Fatal's FAQs

[Fatal_S]

So while bored at work I'll probably be writing up lots of FAQs. I'd like some input on what I've written so I don't miss anything. So I'll post my FAQs here and would appreciate comments. Then if the FAQ is good I'll make a new thread and our lovely Moderators can use it in the new subforum if approved.

I have an FAQ on taming already up on the new forum HERE. If you read it and see anything that needs to be changed please let me know here.

Now for more rambling posts while I'm supposed to be working...

The topic of BTS food can be very confusing for new BTS owners. I will try to give a summary of the basics for skink food, but make sure to read the caresheet and lots of posts on the forum. The more you learn the better you'll be able to provide for your new skink.

What to feed:
Blue Tongue Skinks are omnivores. They need a diet of meat, vegetables, greens and fruits. A varied diet is best, but there are some basic staples that make for healthy meals. Be sure to check out the diet section of the BTS.net caresheet HERE for more information. I'll try to provide some basics here.
Meat should make up about 60% of a BTS diet. Meats can include human-meats, eggs, dog/cat food, bugs, snails, worms and rats.
- Human meats like chicken, beef and liver are tasty protein for BTS and make a good protein for a meal. Remember that most meats aren't good for calcium, so try to balance it out.
- Egg is often loved by skinks and can be fed raw, whole-in-shell, or cooked. It's something to feed once in a while for variety. Be warned though that egg tends to lead to a big, stinky mess later on.
- Dog and cat food are pre-balanced diets for out fuzzy friends but can also be used for our scaley ones. Keep in mind dog food is an onmivorous diet (already has some veggies) while cat food is carnivorous and contains added taurine. I prefer dog food for my skinks, but use cat food occasionally too.
- Bugs and worms are very natural proteins for lizards and can be a fun to feed. Consider using them as treats when you're playing with your skink.
- Snails are pretty much a BTS-addiction, but they're healthy so feel free to indulge. Snails with shell are full of calcium; if you buy pre-shelled watch out for added salt.
- Rodents like rats and mice can be a neat protein source to use occasionally. Offer only pre-killed rodents to your skink; living animals suffer and can badly injure your pet.
Vegetables and greens are an important part of your skinks diet but many skinks won't willingly eat them unless finely-chopped and mixed with meat. You can buy these foods fresh or frozen, or grow your own. Be careful not to feed anything that may have pesticides on it (ex: dandelions from your yard).
- Collard, mustard, and dandelion greens are very healthy greens. There are lots of greens listed on the food chart for you to experiment with.
- Squashes are fantastic vegetables that many skinks seem to like. Again, be sure to look at the food chart to see all the different vegetables you can offer your BTS.
Fruits are a delicious snack for your skink. Consider using them as a snack when you play with your skink instead of mixing it into the normal meals.
- Bananas are a skink-favorite, but like egg tend to lead to a nasty mess later on. Every skink has it's own likes and dislikes, so try different fruits to find out what makes your skink happy.

How much to feed:
In general I find a skink can eat a meal about equal to the size of it's own head. So a baby skink will only be able to eat a teaspoon or so of food, while a big adult skink could eat a couple tablespoons of food.
There are also some general food-rules such as:
- Hard-food (ex: vegetable) pieces should not be bigger than the space between the lizards eyes.
- Skinks should have some foods they need to bite down on, not just soft, liquid foods.

When to feed:
If you want to know what time of day is best to feed your skink, keep in mind that it needs some time to bask after eating. Offer food any time of day up until about 2 hours before lights out. However this isn't a huge deal, some skinks like to eat at night and will bask the next day. Food can be left in the tank for around 24 hours before it should be removed (some skinks like it fresh, some prefer it warm and stinky).
How often you feed your skink it's usual meal depends on the age of the skink and whether it is overweight or very skinny. Babies need to eat frequently, while adults only need food once a week. Healthy adult BTS can survive several weeks (or even months during brumation) without food.
General guidelines:
- Skinks up to a month old should be offered food daily.
- Skinks from ages 1-6 months should be offered food every second or third day.
- Skinks ages 6 months and up should be offered food once or twice a week.
- Overweight skinks should be fed smaller, healthier meals (more greens, less protein) once a week.
- Skinny skinks should be offered food every day or so until they are a more normal size. If they do not gain weight visit a vet, as there may be a medical issue (internal parasites are common and very easily treated).
- Very skinny skinks should visit a vet right away. Only a vet will be able to tell you why the skink is emaciated and what needs to be done (medicine for parasites, special fattening diet, etc).
If you're wondering if your skink is overweight, look at the belly, the tail, and the jowls (chin). Skinks gain weight in these areas depending on their species. A healthy adult skink should look very streamlined and snake-like. If your young skink is overweight don't worry too much, but if an adult is overweight it's time for a diet.
If you're wondering if your skink is skinny look at the hips, legs, and neck. These areas tend to look very boney in underweight skinks. Normal healthy skinks have the hip-bones slightly visible but well-fleshed. Skinks that are extremely skinny or that won't gain weight despite eating need to see a vet to be diagnosed right away.

