BLUE TONGUE SKINKS

So you all know about my Indo Leela. Well she is quite the skiddish lady and proving to be flighty and somewhat hard to tame. Today I took her out in the morning when it was still a little cool in her viv. I wanted to trim her nails but she wasn't having it. Anyways, I wrapped her in a towel (which works like a wonder Thanks!) and stroked her from the tip of her head to her neck until she calmed down. Eventally, I caught her with one eye closed and one eye open. Later, she even had both eyes closed. We really bonded!

What I am wondering is, does it mean their calm when they close one or both eyes?

Sounds like you are making headway! I would say one eye closed and one eye open is I'm giving in a little but still watching you. Both eyes closed I would take as a sign of security. Wrapping her in the towel may have helped to make her feel safe. You might want to continue to wrap her in a towel while she is on your lap and stroke her head. She will probably eventually get curious and come out on her own. Feels great when they start to give in doesnt it?

yes i would say you are heading in the right direction. There are a couple reasons why reptiles and or many animals for that matter close their eyes when being stoked or handled. One of course is zoning out, the reptile is afraid but knows it can't get away and so goes into a bit of a la la land and waits for a loose grip to bolt, the other, and i think that is where you are is that it is feeling no anxiety about its circumstance. With my limited exp with BTS i see more of the latter as being the case. The more time you spend the better it will become.

They tend to close their eyes when they are stressed out.

My bluie Wigley always has one eye open oneeye closed when he's being held. And when he opens his eyes he has a lazy look in him. While snappy is always alert!!

wow very cool my indo closes her eyes when i rub her head she tends to like it!!! i think you guys bonded!!!

If they're just closing their eyes and chilling out, then yes, it's relaxation. But if you're rubbing their head and they close their eyes that's just a defense for the eyes.

sounds like shes warming up to you! notice when she closes her eyes, like when you rub certain areas etc?

Sammy closes her eyes when I rub her head and back of her neck. Sometimes she stays that way and falls asleep even after I've gone. lol
In her case, I think she's sleepy to begin with.

This discussion reminds me of the old far side cartoon about the many moods of an Irish Setter.

HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!

New2Blueys wrote:What I am wondering is, does it mean their calm when they close one or both eyes?

Yes. Some like being stroked, others don't. Sounds like yours definitely does.

Haha I love farside. I bought my dad an encyclopedia type book of all the farside comics ever created.

Anyways, Thanks for all the advice. Very helpful, as usual. I hope she's warming up to me. If she likes to be stroked, maybe she'll end up being the lap lizard I had hoped for after all.

My blue tounge skink Vegeta has a lazy eye is that normal

Vegetathebts what do you mean by lazy eye? Is your skink closing it's eye all the time?