Blue tongue skink

[Cheesenugget]

So the Vet visit went well. Tootsie (my daughters named it since it was missing toes ) is a bit under weight, might be just starting an RI and has weak bones. As soon as my wife put Tootsie in the prepared tote for transport he pooped, I forgot to ask her if the Vet checked it so I will have to when she gets home from work. The Vet said its bones were weak and may have some issues due to that and gave us some Calcium Gluconate 167mg and we are to give 0.2ml orally once a day. She said that Skinks have very flexible joints and the fact that it raises its leg like it does isn't concerning in itself but the twitchy part is but feels the calcium and recomended UVB bulb will help with that. She doesn't think it will ever be 100% but should be able to live a good life and with proper care going forward should show less signs of issues. As far as the RI goes we now have Enrafloxacin Suspension 0.1ml orally once a day for 14 days. I wrote down everything we were doing and about its current cage and the one I'm building and was told we were doing a good job of rehabilitaing Tootsie. The only thing she questioned was the dog food and gave some suggestions for proper veggies which we already had on our feeding list. We were also told to feed every other day for a while to get its weight up to since it is underweight a bit but not too bad. My wife came home and cut up some butternut squash and collard greens and covered it in some wet dog food with some vitamins mixed in and Tootsie went nuts and ate great. On a slightly sadder note Tootsie will most likely be loosing a couple more toes that we were a bit too late to save, the damage was already done but the Vet said we did get all the stuck shed off of the toes. So it looks like paper towels for a bit longer till they fall off and heal. Well I think I got all the info I have. I will check with the wife when she gets home to see if I missed something and will update if needed. Thank you all for your info, help and concern.

That is good to hear.

I use dog food for mine too mainly because mine refuses salads (Like most blueys). Merrick used to be highly recommended and I loved it because it comes in pate and the ingredients had a lot of fruits and veggies mixed with the meat. Since Purina bought them out, I no longer find that particular formula so that is unfortunate. Blue Buffalo Chicken with Garden Vegetables is a good one. Try to go grain free and stay away from the gravy kind since that carries more water/less meat than the pate ones.

If it picks at its food or eats only what it wants, either reduce the portion or space out the feeding. It is very easy for these lizards to gain the weight but very hard to lose it once it is there.

You can also add snails in their diet which they love as that is what they naturally would eat in the wild. Don't use the ones from the garden as snails are common hosts to parasites. I buy canned snails meant for human consumption and with our seasoning from Amazon. For about $23, I get about 200 large snails. I would not waste money on the reptile brands canned snails. They are tiny, comes in very limited amount and they charge almost $5-6 a can. What a rip off.

Hornworms and black soldier fly larvae would be a great addition to his diet. They are high in calcium and hornworms are easy to chew and hydrates your lizard well. Wax worms are great to help gain weight on skinny lizards. Mulberry farm website always carry sales. I think they still have the buy 2 containers if hornworms get 1 free deal. They always add extra for you.

[gunkle]

Our Beardie loves Hornworms. Acts like they are crack. I've been binge watching Reptile Mountain since I found out about it. Lots of great info. Do the snails freeze ok? 200 seems like a lot for 1 skink. Can Bearded dragons eat them too? I wasn't at the appointment so I'm not sure just how she reacted to the dog food. My wife just said she made some suggestions and it was what we are already doing. He has been eating everything we put in front of him. Doesn't seem to like veggies on there own but mixed in dog food they are gone in minutes. I can understand as I don't like them either. He has been taking the medicine and calcium with no issues so far.

[Cheesenugget]

Our Beardie loves Hornworms. Acts like they are crack. I've been binge watching Reptile Mountain since I found out about it. Lots of great info. Do the snails freeze ok? 200 seems like a lot for 1 skink. Can Bearded dragons eat them too? I wasn't at the appointment so I'm not sure just how she reacted to the dog food. My wife just said she made some suggestions and it was what we are already doing. He has been eating everything we put in front of him. Doesn't seem to like veggies on there own but mixed in dog food they are gone in minutes. I can understand as I don't like them either. He has been taking the medicine and calcium with no issues so far.