Supplementing vitamins when you feed:
Supplements can be a topic of contention. Some people say that a balanced diet needs no supplements, while other argues it never hurts to be on the safe side or that supplements have shown good results. Read up on this topic and decide for yourself. Whatever you use, make sure it's a reptile-safe supplement.
In general there are two kinds of supplements: multivitamins and calcium.
Multivitamins are there to make sure no essential vitamin is being missed in your diet. If your worried your skink might not be getting everything it needs you can add a bit of multivitamin powder every few meals. Use only reptile-safe multivitamins and follow the directions on the container.
Calcium supplements come in two varieties: pure calcium and calcium + D3. Calcium is needed in the diet to keep bones strong, and D3 is needed to make calcium usable by the body. Skinks can calcium from calcium-rich foods, and D3 is obtained either from basking in UVB light or from being added to the diet.
Generally it is considered better to err on the side of caution and provide calcium + D3 every couple meals. There have been no negative side effects shown in providing too much calcium/D3 to a BTS (so far, though it is possible to overdose) but if a skink doesn't have enough usable calcium the bones weaken and bend (called Metabolic Bone Disease or MBD and it can be deadly). I personally powder every second meal with calcium + D3 powder.

What if a skink is picky about food?
This tends to be the biggest issue new BTS owners face. Just like with children, skinks can be very stubborn about eating healthy foods. It is important for you to be firm about your skink eating healthy foods. Unless a skink is sick or underweight you don't need to worry about it starving. Only offer healthy meals; eventually the skink will get hungry and eat what's offered. Do not offer any treat foods until the skink is eating healthy foods.
Even skinks who've previously been good eaters may start refusing healthy food in favor of treats. Simply stop feeding treats until the skink is eating well again.

What if a skink refuses to eat?
There are times when it's normal for BTS to stop eating:
- When you first bring your skink home it may be scared or stressed. Some skinks can take a couple weeks before they settle in and start eating. Unless the skink is sick or underweight just let it come around on it's own time.
- During the winter blue tongues naturally brumate (slow down/sleep). Not all BTS will brumate, but do some research on brumation so you know what to expect. Skinks brumating may stop eating, but as long as your skink isn't losing much weight don't worry.
- During the spring BTS have their minds on one thing, and other things like food are often ignored. As long as your skink isn't losing much weight, just keep offering food occasionally and wait it out.
If none of these scenarios fit your situation, make a post in the General Discussion Forum. Keep in mind that unless your skink is sick, skinny, lethargic, or losing lots of weight you probably don't need to worry.

[Linnea]

i read through it all. i think it sounds good.

maybe add that crickets arent the best in comparison to roaches? and that banana, even as a favourite, isnt the best treat fruit?

[bella3]

Very detailed! I read it, and I think that it includes all of the subjects that it should (supplements, feeding routines etc.)
Good job!

[xxmonitorlizardxx]

I only saw problems in the first quarter of this.

What to feed:
- Human meats like chicken, beef and liver are tasty protein for BTS and make a good protein for a meal. Remember that most meats aren't good for calcium, so try to balance it out.
You should put more emphasis on how a diet that consists of only/mostly human meats can be very bad and cause calcium and nutritional deficiencies.
- Egg is often loved by skinks and can be fed raw, whole-in-shell, or cooked. It's something to feed once in a while for variety. Be warned though that egg tends to lead to a big, stinky mess later on.
- Dog and cat food are pre-balanced diets for out fuzzy friends but can also be used for our scaley ones. Keep in mind dog food is an onmivorous diet (already has some veggies) while cat food is carnivorous and contains added taurine. I prefer dog food for my skinks, but use cat food occasionally too.
I have had omnivorous cat food where you could clearly see the vegetables. You should talk about how the loaf style cat/dog food is the preferred type to use.
- Bugs and worms are very natural proteins for lizards and can be a fun to feed. Consider using them as treats when you're playing with your skink.
What about various roaches and earth/dew worms I thought they were a good staple?
- Snails are pretty much a BTS-addiction, but they're healthy so feel free to indulge. Snails with shell are full of calcium; if you buy pre-shelled watch out for added salt.
Pre-shelled snails sold for the purpose of feeding your skink do not have salt. You should say how it is only in snails sold for human consumption and how you get rid of the salt.
- Rodents like rats and mice can be a neat protein source to use occasionally. Offer only pre-killed rodents to your skink; living animals suffer and can badly injure your pet.
Vegetables and greens are an important part of your skinks diet but many skinks won't willingly eat them unless finely-chopped and mixed with meat. You can buy these foods fresh or frozen, or grow your own. Be careful not to feed anything that may have pesticides on it (ex: dandelions from your yard).
- Collard, mustard, and dandelion greens are very healthy greens. There are lots of greens listed on the food chart for you to experiment with.
- Squashes are fantastic vegetables that many skinks seem to like. Again, be sure to look at the food chart to see all the different vegetables you can offer your BTS.
Fruits are a delicious snack for your skink. Consider using them as a snack when you play with your skink instead of mixing it into the normal meals.
- Bananas are a skink-favorite, but like egg tend to lead to a nasty mess later on. Every skink has it's own likes and dislikes, so try different fruits to find out what makes your skink happy.
You should put more emphasis on how infrequently you should feed fruits. What about berries?

