BLUE TONGUE SKINKS

I know I may just be being paranoid but I am honestly afraid that my skink is gonna drop his tail. He's an indo and after being held for a while he gets a bit grumpy and as some other owners know, they like to flip their tails around like pseudo whips. I am afraid that one day hes gonna whip his tail and its gonna hit right at the perfect spot and its gonna break off and then his perfect little tail will be no more. Can this actually happen? Can they drop their tails just from being afraid, or does another element or animal actually have to tug on it? Am I just being paranoid?

I am not 100% but I feel at least 80% sure that the tails will detach if they run from prey and it gets some tugging pressure then it will pop off from being pulled so they can still flee... but they are not like geckos where they can detach it easily.

Andrew Seike recently had a case where one of his baby northerns saw a shadow and litterally dropped it's tail. This is the only case like this I've heard of in BTS. Generally they need some force or a good squeeze to remove it.

Also, Pryce does the tail whip too, but I'm not worried about it coming off. They tend to do it because they're not being totally supported or feel off-balance. Make sure you're holding him right if he does it. I tend to just hold him against my chest so he feels pretty stable, but he'll whip his tail around as I go to pick him up or put him away. Don't worry about it so much.

Hmm, didn't Andrew say that the tail had some previous trauma though? I don't believe BTS can drop their tails on command. That just doesn't make sense. Some pulling and tugging is required.

someone else (Nomad?) had a skink fall from his bed or something and it dropped its tail on impact from the fall.

The only time skinks really whip their tail is when they are not being supported on their back end. Make sure you support the entire body, including most of the tail.

Most lizards are capable of the phenomenon known as caudal autonomy. In other words, the vertebrae in the tail have a fracture point in the center, and are able to cleanly snap off. The tail then grows back with cartilage.


Looking back at that thread, I think some people were being a bit over-concered. Lizards do break their tails regularly in the wild. Also, 3 inches off a gigas tail is completely different than a northern or eastern.

While it should obviously be avoided, some tail loss from a gigas isn't a huge call for alarm.

I have a Indonesian that I took from a friend and he was a rescue.I never had one before but he jumps around like a Mexican Jumping Bean,whipping the tail around.
Are you saying all Indo's do that,because I as thinking he was crazy.

When I got him he was nameless but now he is named Wiggles.

Gennie

Wiggles looks gorgeous! If he's wiggling around and trying to whip his tail, he's either not feeling supported enough, or he's trying to escape, or a combination of both. First off, make sure you're fully supporting his legs, they don't like flying too much. If he continues to squirm and thrash when he's solidly supported, I'd assume he's trying to get away. In this case I'd get a nice towel and wrap him up in it when holding him. Let him use this towel as well when you put him down somewhere as a place to hide if he's scared. Treats and exploring make handling a nicer experience for him too.

My northern, Pryce, came from a pet store, and he tends to thrash a bit when he's being grumpy. If he doesn't calm down after a minute, I just put him on one arm with his tail tucked between my arm and my side, and his feet all on the arm. This works well for calming him down. Also, when I first take him out he thrashes a lot, so I'll set him on my lap for a moment to get his bearings, then I'll pick him up to go somewhere. Try different things and see what works with your skink.

I should of specified,Wiggles does this while in the cage or on a table or floor.He doesn't do it when being held.
I was just curious after Payday asked if it was something Indo's do?
He is a lovely skink.

Gennie

I've never heard of them doing that while on the ground... strange.

NomadOfTheHills wrote:I've never heard of them doing that while on the ground... strange.

What he said.

Well I don't know what to say but when he is on me he is calm.
He wasn't when I first got him but I hold him daily and I guess he is used to me now.
I get the impression that when he does do it on the table or bed ect,its because he thinks I am going to pick him up but once he is picked up he is ok.

Gennie

Whipping the tail around can be part of their defense. I get it from my Indo and my Kei's. What type of cage do you have? I have found that open front cages work best with these guys. They definetly can freak out when being picked up from above. Indo's do tend to be flightier and spook easier.

Dragontears wrote:someone else (Nomad?) had a skink fall from his bed or something and it dropped its tail on impact from the fall.

But that was only because he landed on his tail bending like "C" and snapping off, right Nomad?

I'm pretty sure that's what happened, yes.

i have only have known them to drop there tails when tugged or strained.

Gennie, beautiful Indo! Looks just like my Fenix! I am trying to find other Indo's around, seems no one I can find is breeding them...at least not this year...?

Oh, by the way. I don't have any "tail whipping" episodes with Fenix, he just huffs and puffs a lot and, when I move him around too much he might "pee" on me. He really seemed to like the towel idea, though...calmed right down and didn't move around at all...it was like majic...worried the towel was too tight for a while, then fixed it and still the same thing...amazing!

By the way...all you Pros, does putting them in a towel slow the "taming" process in your opinion? Just curious on that one...