The 200 snails come in 2 cans, so for about 100 snails they freeze just fine. I give Homer about 6-8 per week. I'm not sure if beardies would want them, I never tried to offer that to my beardie, but seeing they respond better with live feeders and bright coloring, I doubt it. It would not be something that they would eat in the wild anyway.

[Jus1More]

Gunkle: I am happy to hear about your blueys trip to the vet. I would agree with others when mentioned that most vets, unless specialized in "exotic reptiles", only know the basics about skinks. If your vet was anything like mine, she probably was not very up to date on her skink health. My vet referred to my bluey as if he was a bearded dragon - hince is why she also she tried to promote more veggies/fruits and less dog food.

I will for the most part feed my bluey organic raw dog food. I usually rotated between chicken, duck and turkey proteins. The raw food I buy already includes veggies and some fruit (such as blueberries) mixed in. On other days I might give my bluey some high quality grain free wet dog food such as "Halo's" turkey and duck (gluten free) formula along with some "Bluey Buffet". Of course my bluey also loves superworms, silkworms and hornworms. I do not mess with crickets because they are nosey and smelly and butterworms or waxworms are too high in fat and Phoenix worms are usually to small to feed unless you find the large ones.

Everything you gather from watching "Reptiles Mountain" is only going to help educate yourself. TC Houston is very knowledgeable and highly recommend. I have reached out to him personally and he took the time to help me with my bluey when I first got him - super nice guy!!

Netherless, I am glad Tootsie has found you and your family to care and love him/or her. Its sad that more toes will be lost, but I am sure your bluey will do just fine and recovery nicely within time. These little creatures are amazing and for sure to bring you lots of joy to come...

[gunkle]

Gunkle: I am happy to hear about your blueys trip to the vet. I would agree with others when mentioned that most vets, unless specialized in "exotic reptiles", only know the basics about skinks. If your vet was anything like mine, she probably was not very up to date on her skink health. My vet referred to my bluey as if he was a bearded dragon - hince is why she also she tried to promote more veggies/fruits and less dog food.

I will for the most part feed my bluey organic raw dog food. I usually rotated between chicken, duck and turkey proteins. The raw food I buy already includes veggies and some fruit (such as blueberries) mixed in. On other days I might give my bluey some high quality grain free wet dog food such as "Halo's" turkey and duck (gluten free) formula along with some "Bluey Buffet". Of course my bluey also loves superworms, silkworms and hornworms. I do not mess with crickets because they are nosey and smelly and butterworms or waxworms are too high in fat and Phoenix worms are usually to small to feed unless you find the large ones.

Everything you gather from watching "Reptiles Mountain" is only going to help educate yourself. TC Houston is very knowledgeable and highly recommend. I have reached out to him personally and he took the time to help me with my bluey when I first got him - super nice guy!!

Netherless, I am glad Tootsie has found you and your family to care and love him/or her. Its sad that more toes will be lost, but I am sure your bluey will do just fine and recovery nicely within time. These little creatures are amazing and for sure to bring you lots of joy to come...

This vet does specialize in exotics. She mentioned that people she knows that keep them don't use dog food and I have seen that it is a bit of a debate topic so I guess she is on the other side. We have brought other reptiles there in the past and have always had a great experience. We are lucky to have a good exotic vet near us. I'm curious what you mean by "Raw dog food". I have noticed a lack of Indonesian stuff on Reptiles Mountain, there is some but not really much. I've come to the conclusion that its all the same pretty much except that mine needs a lot more humidity, and yes there is a ton of info and he seems like a great guy. He is just a bit less "fun" to watch so my girls haven't gotten on the bandwagon like they have with Snake Discovery.
Other than a little hissing when we first take him out, or get near his toes, he has been great. The girls have held him and he like to sit on collar bones like our beardie does. I have found that if I dip the tip of the syringe that I'm trying to give him medicine with in the dog food he opens right up and I can squirt it in real easy.

