BLUE TONGUE SKINKS

ohk, so this is how Chuckie's meal went today....

I handled him for about 7 mins beforehand, because im teaching him if hes good while handled he'll get food. and then i put him back and gave him the bowl of cockroaches.
He completly ignored them! i dont know why. anyhow, the big roaches of course climbed over the vasoline and have hidden in the wood chips...
yay...
I mean, i dont really mind, bbut can they come back and bite him like crickets do? or will they just keep crawling around?

and then because he paid no interest i nthe roaches, I gave him his salad. He ate ALL of it, which is very unlike him, and then moved onto the catfood mixed with some greens, which he only had a taste of... I dont know why, he usually, like the roaches eats all of it. It is a different brand, but looks the same.

and then he went off for a sleep. I'm a tad worried, because he hasnt eaten for 4 days, only the salad he ate today, whcih was some squash, grapes, & greens. I know im being a worry wart, because they can go for months without food, but its just not like him

and oh btw, hes difinately a boy I saw the hemphires? today while he did a poo. yay! and i think hes goign to have a shed, hes got some flaky skin around his jaw and tail. and one more thing, one of his nostrils has some black gunk in it.. should i be worried?

thanks for reading my ramble.

Sarah

nose - gunk - don't worry - he'll sneeze it out!

It's good to see he's eating well! roaches being in the enclosure can be food to hunt. Where are you again?

congrats its a boy!! about the eating 4 days is not long as long as his not under weight he'll be fine

I'm in Aus, sydney area.

He's quite a chunky guy so I'm sure he'll be fine, thanks for the help.

what's the weather there like?

well summers just finished and its starting to cool down. Still getting some pretty hot and humid days though.

so you're getting the same weather as we in Victoria are. I wouldn't worry so much.

ok, thanks!

going into shed will lessen the appetite and he maybe full at any rate

As far as I know, roaches don't bite. I don't know about your species down in Aus though. Do you know what species of roach they are?

If they're different to what he normally eats, he could be keying on the different smell rather than the visual appearance of them.

I have to second the shed thing, my guy's appetite dwindles up to the shed, then he eats like there's no tomorrow wonce its all said and done.

4 days shouldn't be a problem, and boy, I'm evnoius that yours ate his greens so readily, its always a chore to get greens into Chuff Chuff!!

Is this the first time you used the vasoline? That could have really turned him off the roaches. Just be one the watch now as members have had roaches escape into the tank and ended up with a colony. Maybe it would just be best to feed the live bugs in a bin outside the tank next time.

As for the odd eating habits, BTS are known to randomly change their habits depending on time of year, shed, or just deciding to eat something else. For example if the BTS realizes it could use more protein, it will eat more meat. It's nothing to worry about at all.