BLUE TONGUE SKINKS

Hi, I have just recently got a new pet blue tongue lizard, he is currently 2 months old and I have had him for a month. He is normally very friendly and loves to climb onto my hand and is easy to hand feed but over the past two days he keeps hiding under his bush, and he somehow looks depressed and when i feed him he grabs the cricket off me and takes it back under his bush and eats it. He also nipped me twice when i went to offer my hand to see if he wanted to climb on, although it could be irrelevant because i had just eaten chocolate. But today when i go to pet him he always looks up, watching my hand and looks nervous. A possible thing it could have been is that, the other day I put him on my table outside to bathe in the sun for about half an hour, and my mum went to pick him up and his back legs were all limp like they were asleep, and then he suddenly ran and jumped into her lap. Ever since then, he seems somewhat reclusive and wont climb onto me. He is also kept in the lounge, so sometimes it could get a bit noisy (am not sure if this is relevant either). Any answers mean so much to me as I am extremely worried about him! Thank you in advance.

Welcome

check your temperatures. you need a basking spot of 40 C, a warm side of around 32 C and a cold side near 25C.

you need to know that blueys may hide for weeks at a time, after basking just a little they just bury or hide. this is absolutely normal and no cause of concern, it is even healthy as a secure hiding place is essential to pretty much any reptile.
While shedding, they go into hide for a week as well, even before turning a bit dull, and they get a nasty mood and dont bask. All blueys are different, but pretty much all bts tend to change a bit when theyre about to shed. so dont worry.

a bush is normally not enough of a hide, maybe give him more?

just dont take him out of his hide unless you have seen any sign of injury. Breathing with a rustling sound, bubbles from nose, liquid from nose or eyes or drool(thats not the water it just drank, they tend to drop a bit sometimes) in that case you will need to see a vet.

dont forget chocolate is toxic to most animals >.< so wash your hands.... you may need to read the caresheet about feeding in case you havent already, since you say youre feeding crickets, and sometimes this is worrysome with new bluey owners getting the wrong information from pet stores. to prevent mbd make sure you supplement calcium and have either D3 supplement or and uvb bulb.

for this forum, photos are great

Linnea wrote:Welcome

check your temperatures. you need a basking spot of 40 C, a warm side of around 32 C and a cold side near 25C.

you need to know that blueys may hide for weeks at a time, after basking just a little they just bury or hide. this is absolutely normal and no cause of concern, it is even healthy as a secure hiding place is essential to pretty much any reptile.
While shedding, they go into hide for a week as well, even before turning a bit dull, and they get a nasty mood and dont bask. All blueys are different, but pretty much all bts tend to change a bit when theyre about to shed. so dont worry.

a bush is normally not enough of a hide, maybe give him more?

just dont take him out of his hide unless you have seen any sign of injury. Breathing with a rustling sound, bubbles from nose, liquid from nose or eyes or drool(thats not the water it just drank, they tend to drop a bit sometimes) in that case you will need to see a vet.

dont forget chocolate is toxic to most animals >.< so wash your hands.... you may need to read the caresheet about feeding in case you havent already, since you say youre feeding crickets, and sometimes this is worrysome with new bluey owners getting the wrong information from pet stores. to prevent mbd make sure you supplement calcium and have either D3 supplement or and uvb bulb.

for this forum, photos are great

Okay I will take that all into account, thank you very much! Yeah I'm a first time owner, and the pet shop didn't give me very specific requirements, had to do most of my research online. I will put some pictures up when I can. And once again thank you so much!

Welcome to the forum! I've moved your thread because its not an Advanced Discussion topic.

You've gotten some great advice so far. Make sure your temps are good and make sure he has some secure hiding spots, as Linnea said a bush doesn't sound like much of a hiding place. Hiding is completely normal, and most will hide more often than they will sit out in the open.

I don't see any harm in taking him out of his hide if you want to. I often wake mine up while they're hiding.

Crickets are not recommended as a staple diet for bts (use as treats only!) so I am more concerned at this point with your skink's diet than his wanting to hide. Please read the caresheet and take a close look at the food chart. Best diet for these guys is some chopped greens & veggies mixed up with canned cat/dog food for protein. Pick up a Calcium + D3 supplement to sprinkle on his food every other feeding, and a multivitamin every so often doesn't hurt either.

Alioop wrote:Welcome to the forum! I've moved your thread because its not an Advanced Discussion topic.

You've gotten some great advice so far. Make sure your temps are good and make sure he has some secure hiding spots, as Linnea said a bush doesn't sound like much of a hiding place. Hiding is completely normal, and most will hide more often than they will sit out in the open.

I don't see any harm in taking him out of his hide if you want to. I often wake mine up while they're hiding.

Crickets are not recommended as a staple diet for bts (use as treats only!) so I am more concerned at this point with your skink's diet than his wanting to hide. Please read the caresheet and take a close look at the food chart. Best diet for these guys is some chopped greens & veggies mixed up with canned cat/dog food for protein. Pick up a Calcium + D3 supplement to sprinkle on his food every other feeding, and a multivitamin every so often doesn't hurt either.

Oh wow! The people I took advice from must of been living under a rock haha, I was told feeding them crickets as a staple diet was recommended. Thank you so much for your advice! I feel so silly

This is why you should always do your own research! Read the caresheet. I can't emphasize this enough. There are parts of it that are a little outdated but overall its a great resource. Also, browse through the old posts here in the forum, there's lots of excellent information in there as well (including tons of topics about feeding). Just please don't resurrect any topics over a few weeks old. If you come up with new questions you can post them in this thread or make a new one.

Alioop wrote:This is why you should always do your own research! Read the caresheet. I can't emphasize this enough. There are parts of it that are a little outdated but overall its a great resource. Also, browse through the old posts here in the forum, there's lots of excellent information in there as well (including tons of topics about feeding). Just please don't resurrect any topics over a few weeks old. If you come up with new questions you can post them in this thread or make a new one.

Yeah I read the caresheet, I'm going out A.S.A.P tomorrow to get all the food he requires for a staple diet. I can't thank you enough for your help, it means so much to me and the little man!

I'm glad this forum is helping you, and that you found us! Everyone has pretty much said what i was going to say, so i'll just say this:
PVC pipes are great toys/hides, my northern cant get enough of his, he loves tubes. Just make sure they cant get stuck.

also: PICS please

Sapphire I gotta see pics of yours hiding/playing with the tubes! For some reason that is to hilarious to believe.

Everyone has given great advice I love new bluey posts. So glad you found us

Tea Cup loves her half-log. I really like the way it looks and she loves it. It's right below her heat lamp so she can be inside of it while still being warm. Also my god-mother sent us old, thick pieces of bark & rocks a few years ago, she LOVES those. Just a few ideas!
P.S. Always make sure you boil/bake whatever you give your skinks! preferably twice or three times.

Welcome to the forum!!!

Thank you everyone for your friendliness, excellent advice and kind words! My bluey seems alot more happy and active after I rearranged his terrarium and changed his diet. Will upload pics later when I can!