You should also talk about water.

[Richard.C]

i think it looks good mel,

linnea,how are roaches better than crickets if you dont mind me asking?

[Katrina]

ML - if you have more to add, why not write it out instead of telling Mel what she should change or add? That way it shows various opinions and Mel doesn't have to write out every single potential possibility to appease you!

I think it looks great Mel!! Very glad you have time, I don't right now. Thanks for doing this.

[Fatal_S]

This may seem strange to new pet owners, but what's left behind can be a big thing when dealing with animals. Knowing what's normal means you'll know when something is off.

Waste
Waste from a skink comes in 3 parts (usually at the same time):
- Skinks is expel feces as a little brown log. A usual log is an inch or two long and soft. If feces is too hard or very runny you need to look at what the skink's been eating. Internal parasites can also be a cause of runny feces.
- A urate is a semi-solid white blob that contains all the icky stuff that humans pass as urine. Urates are almost always passed at the same time as feces.
- Lastly skinks pass a clear liquid which is pretty much just excess water. Skinks expel water both with feces/urates and alone (usually when they're trying to make you let them go).

Sperm plugs
Sometimes, especially during breeding season, male skinks may leave you little manly presents. These are called sperm plugs, and they look like long, stringy, clear pieces of goo. If you happen to notice these, congratulations it's a boy! However, plugs can be hard to spot, so even if you have a male you may never get to see them.

If something seems abnormal, feel free to ask about it on the forum. Pictures of your issue can help us tell what's going on. Remember that it's okay for waste to be off once in a while and it's only a concern if it continues to be abnormal.

To add to the food section:
Providing Water:
Water is an important topic for our Blue Tongue Skinks. I'll try to summarize all the basics about what your skink will need.
- All animals need water regularly. Skinks are capable of going longer without water than many animals, but try to provide a dish of clean water to drink at all times.
- The exception to the previous rule is that some species (shinglebacks, centralians & westerns) can get sick if the humidity is too high. So if you have one of those species you'll need to offer water every couple of days instead of leaving it in the tank.
- Many skinks also enjoy sitting in their water dishes, especially while shedding, so having a water dish big enough for them to soak in is advised.
- Some reptiles like to use their water dish as a toilet. Be sure to check the water daily and clean it out if it's dirty. In my experience skinks will not drink from dirty water; they wait until you come clean it out.
- Skinks are capable of going without water for up to a week without problems. They can go longer, but it's not recommended. If you know you won't be able to change the water for a few days (vacation, weekend outing) just make sure there's clean water beforehand and change it when you're back.

[xxmonitorlizardxx]

ML - if you have more to add, why not write it out instead of telling Mel what she should change or add? That way it shows various opinions and Mel doesn't have to write out every single potential possibility to appease you!

You said experienced members who feel they can do it. I'm not experienced enough to answer. I'm only giving her input on what she wrote like she said.

[bella3]

Wow, that's great. Thank you very much for doing this!

[Katrina]

You said experienced members who feel they can do it. I'm not experienced enough to answer. I'm only giving her input on what she wrote like she said.

You're telling me after 2 years on this site and even longer owning a bluey that you don't know enough to answer diet questions? I guess the "expert" part was very subjective... I think most people who have had a bluey for 6-12 months and have done their research properly can answer most of these basic questions well and probably do things a bit different which is good - there is no single right method, so showing multiple options that work is good. We'll check over what is written before moving it to the FAQ area, so nothing wrong of questionable will be put there.

So I think you probably qualify and can do a few write ups. Maybe people brand new to keeping BTS should just read and not offer lots of advice, but lots of people on here have the basics down pat.

[El Lobo]

You said experienced members who feel they can do it. I'm not experienced enough to answer. I'm only giving her input on what she wrote like she said.

So I think you probably qualify and can do a few write ups. Maybe people brand new to keeping BTS should just read and not offer lots of advice, but lots of people on here have the basics down pat.

Is ML really qualified? I don't see any stars on his ID.

[Richard.C]