Reptile & Amphibian Forums

how much do your skinks usually eat? my guy use to eat alot more than he does now, hes not loosing weight, hes still very active, and is healthy. and if u reply on this.. please include the age of your BTS. thankyou!

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1 Blue Tongue Skink
1 Savannah Monitor

My PTS eats every 2nd night - approximately a (large)palm-sized pile of greens - most often kale - with fruit or other veggies (loves kiwi & shredded carrots) sprinkled on top, and powdered vitamins & calcium also. Periodically, for a special treat, I'll give him tofu - which he loves!
He is at least 5 years old - that is how long I've had him - maybe was 1 or 2 when I got him - but I don't know for sure.

Oops, sorry - I see you were referring to your BTS and I was talking about my prehensile tail skink!

yeah.. i was wondering why you only gave him greens and what not.

How can i get him eating again? he only takes a bite or to of his food when i offer it to him. the only thing he'll really eat is Can 'o Snails. he is a lil skinnier than he use to be. im worried that hes not eating enough and that ima be running into problems in the future. what should i do to get him back to eating a good amount. ive tried alot of methods. the only way he'll take a few bites is if i put it right up to his face. if i take a poop sample to a vet will they be able to check for worms and other possible problems?

he seems healthy. hes just not eating much
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1 Blue Tongue Skink
1 Savannah Monitor

Taking a poop sample to a vet wouldn't hurt. He can do a fecal with it easily to test for parasites and the cost isn't very much to get it done. Of course, if he does find parasites, then there will be some more cost for medications etc.

I have two northern blue tongue skinks, both around 10 months old. I feed them once every other day, about a 8th of a cup of mixed greens and vegetables, with some superworms, silkworms or mixed in with quality cat food. I do find mine eat all their food better if I use the cat food than if I just give insects. The cat food is soft, and i mixe it in with the greens in the bowl I feed them with and they clean the bowl. If I just drop insects on greens, teh insects are gone and most of the greens are left behind. So now I usually give insects inbetween greens/catfood meals or alternate between teh two at each feeding or just add a couple worms each time I feed them.

Check your cage temperatures, if they are too low, that could be why your skink isn't eating much. If he doesn't poop much or at all (his poop quantity will be less if he haven't been eating much as it is) and does start to eat, he may have an obstruction in his bowel, possibly from substrate accidently injested with food. Also make sure he is drinking and has fresh water available. Dehydration can also slow or stop a skink's desire to eat.

If he doesn't start eating after you made sure his temps etc are fine, might be a good ideal to take him to a vet for an examination. A vet may be able to find something not easily apparent to us. Just make sure the vet is experience with reptiles and lizards.

i have actually upped the basking spot a lil b/c the basking bulb burnt out and i had an extra one that is bigger, im using that on now, its not too hot though. he loves to sit with his head resting on the edge of the water bowl, i havent seen him drink any in a while though but im sure he is. i might try give him a few soaks here and there to hydrate him, and maybe that will help his apetite. im leaving for 4 days tomorrow, his waters gunna be changed out daily but hes not gunna get any food for those 4 days unless i leave a bowl of meal and wax worms, which i might do. so hopefully when i get back he'll have an appetite for.

and as you can see... hes not dangerously thin.

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1 Blue Tongue Skink
1 Savannah Monitor

Hi there,
We have over 30 adult BTS and a few juvies. We find that they really enjoy a varied diet - and one with a lot of human foods.

While we feed babies every day, after 8 months, you can spread out the feeding schedule. Even our biggest northern male only eats a 1/4 cup of mixed up dinner - but then he may eat several roaches in a sitting too. They get regular meals every other day.

While you only have 1 BTS, it is a bit more difficult to offer a variety - but you can use your imagination and mix up dinners using your imagination as well as nutritious items.

A skink will eat snails until the cows come home... becoming spoiled. You will need to wean him off those and use them as a treat - unless you can afford them for every meal.

Another big treat is scrambled eggs - no butter or chesse - just cook the egg and when cool - offer it. We hardboil about 8 at a time - then chop and mix into regular dinners.

If you cook chicken - offer him a piece (no skin). You'd be surprised how much human food they like. If you use high-quality pet food - you can try canned iguana diet too. If he still refuses to eat much - get some baby food (yams/squash) and mix that in with his food.... usally that will be welcomed.

Four days without eating shouldn't be harmful - if he has no health problems. Once you return, you might want to stock up on items that you can mix up to make mini- meals for him.

