BLUE TONGUE SKINKS

1) my skink is shedding. it started with the tail and head and is working it's way to the middle. should i expect one big piece or many small pieces of shed? how many days should i allow the shed to go on before inspecting for left-over shed? what is the best way to help remove stubborn parts?

2) my skink will not touch her food bowl. she knows it is there and even licks/sniffs it, but will not eat out of it. she will eat food gotten from the bowl out of my hand or if i put it on the ground right in front of her. what do i do?

3) how often should i expect my baby skink to go potty?

I don't know anything about anything, but regarding the shedding: cut a hole in a tupperware container and put moist paper towels in there, changing them daily. I did this before my skink's latest shed and the whole process went beautifully. I placed it in the warm end because that's where he spends most of his time, and then I had to "introduce" him to it. But after he figured out what it was he spent a couple straight days in there prior to the actual shed. I imagine it would help even if they are in the middle of the process. I also have a couple bricks in the tank, and I found lots of shed stuck to them, so they were very useful for him to rub against. I was advised by Andrew to resist messing with the delicate scales on the face. But you can give her a soak if stuck shed persists. And yeah, expect small pieces.

My skink is a glutton and will take a flying leap off a cliff if he thinks there is food at the bottom, but maybe something about the bowl is intimidating to yours? Like the height of the edges maybe? If she'll eat off the ground in front her, maybe try putting it on a paper plate so it's at her level. They are very tiny after all.

I like using paper plate saucers to feed my babies. It's very low so it's easy for them to get to the food and it's easy clean up. Just throw it in the trash

My babies seem to go potty almost every day. Sometimes every other but usually every day. It took a week or so after they were shipped to start going, but after that wow lol. Also, the poo is fairly small so it may be hard to find, especially if you use a lot of aspen. I wouldn't worry.

As for shed, from what I've seen it normally comes off in pieces. They may come off in one piece as an adult but my babies shed comes off in chunks. I let them shed for a couple days then I look them over. I usually use some water to get any shed that is stuck. I try rubbing the dry skin first. Around toes though I like to moisten the shed a little. It makes it easier to get it off of that sensitive area.

You'll be surprised how easy the shed comes off with a little water.

Mate they're all slightly different,


1=Mine has done both methods, not a one piece change but a few large bits, and a million and one scales individually , and anything from 2 days to 10 days start to finish so dont panic
try this



2=mine'll go off food for a good few days,before/during/after shed so dont panic .

3=frequently but not all the time so dont panic

My babies don't eat from their bowl much, but what i do is pick them up and kind of stick their nose in the food so they get a taste/smell of it then i let them go and they eat away.
As for shedding, my lil baby shed tonight and it was so cool. I could see it at his neck and i ran my fingers along his body and it came off almost in one piece...my nephews loved it!


Kris

A lot of times you have to just stick their noses right in it! That's how we get our babies to start eating right away, otherwise you have to wait till they're hungry and find it themselves. Once you stick their nose in, they realize immediately what it is and eat. the IAMS chicken catfood seems to be more popular with these babies than the spot's stew.

Just be sure it's something low to the ground.

For shedding, let her do it herself for a couple days, being a baby, it should be pretty fast. Could be bits and pieces and probably will be.

They goto the bathroom ALL the time as babies.

are minced black olives ok to feed them? i just ask because it's easier to keep around and deal with than greens... no matter to me eithe rway.

I believe canned olives have a very high salt content.

Terribly high in sodium. True. Not a good bluey food.

KW