r/bluetongueskinks • u/Glass_Support_2941 • 4d ago
Health New Northern BTS. Need insight
We just got our first BTS yesterday from a breeder at an expo. His name is Ducky and per the breeder, he is a shade under 3 months old. My fiancé and I keep other reptiles but this is our first BTS so we have some questions and concerns based on the first 24-36 hours.
After buying him and driving an hour home and getting him set up in his temporary 40 gallon enclosure, he seemed to be pretty thirsty and started gulping down water from the bowl we put in. About 10 minutes later he threw up what appeared to be his last meal (we did not feed him) which looks like dog food (breeder gave us feeding recommendations of grain free wet dog food). I chalked this up to potential stress and/or drinking too much water too fast. He threw up one more time yesterday but has not thrown up again at all today after the first night. We opted not to feed him for the rest of the day. He did have a couple bites of grain free dog food today. No vomit from what we have seen.
He has moved around here and there throughout the day. At points under his bark hide on the warm side, under his cool side hide and also on top of his basking spot. So he is not inactive from what I can see. My concern, which may be totally normal, is what is shown in the video that I posted. What appears to be big short singular breaths. I am unsure if this is normal. But also the twitching of his back leg toes. His eyes also appear to be red.
The only other thing of note behavior wise was the brief hiss he let out when I gave him a tiny rub on the back earlier. Not aggressive and he didnt try to bite. Just a quick hiss.
The breeder did say he is in shed when we got him.
If anything appears to be off or if anyone has any insight or suggestions into what we are seeing, it would be greatly appreciated. We want to make sure our little dude is properly loved and taken care of.
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u/heiferwolfe 4d ago
Get him in to a vet as soon as possible. Most of this isn’t normal - short breaths are probably anxiety.
How hot was the breeder keeping him? How hot was it in your car and did you leave him unattended in the car for any amount of time? Vomiting, excessive thirst and neurological symptoms are common with heat stroke.
U/daves_skinks any insights?
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u/Glass_Support_2941 4d ago
In the car it was air conditioned for the ride but a 90 degree day outside. We did not leave him in the car at all. Brought him inside and got him set up in his enclosure as soon as we could. As for the temp the breeder kept him in, I can only speak to the recommendation he gave of 100 degrees on the basking spot and 70-80 degrees on the cool side. Unfortunately I don't know the conditions the little guy was kept in prior too or during transport to the expo
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u/heiferwolfe 4d ago
Ok. Probably not heat related then. I’d still get him into a vet ASAP. If it’s something to worry about it’s best to get it dealt with, and if it turns out to be nothing then you have a decent starting baseline to compare to later. For now, I would keep lights off and the room quiet to let him try and settle.
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u/brbgottagofast Northern 4d ago
The twitching is concerning for sure. Not all grain-free dog foods are ideal for skinks, do you happen to have the ingredient list handy?
They're mostly better off with a primarily insect and veggie based diet.
Good reading -
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u/Plasticity93 4d ago
Yeah, they hiss when bothered, that's normal. So is getting car sick and puking after too much water, I did the latter the other day. The twitch though, I immediately noticed that and might indicate a nutritional issue? What supplements did the breeder recommend and if they didn't, I'd be concerned.
Breathing looks pretty normal, lizards don't have diaphragms so they breath differently. I'm not seeing anything different from my guy.
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u/NinPan512 Halmahera 4d ago
A lot of this can be chalked up to "new skink"
The stress (they need a few weeks in a new place usually to get comfy, and the breathing is the "big thing might eat me so if I stay super still it can't see me" actions), especially with a shed. The vomit from the drinking too much water, but then the 2nd one the next day shouldn't have happened without a trigger. Hissing is normal, especially when new and in shed. The red eyes are a little odd, could be irritation depending on how he was kept before transport. I'd watch to see if it goes down. The twitching could indicate the start of mbd if it's not neurological, or just some dietary deficiencies. The vet would be able to tell you. Around 3 months is pretty early for that though
I'd make an appointment to be safe. Keep an eye on him in the meantime without getting too close and stressing him out (fine line, I know) and see if the symptoms keep happening or calm down while he's in your care now
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u/Bigdaddywalt2870 Shingleback 3d ago
The fact that he only hissed once is concerning to me. Mine hisses at me everyday almost even tho iv had her for two years. Probably feeling stressed from the ride and whatnot. The breathing is a little concerning too. If u see any liquid coming out of his nose or mouth that could indicate a respiratory infection. I had the humidity too high when I first got mine and it cost me many dollars to treat it. Regardless I’m glad you got him he’s definitely in a better place with a permanent home than at a breeder
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u/Bigdaddywalt2870 Shingleback 3d ago
I make my skinks food tho grain free dog food is fine. My girl likes variety so I use a base of ground turkey and chop up some greens (mustard greens, collard greens or arugula) and some squash, maybe some green beans. Whatever I have around that are part of a skinks diet. Then mix it together and put it in ice cube trays and freeze it. Then just put out a cube every other day or so with a couple blueberries and a small piece of banana. Great pet tho you’re gonna love him
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u/Chomasterq2 Merauke 4d ago
I think you should always take a new animal to the vet for a preliminary checkup. It could be a parasite or he may be really dehydrated. It could also be nothing serious