Hope you have a safe trip.
Morgana

I agree...

Slow down your feedings. Let 'em get a little hungry. Around a year in age is a difficult time for new owners... realizing that the animal will have a healthier appetite if you skip a day or 2.
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1 Eastern Blue Tongue Skink
2 Tarahumara Mountain Kingsnakes - Knoblochi
1 Thayer's Kingsnake - Thayeri
2 Golden Greek Tortoises
1 Pyxie Frog - 14 years old

thanks alot for your responses. yeah the snail diet would cost a crap load. i just got some cat food... IAMS BTS.net said its an alright choice. you brought up canned iguana food.... i will try that but also, what do you think about canned bearded dragon food? i almost bought some bearder dragon pellets b/c i couldnt find the wet stuff. i figured i would soak it. i just went with cat food instead. his meat portion is usually zupreem monitor diet, but im running low on it and i have to make a journey to buy it, ill probably order it online along with some iguana food, and maybe some beardie food. but... what do you guys thinking about soaking the bearder dragon or the iguana pellets? i also wanna try diff nature zone bites b/c that would be very convienent. if anyone has somn to say about not doing that plz respond. thank you!

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1 Blue Tongue Skink
1 Savannah Monitor

oh my...you are a dream-come-true consumer for the pet trade. Please take the caresheet at BTS.net literally---> And feed as natural foods as possible. "canned monitor"??? cmon. I know they make this stuff, but dont "buy" into it all.

Just buy fresh produce:spaghetti squash, mango, whatever.

Buy some cheapo shredded chicken from deli: boil for a minute and chop up. mix with assort veggies.

High quality canned diet is widely used/accepted as a meat portion also. very convenient if you have many animals. I prefer to use fresh.

Live: silkworms earthworms and of course "clean" snails.

the only product Ive ever liked that was canned are the canned silkworms. only cuz live silks are so tempermental.
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1 Eastern Blue Tongue Skink
2 Tarahumara Mountain Kingsnakes - Knoblochi
1 Thayer's Kingsnake - Thayeri
2 Golden Greek Tortoises
1 Pyxie Frog - 14 years old

i meant to mention this...

For a treat, I will put a dab of this catfood gravy product. It puts the stink of catfood on all the veggies which may help with a finicky eater.
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1 Eastern Blue Tongue Skink
2 Tarahumara Mountain Kingsnakes - Knoblochi
1 Thayer's Kingsnake - Thayeri
2 Golden Greek Tortoises
1 Pyxie Frog - 14 years old

The canned juvenile iguana diet is what we would choose over feeding canned snails as a staple. I wouldn't use it long-term however.

We use some dry diet - made by Mazuri. We soak it in meat broth (you can get chicken/beef broth canned even). We have tried beardie pellets too (when out of Mazuri).

Major zoos and animal keepers use Mazuri diet. They make several kinds - but check with your pet stores to see what they have. We have mostly used either tortoise or iguana formula. Mix veggies and a spoon of meat or fruit with it. The portion should be less than 50% of the dinner.

Hope that helps.
Morgana

thanks again. just got back from my vacation. fed my skink some catfood with summer sqaush(i think... its the small yellow one) with mustard greens. he ate alot. i guess ive just been offering him too much food too often. i have ground chicken in the freezer, is that a good choice for a staple diet? with greens of course.

yeah... thanks for all your tips. and ive read the BTS.net from top to bottom probably too many times. i just like to here opinions from people on this forum. have a great summer!
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1 Blue Tongue Skink
1 Savannah Monitor

chicken... just boil it a bit, chop and serve. I switch meat products every week. shredded chicken, ground turkey, pinkie once every 2 weeks.
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1 Eastern Blue Tongue Skink
2 Tarahumara Mountain Kingsnakes - Knoblochi
1 Thayer's Kingsnake - Thayeri
2 Golden Greek Tortoises
1 Pyxie Frog - 14 years old

savannahblue,
I hope you had a great vacation.

Glad to hear your skin was receptive to his dinner! Ground chicken is fine, ground turkey is okay too. We use several meats besides poultry. Just keep in mind that skinks are opportunistic eaters in the wild: if they come across something in the outback that recently died and they are hungry - they will eat some. The meat could be almost anything, but since we don't have kangaroo meat or other such australian items, we have to make do.

We use stewing beef, white fish, pork or lamb. If it were less expensive, they might get salmon - but then my hubby might object. LOL

Keep us posted,
Morgana