BLUE TONGUE SKINKS

I went to a pet store today and to my surprise they had a bluey. I first saw him and thought he was in bad shape but when I picked him up he didn't look TOO bad. The people at the petstore were complete morons and knew absolutley nothing about them. I asked they guy what kind he was and he said blue tongue . The owner was there and I asked him what they were feeding and he said waxworms, crickets and romaine. The owner has a bluey behind the counter in a cage with a beardy, he said he had him for ten years. Anyway, the one for sale has been there for three months and they said they got him when he was a baby from a warehouse near my house. They claim he is captive bred but I don't beleive. He has a weird indent on his side, I think it is his ribs. It is hard to tell though, it feels like an indentation when you run your fingers down his side. Mbd? It also looks like he has stuck shed but thats an easy fix. The cage he kept him in had a really small water bowl and you can tell they don't clean them often. He was really friendly though. I really want to get him to get him into good health and on a proper diet. I feel so bad for him. I don't know if I should do it or not because he is 150 and thats alot for him. What do you guys think? I also don't know what kind he is, to me he looks like an Ij. My phone has a crappy camera so the pics aren't the best.

First off, did you explain proper nutrition and care to them? Maybe even drop off a business card for the site. If they aren't willing to change their husbandry habits for the bluey, then you shouldn't buy him. Buying him just means that they were successful and will just get another one to keep in the same conditions.
For $150 you can get a nice, healthy bluey baby from someone on the site delivered to your door. The baby at the pet shop may have to have additional vet visits and medical work put into him that will cost you money and potentially result in nothing buy heartache.

Try to get the shop to change their ways first.

Zach said I should print a care sheet and give it to them, I think they would laugh and throw it away. I haven't found anyone that has Ij's for 150 including shipping.

How much is Zach's 'forum member' price on his IJs? I know he gives a discount on some of his babies to forum members since it means a lot to him to get updates on babies after they are settled into their new homes. He may not be able to go down to $150 including shipping, but you'd still be guaranteed to get a healthy baby bluey unlike the potential problems for the one at the shop.

Talk to Zach about it. Talk to the shop about the bluey they have. Maybe you can get them to change their husbandry or lower the price to a more reasonable fee (or get them to pay for a vet visit to take the bluey to the vet to get examined/tested for parasites/etc). If they stand by the statement that their animals are healthy they should be willing to pay for a vet visit.

You may also be able to bribe Zach with Love-a-Lot things too. He just goes gaga over carebear stuff.

His forum member price is 150$ +65 shipping. I have 100 and my parents were going to chip in the rest for the one at the store, so I would be short for one on here. As for explaining the proper care, they don't care. They wouldn't take what I said for a grain of salt. You think they would belive a 16 year old about how to properly take care of something? They wouldn't beleive me. If I gave them a card to this site or a caresheet they probably wouldn't read it. They said that tomorrow they have a girl that works there that know alot about reptiles. I might go back just to see how knowledgeable she is or isn't. Whats a "love-alot"?

Whats a "love-alot"?



A cute loving care bear that is pink with two hearts on her tummy.

if they don't care, then I really don't think you should get him. As heartbreaking as it sounds, you'd just be setting them up to get another bluey and house it in the same conditions. You'd be amazed at what even a 16 year old can convince people of if you approach the subject in the right way.

Love-A-Lot:

If you get that bluey and he ends up being sick/having parasites, you will spend alot more in the long run. (Believe me, I speak from first hand experience!) These creatures are long lived and the $50 more that you'll pay for Zach's/another forum breeder is well spent. If you get that other one and he is ill, you will spend way more than $50 going to an exotic vet! I have 3 kids and I am a stay at home mom. I know what a tight budget is. Believe me, you can buy a used tank, decorate using purchases from Home Depot, and cut some other corners. The bluey is the most important part of the picture. PM me and I will tell you all kinds of ways to minimize your expenses. I won't tell you to get a cheap bluey from a questionable source. I haven't had blueys forever but this is one thing I do know.

