences with humans in the past , hence his fear of you, I believe this all fear responses.

Maybe try letting him chill on the bed or lounge or floor next to you , when he is ready he will come to you , you could also try having a tub with his fav bugs or other treats in it and sit there with him and with a treat on your open up turned hand , this will tempt him and when comes over let him take it , and repeat the process , slowly upping your interaction from petting him gently when he's eating his treat.

I think a bit of patience and perseverance and letting him progress at his own pace will eventually win him over and get him to trust and bond with you , perhaps even like you.

Three months is not long , it could take 6 or even 9 months to win him over.

[R176]

I feel like I got lucky with mine, I've only had him for a week and he's a sweetie already, but I've read a lot about how it can take many months for them to warm up to you, especially like said above, if they've been abused by people before whether that be rough handling or dropping or anything like that. With Norbert, my Indonesian, the day after I got him I just put him down on the couch next to me and he huffed and puffed, but within ten minutes he came up on my lap and climbed up my hoodie to hang out on my neck heheh! I also suggest just being nearby him when he eats, very gently pets/strokes, if he huffs, leave him be for a little and try again. Also, maybe try dipping your fingers in some room temperature water and rubbing his back very gently. Mine seems to love that. But don't do all that at once. Just try once a day maybe.

[Janella]

Thank you for reminding me. It sounds like you are doing everything correctly. Just keep being patient and doing what you are doing. Hopefully, he will adjust and tame up. What size enclosure do you have?. How many hides do you provide? Substrate? My Merauke is just the sweetest thing ever. I just spent lots of time talking to him, rewarding with tasty treats, giving gentle strokes, handle gently, etc. He will huff occasionally, but has never ever tried to bite. He has 3 total hides in his enclosure to help make him feel secure. He also has several layers of substrate to borrow in if he wants. I keep my skinks in a moderate activity level area of my house. They also get to spend between an hour to several hours running loose daily. Obviously, make sure the area is secure. I think handling them gently is important. I taught him to trust me from the beginning. Any time at all I handle him he gets a special reward treat after. I made sure he understood, I equal amazing things. I think I am rambling now, but my point is trust and security help make them feel good. However, there is just some skinks that wish to be alone and not handled much. They just don't care for it. I hope yours isn't one of those. Keep being patient and hopefully soon you will be rewarded. Let me know if I can help any more.

[Halogen]

My enclosure is a big 4ft by 2ft perfect for when he gets older. I use EcoEarth as a substrate so I can keep his humidity up. There are only 2 hides in his enclosure, one on the hot and cool side, but he has a huge mound in the middle to burrow. But since I added a cool side hide, like 2 weeks ago, he never seems to leave it. I have seen him roam around a bit, come out for food, and do his business however. I didn't change anything on the hotside which he spent a normal amount of time on that side before the new cool side hide. Originally the cool side just had a lot of eco earth to bury as a"hide". I would let my skink roam around more in my room but the door never shuts all the way and I have other pets that might sneak in. His previous "owner" said that my skink was great and that he would just chill while I play games or watch TV but he doesn't. The seller might have been lying or maybe he just had more time (got him at around 1-2 years old). My skink does however like to be in a blanket. He calms down when he is buried in one and sits still then(only if he decides not to climb out) .

[kingofnobbys]

I feel like I got lucky with mine, I've only had him for a week and he's a sweetie already, but I've read a lot about how it can take many months for them to warm up to you, especially like said above, if they've been abused by people before whether that be rough handling or dropping or anything like that. With Norbert, my Indonesian, the day after I got him I just put him down on the couch next to me and he huffed and puffed, but within ten minutes he came up on my lap and climbed up my hoodie to hang out on my neck heheh! I also suggest just being nearby him when he eats, very gently pets/strokes, if he huffs, leave him be for a little and try again. Also, maybe try dipping your fingers in some room temperature water and rubbing his back very gently. Mine seems to love that. But don't do all that at once. Just try once a day maybe.

My skinks have always enjoyed a lovely under neck tickle or nice firm/hard snout rub....

If he huffs and puffs at you and opens his mouth to you .... pop a yummy food treat in the open mouth , do that everytime ....he'll either get so full he wont be game to open his mouth or he'll come to associate your hand with something all skinks LOVE = FOOD.

[kingofnobbys]

My enclosure is a big 4ft by 2ft perfect for when he gets older. I use EcoEarth as a substrate so I can keep his humidity up. There are only 2 hides in his enclosure, one on the hot and cool side, but he has a huge mound in the middle to burrow. But since I added a cool side hide, like 2 weeks ago, he never seems to leave it. I have seen him roam around a bit, come out for food, and do his business however. I didn't change anything on the hotside which he spent a normal amount of time on that side before the new cool side hide. Originally the cool side just had a lot of eco earth to bury as a"hide". I would let my skink roam around more in my room but the door never shuts all the way and I have other pets that might sneak in. His previous "owner" said that my skink was great and that he would just chill while I play games or watch TV but he doesn't. The seller might have been lying or maybe he just had more time (got him at around 1-2 years old). My skink does however like to be in a blanket. He calms down when he is buried in one and sits still then(only if he decides not to climb out) .

Is likely in his POTZ so he's reluctant to leave it .... that's fine. If he prefers the cool zone hide , let him keep it and simply remove the warm zone hide if he never uses it , unless he likes it as a basking platform.

Lock the other animals in another room / ie laundry when he's getting time to roam on the floor OR place them in animal carriers so they can't interfer with him/ scare him/ attack him.

[Janella]

Your enclosure sounds good. My thoughts are that since you have added a second hide, he is enjoying that and wants to stay in there for security. I definitely would not take out the warm side hide. They need a hide on both ends. Like I said, mine have 3. One on each side and one that is in the middle. This gives them tons of opportunity to hide and explore.

As for letting him out to roam, if there is a way to block your other pets from coming in your room I would do that for safety, but if you can't then I would just try to let him chill with you on the bed or while you are watching TV/playing games. If you don't trust your other pets, then definitely don't let them interact. The more you interact with him the better. However, if you go to interact with him and he seems like he doesn't want to, just talk to him and maybe give a little pat. When mine is out and I am handling, if for some reason he huff's/hisses, I just gently tell him no and wait for him to stop. Usually it is only a second. Once he is calm and chill I then put him down. Lastly, again I always always end my handling session with positivity. They always get a treat. I am by far no expert in this field yet, but my skinks are super super good. My Merauke especially. I may have just lucked out, but my Northern can be moody. I just read his signals and go with what he is telling me. Some days with my Northern, if I go to handle he will act like he doesn't want to. So I just talk to him, maybe give a gentle pet, and still offer a treat at the end. I hope my advice helps. Keep me posted and remember I am here if you need any more advice.

[starscream3232]

We have to remember these are wild animals not domesticated. Each skink has their own personality. Some like interaction some don't. Most of mine are very tolerant of handling and some want me dead. It's easy anthropomorphize animals. In the end they could care less if they're interacted with and would just be as happy if left alone. The ones I have that don't like handling I just leave alone other than maintenance and feeding.