Skink not eating :( Help!

[pryme]

I've had my BTS Santana since June 07. I got him from a rescue organization. He had been badly neglected and is missing many toes. He is my first BTS. He is 18.5 inches long from tail to head, he hasn't grown since I've had him, I don't know age, sex, or breed. He's not eating fruit or veggies. I've always had a tough time trying to get him to eat veggies but up until about two and a half weeks ago he was eating fruits fine. I'm starting to get really worried about him. He seems very eager to eat pinkies(calcium powder supplemented) which I've fed him three times in the since he started his fruit fast. I've offered him plenty of things like mango, orange, raspberries, apple, green peppers, blueberries, and cantaloupe but he won't eat any of them. Theses are all things he has eaten regularly in the past. He lives in a 4 foot by 2.5 foot by 2 foot enclosure. He has a UVA heat lamp, a fluorescent bulb lamp over a wire mesh top, and a heating rock. I have a thermometer that says his enclosure is 81 degrees Fahrenheit. I've been using the care sheet on this website from the beginning. What should I do? Should I take him to a vet? Also if anyone knows how to determine his sex, age, or breed please let me know. Here are some pictures.

[SailleSkinklover]

He looks healthy enough. . . Is he losing weight?
Did you get a weight on him when you first got him to compare by chance?
And I take it you've read the caresheet on what to feed? (your offerings sound good to me, you can mix/blend collard greens and veg into his food to make a mush, and that way he'll eat them no matter what)

Also, (my bad) I didn't notice where you are located. . . but if you're in a cold or cooler area in the Northern Hemisphere, Blueys are brumating for the most part right now. (sort of semi hibrenation where they sleep a lot lot lot and their appetites seriously dwindle. )

There is a sticky thread on Brumation near the top, give it a go thru, hopefully that should help?

Oh and Welcome to BTS.net!! Your Skinker is a handsome one!

[pryme]

He looks healthy enough. . . Is he losing weight?
Did you get a weight on him when you first got him to compare by chance?
And I take it you've read the caresheet on what to feed? (your offerings sound good to me, you can mix/blend collard greens and veg into his food to make a mush, and that way he'll eat them no matter what)

Well I haven't weighed him but it doesn't look like he's losing weight but I'll make sure to weigh him and see if he does. I do live in the Northeast in the United States however I try to keep his cage around 80 degrees F during the day. At night however his cage has dipped in to the low 60s. I read the stickied thread on brumating and that was certainly relieving and informative. So should I stop feeding him? He eats protein very eagerly just not fruits and veggies. He's usually basking and walking around a couple hours after his light goes on. Thanks for the information. I think I'll try some veggies and fruits blended into a small amount of cat food tomorrow.

[SailleSkinklover]

I wouldn't stop feeding him completely, but during winter months you can seriously cut back on how often you offer food. Sometimes, even with the cage temps fairly constant, they'll still brumate. Mine seems to be keyed on outside daylight somehow regardless of the house/cage temps.
My guy has gone down to eating maybe once a week, or even less depending on how much he's sleeping. I think he's gone about two weeks solid without food a couple few times this winter as well.
When I see him out and about and looking somewhat more active, then I offer food and he eats like there's no tomorrow!
Then its right back to slumberland again for however long the weather stays colder.
I always make sure to have the light on and the basking rock warm for him to digest though.
For veggies, try sweet potato, mine loves it! Also, most squash.
I've never fed bell peppers, because I can't stand 'em myself!

Be warned, somwtimes when they wake up from brumating, they tend to lay a ginormous poo.

[Fatal_S]

Welcome to the forum! Nice pictures.

If he's not losing weight and his condition doesn't seem to be deteriorating, I'd say don't worry. If you want to try getting him to eat, chop all the food (veggies, meat, fruits) very fine and make a mash, so if he wants to eat (he may not) he'll have to deal with the veggies to get the meat.