[quote="aggiegirl"]These creatures are long lived and the $50 more that you'll pay for Zach's/another forum breeder is well spent.quote]


I don't have that extra 50$ I have a everything but a temp gun and a basking rock. I just feel so bad for that one, he has been like that for all his life. That's a horrible way to live : (

Phantom,

I know exactly how you feel. I was on my way into work tonight and I had an extra half hour to kill so I stopped in at a Tropical Fish & Reptile shop nearby. They had a BTS in such rotten condition. I think he was an IJ but I'm no expert. The colors looked like it though.

This poor baby was approx. 15 or 16 inches long so I assume he was atleast a year old. He was most likely taken from the wild by the way his little fingers looked and scars on him. He had a big hump in his back and on his tail (Calcium Deficiency/MBD?) and his scales looked dry (could have been shedding but it looked bad). He looked like he could be such a pretty boy if only he were healthy! I wanted to take him home right then. Then I thought that all I'd be doing would be to help that lame pet store continue doing what it's doing to more blueys.

The price was $99 and I still can't believe they were asking that much for an animal in such condition. Do other people not see it? Do they think that some reptiles just look rough naturally?

Anyway, I feel for ya bud. It's not easy walking away. But in the big picture, I believe it to be the right thing to do...

Phantom wrote:Zach said I should print a care sheet and give it to them, I think they would laugh and throw it away. I haven't found anyone that has Ij's for 150 including shipping.

I told you a lot more than that today!

Renee and Diana said it perfectly. As hard as it is, you are not rescuing or helping any animals, but only letting that store know that they can sell these WC sickly blueys successfully. Well said on that, renee. You will buy it, and another will take its place. Will you buy that one too? It will be an unending cycle.

But as I said earlier today, it isn't "wrong", and it has to be your decision after all the facts are given to you. You know our stance! And, hint hint, we know what we're talking about. It's a quick cheap buy that will likely cost you a lot more in the long run -- the animal hasn't had a good start and that could certainly affect his health in the long run. Get your first purchase of a BT started off right.

And you never talked to me about forum prices for IJ's! And where did you get 65 for shipping?

here's what you do:

1) don't buy the skink.
2) instead, take action. print out a care sheet and take it to them (nicely).
3) if they are non-responsive, bring them some information from the "Companion Animal Protection Society" or pet-abuse.com and inform them that you'll be back to check on the skink in a few weeks... (naturally, there's not alot you can do for this individual skink, but the threat alone sometimes gets the job done).
4) if they are unresponsive to that, stop by some day when they are busy and suggest, where more than the shop owner can hear you, that the skink is probably wild-caught (stolen), improperly cared for, and miserable... you might add on a "if you can't even keep a healthy skink, i wonder if ALL your animals aren't sick!"


of course, that's just what i'd do. i did get the local petco to take both thier skinks to a vet and finally put them in separate cages through a bit of persuasion like this!


i agree strongly with whoever suggested that buying the skink would only reward the shop for their mistreatment and lead to more suffering.

So, I came home today and there he was. My mom bought him for me when I was at school. I told that I was unsure and what you guys have been saying but she still bought him.

Zach wrote:

Phantom wrote:Zach said I should print a care sheet and give it to them, I think they would laugh and throw it away. I haven't found anyone that has Ij's for 150 including shipping.

I told you a lot more than that today!

Renee and Diana said it perfectly. As hard as it is, you are not rescuing or helping any animals, but only letting that store know that they can sell these WC sickly blueys successfully. Well said on that, renee. You will buy it, and another will take its place. Will you buy that one too? It will be an unending cycle.

But as I said earlier today, it isn't "wrong", and it has to be your decision after all the facts are given to you. You know our stance! And, hint hint, we know what we're talking about. It's a quick cheap buy that will likely cost you a lot more in the long run -- the animal hasn't had a good start and that could certainly affect his health in the long run. Get your first purchase of a BT started off right.

And you never talked to me about forum prices for IJ's! And where did you get 65 for shipping?

Oops my bad it was 60 for shipping. I know you told me more but I really don't think they care. That place is horrible. I am told that the supposed "reptile expert" called him a snake. I am never going back there. Sorry Zach, my mind is in a thousand places right now. There are so many things going on right now.

Phantom, I can't really add much, just sticking with my typical notion of avoiding pet store skinks in favor of the breeders. Glad you're still really into them! Also glad you're doing your research beforehand.

KW

so you have him....where's the pics?

Dragontears wrote:so you have him....where's the pics?

I posted them in another topic

...off to find thread...