BLUE TONGUE SKINKS

Hi guys,

My name is Kate and I have a 5 month old blue tongue named Trojan. I just found this website and its great, I have been reading over everyones posts and they have been very helpful!

Trojan is normally a very healthy lizard, but on Sunday I discovered that he had thrown up in his tank while driving home. He has never got carsick before but I thought maybe that was the problem. A few hours later he had some apple, and he threw that up again. The next morning I gave him some mince and he defecated it whole, it was undigested. So.. I tried him on a smaller bit of mince and some milk yesterday afternoon and he has kept that down. He is in the process of shedding, so I'm wondering if this is the cause of his sickness? He has had runny poo for about a week but after reading other posts about fruit I think I have been giving him too much fruit which has been making his poo runny. Does anyone have any ideas?

Also, the last 2 sheds he has been with his dad so I haven't seen them. At the moment his scales seem to be coming off one at a time, is this meant to happen or is this just the beginning and it will come off in bigger sheets soon?

I'd love to post some pictures when I get my camera working!

Also, does anyone have any suggestions for bedding? I live in Bendigo, Victoria, and I can't find aspen shavings anywhere. I used repta-bed last time but its hard to clean so I was wondering about other things I could use? I was thinking of trying breeders choice cat litter.

Thanks in advance guys Sorry my first post is so long!

What size tank, what is the basking temp and cool side temp?

His tank is about 1 metre in length, 50cm wide and about 70cm high. We are planning to buy him a massive new one when he gets a bit bigger. His basking side is about 39-40 degrees and the cool side is probably about 23 degrees (celcius).

Hmm, good temps, doesn't seem to be temp related.

Hey kate - Fellow Victorian here, one of my blotchies threw up last night. I too have never seen this happen, it was strange - he shook like he was having an epileptic fit then threw up - he then ate his upchuck - mmm yummy!

In reagards to your substrate I use kitty litter.

Go here: www.fibrecycle.com.au I use the one in the middle cuz i haven't found the one on the right anywhere. It's recycled paper and you can buy it from Safeway. Easy to clean - no smell - and they can burrow into it.

What sort of bluey do you have?

We are pretty sure he is an Eastern

I'm not too sure whats going on with his shedding tho, a couple more scales have come off but nothing major....

Yeah that happens - maybe he's a tad dry? You might want to try soaking your bluey in some warm water. Obviously not too deep - maybe 2 - 3 inches of water - leave him in there for atleast 30 mins and see if any has come off. Just make sure you keep an eye on him. it's nothing to worry about though - it's just dead skin!!! Has he been eating any more?

I would hold off the food for a couple days. Let its stomach/digestive system settle down. Then I would have a fecal exam ran to eliminate intestinal parasites. I would also look for a product that you can add to its food to increase the amount of beneficial bacterial to its digestive tract. I also think that a good vet exam would also be a good idea.

thanks for your advice, its a comfort! I will try soaking him. He hasnt eaten yet no, I think maybe after he sheds he will, but I will go offer him some more mince now

I hope he gets better soon... but I have one question..

What exactly is "mince" ?

thanks brad, how do i go about getting a fecal exam done? Just get a collection in a jar and take it to a normal vet? Any idea how much it costs?

Troj is soaking as we speak, I think he likes it

Mince.. just like beef mince.. you know the stuff that you make spag bol with?

Here in the US, you just take it to a vet that deals with exotic animals. it costs about $15US around where i live. But yes, you want to collect a "fresh" sample and take it to the vets. If you cant get there right away, keep it in the refrigerator.

Does beef mince= hamburger?

yeh i think so :s I'm not sure what you would call it over here. Its like ground up steak and yup u can make hamburgers with it, or rissoles, or meatballs. I feed it to him raw. Its from a cow that we had killed so there are no yukky hormones in it like the shop brought stuff!

We call it chop or ground meat.

Thanks, you guys... I wanted to assume ground or chopped meat, but "ass-u-me" crossed my mind and... well.... yeah, better to just ask.

Try some pinkie Mice - not rats - unless he's big enough - if he craps that out full - there's a problem. probably just the excess fruit - try some scrambled or boiled egg too. - i'd cook the meat too - just to make 100% sure there's nothing in it that could be harmful.