[artgecko]

Dog food is an often-debated topic. There are breeders that have used it for decades with no cases of illness or MBD and have multiple generations of skinks that have been fed dog food without issue. I feed wet dog food but supplement with veggies and insects. I get a batch of organic veggies every few month and process it (clean, cut up, and process in a food processor, dice up greens) I combine all of it and freeze in an ice cube tray and then put in a freezer bag to thaw as needed. My guy won't take veggies unless they are very well processed and mixed with dog food. I usually use yelow and butternut squash, green beans, zucchini, carrot, kale, chard, and a bananna or apple for sweetness. I have ever put raw egg in it as well.. They will eat the shell and egg.

I believe the "raw dog food" the other poster was talking about is the frozen raw meat/ veg dog food mixes you can buy in the pet store. Most places sell them as sausage link looking packages or in patties like frozen sausage. Reptilinks makes a similar product for snakes and I belive omnivores too. These are supposed to have bone, organ meats, and muscle meats, so make a more complete diet.

[gunkle]

Dog food is an often-debated topic. There are breeders that have used it for decades with no cases of illness or MBD and have multiple generations of skinks that have been fed dog food without issue. I feed wet dog food but supplement with veggies and insects. I get a batch of organic veggies every few month and process it (clean, cut up, and process in a food processor, dice up greens) I combine all of it and freeze in an ice cube tray and then put in a freezer bag to thaw as needed. My guy won't take veggies unless they are very well processed and mixed with dog food. I usually use yelow and butternut squash, green beans, zucchini, carrot, kale, chard, and a bananna or apple for sweetness. I have ever put raw egg in it as well.. They will eat the shell and egg.

I believe the "raw dog food" the other poster was talking about is the frozen raw meat/ veg dog food mixes you can buy in the pet store. Most places sell them as sausage link looking packages or in patties like frozen sausage. Reptilinks makes a similar product for snakes and I belive omnivores too. These are supposed to have bone, organ meats, and muscle meats, so make a more complete diet.

Thanks I have seen about freezing them in ice cubes for Beardies also. May have to look into it a bit more. I didn't even realize they sell dog food like that in pet stores. I usually only go in look at reptiles and leave. Guess I should look around a bit once in a while.

On another note Tootsie just shed for us. My wife said it was in big sheets just kinda falling off as she was holding him to give medicine so she grabbed a damp towel and helped with the toes and said it all came off real easy. So we must be heading in the right direction. Anyone know how there sheds are supposed to be? Like a couple big pieces or in sections or just flake off in small pieces? This thing is a garbage disposal though. Loves eating but since we introduced dog food covered veggies he hasn't had any interest in roaches. Will have to try some other critters.

[WhompingWillow]

It may be worth checking out Honest Kitchen - they make human-grade dehydrated, raw dog food that you mix yourself by adding water. Lots of different options. It's a bit pricey but you can make however much you want at a time and I'm thinking it would freeze well. (Caveat is that I do not own a skink but have used this for dogs, so I'm not sure if a skink would find it appetizing or not.)

[artgecko]

Mine sheds in pieces..Larger pieces for the back and smaller "shreds" for the legs and fet. I've never had issues with his hands/toes not shedding well. I think if you provide a substrate like topsoil and rough items in the cage, the skink can easily get the shed to come off with enough humidity. I've never seen mine eat his shed (like my geckos do).

My guy will eat crickets or roaches... I even froze roaches from my dubia colony when it got too large and he would eat the frozen-thawed roaches. I could not get him to touch hornworms though.

[Cheesenugget]

They shed in large as well as small pieces and they do not eat them. After a shed, I take a wet paper towel and rub it against my bluey to make sure any last small pieces left comes off. Sometimes the small loose pieces are stuck in the armpit area (It will fall off).

I have tried Honest Kitchen for my skink. It is not a bad product but it is costly and takes a few min to prepare. It is whatever works for the owner and skink.