BLUE TONGUE SKINKS

Hello,

sorry still in my first year with my eastern BTS. So I don't know *my stars! .

Since 3 days the behavior of my skink changed drastically. Before it was pretty shy, with activity times of around 3-4 hours a day, where it basked and mostly stayed in the hides with very little roaming. Sometimes it stayed burrowed for the whole day.
Now it is extremely active, not shy at all, climbing everything in the enclosure (even the walls), digging all over the enclosure, and being very curious.

Any idea what caused this sudden change in behavior? I didn't change any settings. Is it simply that spring is here and it somehow feels that. Is it looking for a mate (the Skink is only 8 months old).

I added a picture of it. Any idea what sex it is?

Just exploring and acquainting itself to their surroundings. It’s a good sign then. It means they don’t feel threatened or in danger when out in the enclosure. Keep in mind not to rush and think just because it’s out that you can reach in and snatch it up. One thing I find to be working with my young skink is talking to them. Allowing them to recognize your voice and understand you’re not a threat. Be sure to try and offer some food when you do things like talking and handling to condition them a bit.

Side note, that thing they’re climbing on in the picture looks dangerous? Blue tongues aren’t climbers and are pretty clumsy when it comes to heights and ledges.

Thanks for the Reply, the "Thing" it is climbing on is just a cork trunk, it's only 10cm high, so I don't see any danger here, the skink goes up and down with no problem.

It could be seasonal behavior. I have had this happen before with eastern males under a year old.

splashy07 wrote:It could be seasonal behavior. I have had this happen before with eastern males under a year old.

Yeah thought so too. A behavior should fulfill some purpose for the animal, it wouldn't waste energy otherwise. Since it is obviously not foraging it has the be either looking for a mate, habitat search, or search for certain conditions (microclimate).
I don't think "curiosity" alone is enough of a trigger to justify several days of very high activity.

I can only help with microclimate so I added a hide with a high humidity substrate to see if that's what the skink is looking for.

If he's preparing to shed that may help, but at that time they are usually inactive. If he is on high alert and not eating much if at all it's more than likely seasonal behavior. I've had males looking to breed at 7-10 months of age. And of course they go insane here as there are females around!