BLUE TONGUE SKINKS

Hi everyone, I'm writting because I'm concerned for my skink. She's been acting oddly lately. Before she would hold her head up high and was very alert but lately she just rests her head on her basking rock and pays little attention to what is going on. I'll also catch her with her eyes closed where as she used to always be awake and alter during the day. I've noticed she's put on some weight lately but figure she was just eating well. She's maybe a half a year old ish. When she hunts crickets I've noticed she usually gets a fair amount of substrate at the same time. I'm using cobo fiber substrate by exo terra. I'm worried it might be impaction. Can anyone tell me what to look for? I got home tonight and food some of her droppings. They were dried so I cracked one open and food undigested crickets parts (a whole head) along with a fair amount of substrate. Her fecal matter seems to be much drier and crispier where as it used to seem soft. Hopefully someone can let me know if these are signs of impaction and what the appropriate action to take would be. Thanks so much.

Welcome to the forum, for starters.

Impaction usually means partial or total blockage of the digestive system. If there's partial blockage, there's a better chance of getting things moving again. The coco fibers are a great substrate, I'm sure that by itself isn't a problem. Maybe a diet change is in order?

Crickets are a terrible food source by themselves, and your inspections of the droppings say why. They're really tough to digest. Are you feeding just crickets? What is her daily diet so far? Also, what are the hot and cool side temperatures in the vivarium?

KW

, as Kyle said ,if not feeding veg/greens/fruit, the diet isnt ideal, there are a lot of other live feeders you could use,crickets are not one of them,have you read the caresheet on this site{THE BEST ADVICE ANYWHERE}, feed some of the things on that and it should be all good from then on, does he/she have a good drinking bowl, is there any chance of being pregnant{wrong term,but hey..}could you post photos?everyone here loves them and they give a better chance of an answer, bye for now

What Kyle Weiss said, oh and as leigh said .. PICTURES!

f.C

welcome to the forum!!!!

pictures would be great!

I usually do a three week rotation of Greens (Collard or Dandillion), Butternut Squash and Mango rotating to the next one each week. I feed her roughly 6-8 crickets a day, always dusted with vitamin powder. On the odd ocassion I give her a treat like silk worms or banana.

Also, today she started a shed. Maybe that explains the odd behaviour?

Is she old enough to start eatting cat food?

ting cat food?

If you don' t see improvement after changing diet, (to me, it feels like you're feeding too many crickets! plus, silkworms are supposed to be a great source of food for these guys according to the food chart, which I also highly recommend reading!) take her to a good Herp vet!
Did you get yours from a pet store? If so, its a very good idea to have a vet check her out anyways, for internal parasites. Bring the freshest sample of poo you can get so the vet can get a more accurate reading on the fecal. Good luck, I hope she'll be OK!

She seems much better today. I think it might just have been because of the shed, still I'll keep my guard up.

i agree with kyleweiss, after i feed my bluey a cricket, his next poop would be mostly the crickets exsoskeloton

Truthfully I'd skip the crickets all together. Get a high-quality cat or dog food, one that isn't filled wity by-products, fish or preservatives (and also be cautious with the contaminated pet food that's been going around...) and you can start feeding now.

A lot of us cook our own meats, lean chicken, turkey and beef to feed. Silkworms and snails are great live foods, too.

I'm glad she's doing better.

KW

i still like crickets, because when my bluey eats it, he always leaves the head but i have some dog food too in the fridge

Your skink must be a pretty accurate hunter.

Dagens24 wrote:I usually do a three week rotation of Greens (Collard or Dandillion), Butternut Squash and Mango rotating to the next one each week. I feed her roughly 6-8 crickets a day, always dusted with vitamin powder. On the odd ocassion I give her a treat like silk worms or banana.

Also, today she started a shed. Maybe that explains the odd behaviour?

Is she old enough to start eatting cat food?

ting cat food?

Quigs is grumpy hissy and won't eat or poo for about 3 days before he sheds. So it's entirly possible that was his problem

Gorgeous skink by the way.

She looks a bit small for 6 months, as a baby she should be getting much more protein, but your botanical portion of the diet is pretty good.

Botanical...

Such whimsical creativity with the responses lately, Nomad.

KW

Well, I rolled pretty high on my charisma and wisdom scores....

That's what you get for taking drugs. Enough of your "high rolling."

KW

Haha, if these so called "drugs" are enhancing my vocabulary, I will continue to take them.

To bad I don't use any drugs, even Tylenol or aspirin.

Just enjoy your chemicals inhaled from the surrounding environment? The "homeopathic," approach. Building resistance. Nice. Punk-rock med school here you come.

KW

When I first got a bluey I was so concerned when my bluey did not eat crickets. Then I learned from talking to other people on the forum not to stess the crickets so much. I then started cooking up chicken, beef, using cat food along with snails and then the veggies. My bluey loves blueberries. I try to mix things up when feeing but the blueberries are a must i because they are his favorite. He would take that over a pinkie any day. As time goes by you will know what your bluey likes.