Bazinga! I got a blue tongue skink! =o

[ShannyBeard]

Ahhhh, he is so cute! I cant believe I just found this (I am so slow lol!)

Now, to pick up on another point...

Otto and I were just talking about supers last night. He said he felt Ginger, Scarlet and Papa Smurf were fine and big enough by now or at least the girls were getting big enough, but I just can't imagine giving them such big worms! Am I a bad beardie mommy? They are getting to the 15" size range by now. I'm just scared if they do have a problem or get impacted I don't want to deal with it.

Like everyone has already said, unless you have a dragon that doesnt chew or bask, you shouldnt have a problem with supers. Travis didnt get any until he was 16inches but that was purely because they arent something that I am in the habit of having around LOL! And besides that - the 16 inch rule is rubbish - I could have a 16 inch dragon with a 6 inch body and one with an 8 inch body... that just makes the rule completely pointless.

The only thing I would say about supers is, be careful they dont start refusing every other feeder. Im sure you have already read about Travis' hunger strike, Shannon. I know he isnt quite 7 months old but im going with tough love. He is big enough to deal with it. He hasnt lost any weight and he still eats a full bowl of greens everyday so, Im happy enough with that. If he was hungry, he would eat one of the other 5 different types of bugs I have offered to him!

Yes I heard about Travis and I think you should do the tough love, also. He can have salad every day and refuse other feeders, and still live. He will live if he doesn't eat for a little bit. Chief is a pain all the time about eating. We baby him so much, but he is the only one we baby. He's our first. He's perfectly healthy, just spoiled. Otto makes sure his diet is very healthy, but if he COULD, he would pig out on waxies. HAHA.

I know Papa can't have supers. He really can't chew very well. BUMMER. I did man up and give Ginger her first super yesterday. I've never seen a dragon eat one and her reaction made me go :shock: . She ate it, though. They freak me out but I will get used to them.

 

[Gail]

Its probably your warm temps that make the mealies pupate so quick. Feeding them 1-2 a week is good too. Leave them in the bran, dump in a bowl and add some carrot or apple. After they feed for a few hours, put back in the fridge.

Skinks don't really have teeth, they have dull nubs made for crushing things like snails and beetles. They do have a incredibly strong bite though. Very few people actually feed skinks insects. Since they only eat 1-2 times a week, buying or raising a bunch of feeders for only one animal is kinda impracticable and supers aren't considered a good feeder for them. I will feed supers but only 3 per week or so and you might want to crush the head first. Skinks have a pretty large, deep furrow in the roof of their mouth and I read about one getting a wiggly super stuck up in it.

The ones I'm getting have never had feeders either. I'm hoping they will switch to roaches ok. I still have around 200 adult dubia and 1000 supers. The roaches alone will last months. If you really want him to eat feeders, don't feed him for a week so he is good and hungry, then try but honestly, a good canned dog (never cat) food is better then supers.

Its easy to get carried away with protein. I know I've done it with many of my dragons and with my first skink. I just couldn't get my head around the fact that a skink doesn't eat everyday and I fed him too much meat. He grew way too fast but I did stop the frequent feeding before he got fat or ill.

 

[Kalyn876]

Blazinga is beautiful! I'm very interested in learning about skinks, all new to me.

 

[ShannyBeard]

Today was Bazinga's fruit and veggie day! I grated butternut squash, summer squash, cut up strawberries and mixed in a little no-sugar applesauce. He did eat it all, but he did it in shifts. I took a picture of his meal before so I could tell if he ate any or not.

Here is the before:

And 10 minutes later this was what was left. He had gone back in his hide at this point:

This is his happy/messy face:

He's not like my beardies. If he doesn't want to be messed with, he can be quite annoyed. :shock: He does have his sweet times, and enjoys attention, but only when he wants it. LOL

 

[Gail]

Have you tried bananas yet? Most skinks go crazy for them. Make sure you sprinkle a bit of calcium on their food every feeding and vitamins a couple times a month.
They are definitely different then a dragon. Not near as cuddly or tolerant of handling and indos (which I think you have, not a IJ) are a bit more prone to being skittish. Mostly because they are almost always wild caught.
I still can't get over how orange he is, do you mind if I post some pics of him over at the skink forum for a formal ID? I think they would really love him. If you can get a nice overhead shot of his whole body, you might even be able to get him sexed.

 

[ShannyBeard]

Hi Gail!! No, I don't mind if you post pics over there! Not at all. He leaves what I think are sperm plugs every time he goes poo, they look like gooey stringy white mucous stuff. It's kinda gross LOL but from what I have read that would make him a boy. If I am wrong, oops . I'm still trying to learn about skinks.

I haven't tried bananas, and thanks for the reminder on the calcium and vitamins, as I did forget for this feeding.

I don't mind him being a little skiddish and spirited. He's not aggressive and he does calm down. He's wonderful when he is cold, lol. Last night we let him sleep outside of his viv. He has a place in my video came cabinet where he would stay forever if we would let him, and that's where he slept. He curls up back there in a circular shape. We don't take him out to play every day, because he doesn't really want that, I don't think. 3-4 times a week is plenty for him, the rest of the time we talk to him when we see him out. His viv is in our bedroom so he's right where we walk a lot.

 

[Gail]

Yeah, that sounds like he is a boy, lol. I'll let you know what the verdict is on his ID.

EDIT: he is a merauke

 

[ShannyBeard]

Yeah, that sounds like he is a boy, lol. I'll let you know what the verdict is on his ID.

EDIT: he is a merauke

Ahhhhh! You're the best! Thanks so much for posting his pic and letting us know what he is. Otto had guessed that, but there was another kind that was so similar that we just weren't sure. All the descriptions started running together - I think it was his little spotted legs and that line at the top of his head/neck that made him think that.

I love my Buzzy. I've got to make sure I vary his diet and remember the supplements, though. He's more challenging that a beardie in some ways, but easier in a LOT of other ways. I guess because it's easier to care for what you already know - but learning something new has been a nice change.

 

[Gail]

No problem, I wanted to know what he was too. I had though merauke to because of his long tail but his color really threw me off. Most merauke are yellow/greenish and not very pretty. Buzzy is by far, the best looking one I've ever seen.

When I first started researching skinks, I was intimidated by the diet needs. It was so different then a dragon, I wasn't sure I could keep up with the sheer variety they need. I ended up waiting a year before I went ahead and took the plunge, once I learned they don't eat a huge amount daily like a dragon does and that you can freeze their food I felt I could keep one healthy. I had my IJ for about a year before I had to rehome him due to health issues, I still miss that little monster.

 

[ShannyBeard]

I love the varied diet!! It's so awesome to be able to dig around the fridge and share my food with him. Today when I go to the store I will get bananas and see what he thinks about them! I'm really glad I have such a pretty skink. When I first saw him he caught my eye - I really wanted him. He is so cool and considering he is new in our home he really does have a lot of patience with us.

 

[ShannyBeard]

Buzzy liked the bananas, and YES I remembered to dust them with calcium. YAY lol. Tonight he got turnip greens and yellow squash with a tablespoon of squash baby food as a little treat. He tore up the baby food, and ate most of the squash and a little bit of the greens. He eats so weird, like a snake-lizard creature. So interesting.

Here he is after I lost him for a minute. He is very sneaky.

Here he is in the quilt my Mom made me. OMG my Mom would freak out if she knew a skink was in my quilt. Shhhh. lol