Is the heat rock you have electric? If so, that has the potential to cause serious burns to your animal. I'd turn it off and just use it as a regular rock. Check his belly to see if there's any unusual marks or colors, in case he's been burned, as this could upset him and change his appetite.

Looks like you have a nice Northern BTS. You can't tell sex in BTS easily, sorry. My northern was born around May 07, and is about the same size. You're was likely born May/June 06, as a guess, could be earlier years though. Northerns grow very quickly their first year, then really slow down. Considering his neglect, he may never get to a larger size. Has he been shedding since he's been with you?

Good luck with him, and don't panic unless he starts getting sick or losing weight ^.^

[shingleback aus]

first of all welcome to the forum!! your bluey looks healthy to me i would probably go to the vet to get it checked out to see it is in great health. with feeding i wouldnt be to worried about that if your in the states he should be brumating now theres a thread at the top of the page. i would check out the care sheet if you havent already it ansers most questions and has a great downloadable food chart.
good luck and nice pics

[Leigh]

Hello nice to see new members here, the others have pointed you in the right direction, I'll add this, the tube/lamp needs to UVB not UVA, I dont like heat rocks(can be dangerous)get a normal spot lamp and direct it onto the (unplugged) heat rock to make it a 100F basking spot,with upper 70'sF on the other end, they tend to ignore greens and veg if you offer (and they know it) things like mice and other feeders, I'd leave him off of food for a week or so as I think he's still brumating and not fully into the new years swing. Dont feel bad about not offering food for a while they can and DO go months without food ,as long as there's fresh water to drink he'll be fine.

I think you have a nice Northern, and given time you'll learn his mannerisms and get a great freindship going.

[Tattoo]

Welcome to the forum. Your skink is lovely. Sounds like brunation to me. Mine has gone two weeks without eating several times since October. Even if you keep them warm they know what the weather outside is doing and they follow suit. I agree with the others ... if you have an electric heat rock please get well rid. It's not worth having it run amuck and burning your little buddy. Oh yes and of course we never tire of

[pryme]

Thanks for all the advice. He's only shed twice since I've had him. So I suspect he's been full grown for a while now.

[pryme]

Also I've been noticing he has a lot of rough/loose scales on his belly, what could this be caused by? There doesn't seem to be any discoloration and he last shed in December so I don't think he's going to shed soon.

[Fatal_S]

The rough belly seems to be a fairly common winter thing. Like dry skin or chapped lips for us.

[Celeste]

All the experts have already posted, but if he's going down to the 60s at night, he probably just wants to be brumating! Don't worry about it. I have a shingleback that has gone about three months now without eating much of anything.

And the rough scales on his belly might be burns from that hot rock -- those things are just *evil*! I've seen some really serious burns on reptiles from them. Do get rid of it asap! I use a 15 Watt seedling heat mat from the hardware store under one end of my cages instead. Or you can use an infrared bulb or ceramic heater in a dome fixture on top of your cage. Read the brumation sticky, but he'll need access to a basking light for a few hours each day just in case he has any food in his tummy to digest or just feels like warming up a bit once in a while.

Otherwise, looks like a nice setup!

-- C

[SailleSkinklover]

Oy Veh, I forgot to mention the heat rock! So I'll ditto what everybody else has said, they are dangerous! (Some friends of mine lost their cobra due to fatal burns from one of those. )

I have a nice warm light above a big red brick I bought at Lowes for my guy. The brick is great because it was cheap, sturdy, big, warms up to the perfect temps and it files down his claws when he climbs all over it!

Do you have a good herp vet?

The first thing I did when I got mine was took him in for a check up, just to get a starting point with his health and how I could improve it. Also, the vet knows him healthy now, so if anything ever goes wrong, he'll have record of health history. I found my boy had parasites, so I am so glad he went in for the check up! (they ran a fecal)

[Fatal_S]

If you can, post a picture or 2 of his belly. He looks like a grumpy old man, I love it.