Skink questions

[Reptirwn]

Hi, I’m getting my first blue tongue skink in a few months and had a few questions. Firstly, I live in the uk and I want my main protein source to be dog food, but I’m struggling to find anything suitable for skinks, does anyone have any suggestions? next i was wondering if anyone knows any breeders in the uk? And lastly if anyone has any general advice to beginners it would be greatly appreciated thanks!

[ColdBloodedMachinist]

Read some of the past threads on feeding and you will find more information than you care to know. We are going to stir up some controversy over the dog food and acquisition. At least get the perineum variety as it won't costs too much given their small appetite. Try looking in the online classified ads, that is where I got mine. The advice I would give Is don't panic over small issues such as loss of appetite, constipation, lethargy or the occasional bad shed. These will happen even under your perceived best of conditions. Read the forums and most if not all of your questions have already been asked and answered.

[kingofnobbys]

FYI : this is what I believe is the best guide for setting up a feeding schedule & diet for an ADULT bluetongue skink (any species) : https://www.completecritter.com/blue-tongue-skink.html , I was put onto this my reptile vet many years ago when my old BTS George & Mildred were both small juveniles .
I don't give my skinks mice (pinkies) EVER ,as they are WAY TOO FATTENING and an impaction risk.

My vet recommend only softened VetaFarm lizard pellets, chicken eggs (while raw, hard boiled (whiles and yoke), and unseasoned scrabbled ) , and boiled lean chicken mince as protein sources other than insects , and advised against cat or dog food for a captive skink other than as treats or maybe a small part of the diet.

Note = the dietary requirements is highly dependent on the skinks age …. ie a baby needs an entirely live insect diet , a juvenile needs mostly live insects in it's diet.

My adult BTSs' diet has no commercial cat or dog food (ever) , but includes a couple of large silkworms each per day + fruit & veg + some crickets ( crush the crickets' heads to make them easier for the skinks to catch them), I also buy in live human food grade snails on a monthly basis & give superworms & egg & banana as treats.

[beckykate1995]

Hi! I'm from England like you, and I just got my BTS - Noodle - a few weeks ago I got Noodle from Rainforest Exotics in Ross-on-Wye, in the South West - not sure where abouts you're based regionally so dunno if that's close to you, but the staff there were so informative and helpful so I'd really recommend them! It did take me a while to find somewhere that had BTS', so I had to keep an eye on a few different reptile places in my area for a couple of months before finding one. Noodle loves crickets, but protein-wise he/she has had the occassional tiny bit of egg + banana for treats as well as omnigold (https://www.arcadiareptile.com/earthpro/food/omnigold/), which was recommended to me by the owner of Rainforest Exotics