Aspen is not readily available here in Aus, but I saw it once and it looks just like wood shavings. I didn't like the look of it.

There are two types of cat litter that alot of people use here. There is the breeders choice like the one Luke mentioned. That's like little sausage shaped pellets. The other one you can try is Dr Harrys cat litter, that is also sold in Coles supermarket under their brand name. It's like little tufts of dried paper and is the same as what the americans call Carefresh, only ours is unbleached so it's grey in colour.

I tried breeders choice once and didn't like it. I'm now using the Dr Harrys and it's great.

Blueys don't shed in one piece like snakes, so it's normal to find a mess of scales all over the place (and on your floor, and on your clothes and in your hair and well, they'll end up everywhere!)

Throwing up is not normal. What diet was he on previously? He may be reacting to the change. Definately keep fruits for more as treats or only a small portion of his diet, up the veggies (mash them into meat or dog or cat food if he's picky) and little babies can afford more protein than adults. So a little dog or cat food won't hurt him.

Welcome! What made you name your bluey after a brand of condom?
just kidding

Thanks Lisa,

Haha, I didn't Trojan was a brand of condom! my partners name is troy and his nickname used to be trojan troy so thats why we called him trojan

Um I don't think I fed him anything new before he threw up.. I have mainly been giving him mince, egg, milk, tried him on a bit of raw chicken and he loved it but now im worried it should have been cooked, lots of apple and pear. He is fussy he wont eat his vegies but he loves to lick ice cream I was thinking that maybe it was carsickness because it was a very curvey road...

When he is feeling better I plan to mush up veggies in the mince to get him to eat it, I'm a bit worried about him not getting enough calcium.

I just use a normal 75 watt globe and have that in his tank, it makes his basking rock about 39 degrees, but I think I should be using a special light. Can u reccomend one? Preferably the cheapest as I can't afford much. We put his tank in the sun when its sunny but yeah I know we need to do something better!

Love Kate

Hi Kate! normal globes are just fine for heat, you don't need anything fancy. I use Phillips Spotone ones, because they kind of light downwards rather than the whole globe. They're cheap as, you can get em at Coles or Safeway or Bunnings, they're only a couple of bucks. They're in a red box, if you go look at one you'll see what I mean about the light going downwards. It's directed straight down, to onto their basking spot. Your globe size will depend on the size and height of your tank.

If however you wish to provide UV, then they are pricey, they start around $50. And even though the light will last for years, the UV will only last for about 6 months. You can only get them at petshops.

However, if you can get your little guy out into the sun, even just an hour a week, more obviously is better, then that's better than any uv light out there. I do have UV lights, but I use them purely for light, the UV is long gone from them. I take my blueys out every day for sun.

Re food: It's very easy for them to become picky eaters. But! They will eat if they are hungry! And they don't need to eat everyday anyway. I'd ease up on the milk and egg (mine also love ice cream but it's not good for them!), dairy is not something that their digestive systems may readily cope with as they don't get it in the wild.

Try some dog food (the wet gravy type ones) whiskas jellymeat cat food, boiled chicken usually gets scoffed real quick too. Remember but that at this time of the year they generally slow down for winter, so if he's not interested in food that would be perfectly normal.

Sorry bout the Trojan quip! I probably shouldn't have thrown that one in. A few weeks ago my other half bought a set of Trojan brand hammers and chisels, and when he got home he said he was going to go play with his trojans. He also didn't know that it is a brand of condom

hi kate,welcome to the sight,another aussie,you said u had him in the car,perhaps hes stressed still from that,wouldnt think it would be car sickness,but who knows,also read the care sheet on this site for great info on things to feed,they certainly can be picky,but if u try lots of good things u will find what he likes and dislikes,also,i wouldnt recomend milk or ice cream in his diet,also id use pal or chum 5 kinds of meat instead of the mince,as the mince can be very fatty and low in goodness,compared to the dog chow,good luck with him,i also suggest giving him a day or 3 rest before trying to get him to eat if he cant keep it down,as he may need a break to settle hid tum,good luck and dont be shy in asking questions as we r all here for the blue ones