I have my Merauke BTS for almost 3-4 years now. I got him at an expo who got the wild parents and either they bred in captivity or the mom was already pregnant, Homer was born on American soil.

Temperament wise, he is a better display pet. He can be handled and petted but he prefers not to be bothered. That is common and to be expected when the parents are bred not selected for tameness. Northerns are very tame by comparison because of how long they have been bred and kept in captivity. Nonetheless, I like Homer and I know he trusts me and he is tamed as he can be, he just wants to not be picked up. This is common with Indos. So if you want a puppy tame skink, wait for a Northern.

External parasites are easy to spot. BTS scales are smooth like skin, so you would notice immediately if there are ticks on it.

Internal parasites can be confirmed by a vet or if you have the equipment to look for parasites. Mine went to the vet for a check up plus a fecal. The vet was adamant Homer had worms though no signs were there. The results came back negative.

Another sign that your lizard may have worms is the texture and smell. If it smells real funky and mushy, more than likely it has an overload of parasites. This is mainly a concern for lizards that require live feeding such as crickets (common host for pinworms) so this problem is less common for BTS as their diets do not require live feeding at all.

So if it was fed live insects or you don't know, I would take it to the vet for a fecal. If it was fed dog food or repashy, and the poop is good, appetite is good, I would not worry too much about it.

I have a collection of different lizards and snakes, some housed right next to Homer's tank. For BTS, there are currently no disease that I am aware that spreads to another BTS of the same species like the stargazing disease bearded dragons have or IBS for pythons and boas. Of course, never house 2 BTS together no matter what so due to their territorial aggression and to prevent the spread of parasites.

With all things considered, I would aim for Captive Born over farm bred and born. They would also need a large enclosure (minimum 4 x 2), glass preferred, plus humidity of at least 50-60% at all times.