Thank you for posting these Nae, they are very informative.
The pictures support the premise I have put forward on a couple of thread that the teeth are actually connected to the jawbone and not just little bony nubs and accordingly should be given appropriate consideration when choosing diet:-
"The teeth are not connected by a socket but rather are attached to the caudal side of the mandible and maxilla, being classified as either pleurodont or acrodont teeth. Pleurodont are teeth which can be replaced, whereas acrodont teeth are usually only replaced in young. I don't know which type blueys have but I would suggest they are acrodont teeth.
As the teeth are supported by membrane they can be susceptible to periodontal disease including stomatitis. One good reason to not have them on a diet of mushed foods but rather to allow them to exercise the gums by chewing firmer foods."
Bones left in the hot sun will dry out rapidly, but there is something I see in these pictures that makes me wonder if this particular skink may have had a form of MBD. In the second picture the jaw bone is displaying significant signs of porosis, possibly caused by insufficient calcium in the diet when younger. Briefly, when there is insufficient calcium available to the body either through incorrect diet or inadequate D3 to metabolise, the body will draw from the calcium stored in the body i.e. the bones, causing them to structurally weaken through porosis, which is that honeycomb effect that can be seen here. It is not a condition exclusive to reptiles but also presents in mammals (including humans) where is is mostly classified as rickets. The problem is that all the major organs need a constant, albeit small, amount of calcium to be carried to them in the bloodstream. For example, calcium is essential to the heart to allow regulation of the heartbeat.
Sorry, this is becoming a bit of a rant, but it is an issue I see quite a lot in small mammals and become a bit frustrated by those (including some vets) who refuse to accept that MBD can affect any species other than reptiles. Young otherwise healthy animals should not have osteoporosis.
The above is just IMO.
There are 10 kinds of people in the world; those who understand binary and those who do not.
. (Do they even have bones in their tail??) Thanks though, Ill update the post!
