Reptile & Amphibian Forums

Hello all
Follow ups - My skink does like 4" black drain pipe..

I can not seem to get them to skinks to eat much other than bannas.. have tried other many other food types .

Should I with hold bannas for a while?...... maybe try to get them to eat something else.......

Any help would be great.....

CLP

Hey clp, I remember you saying that your skinks ate the slightly older food left in their enclosure, what food items did the slightly older plate of food consist of? You could blend several food items together and lay a small bit of whole pieces of banana on top of it and see if they will eat that. Have you tried dark leafy greens or pothos leaves, if so what kind and did they eat any? Have you gotten to a vet yet, if so what was said, if not it would be a good idea to get that done quickly. I am no expert in the parasite area but it sounds as if they may be loaded with parasites and that is why they are not eating. Bananas will not sustain them very long and at this point things sound very serious, your best bet is to get them to a vet and bring fecal samples ASAP. Good luck!!!!!!!!!!!

When you say you have tried many other food types...what do you mean?
Have you tried chopped greens (kale, dandelion etc) and then drizzle purreed fruit, such as canteloupe melon, or papaya, over it?

Dill loves it. I also recently discovered that she likes pureed pear...very ripe pear. I have difficulty getting her to eat greens without a little "something" added to them. Be it pureed fruit, or pea baby food, without it, she won't eat her greens. The other thing she will sometimes eat with her greens is a small piece of red pepper, chopped super fine, and mixed in.

I think if it were me, I'd hold back on the bananas for a few days, and offer only other food sources. Do you have Pothos in with your skinks? Are they eating them? Every now and again, Dill will go on a Pothos only diet, and ignore everything else....and at other times she ignores the pothos, except a leaf here or there.

Good luck to you and your skinks.
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Kim

Below is a portion of my post to you from 10/23. Note the last sentence- bananas are NOT a good staple- they are not balanced nutrition. Fruit is a nice *addition* to the diet, and pureed fruit, juice or finely chopped fruit can be added to stimulate the appetite. Your PTS is probably becoming a banana addict, and this as a staple has too much sugar and some minerals- this will likely harm your PTS. Have you brought your PTS and a fecal to your vet yet? You have had her for for 2 weeks now and have been having continuous eating difficulties with her.

* clip * Food suggestions: 75% dark leafy greens (kale, chard, carrot/radish/beet tops), mustard greens, dandelion greens, hibiscus leaves, mulberry tree leaves,
pothos plant, parsley) 20% grated veggie- carrot, yam, squashes, zucchini, beets, brocolli. 10-15% fruit (apple, kiwi, grape, peach, melons, papaya,
mango, strawberry, banana). Hibiscus and squash flowers are also eaten.
My PTS LOVE fresh mulberry, pothos, papaya and kiwi. I squeeze fruit juice on my greens mix to make it more palatable.
Too much fruit will cause diarrhea and maybe bloating from too much sugar. Banana is very high in some minerals such as phosphorous, which makes
it NOT a good staple, but an ok treat.

Cheers, Jess b

HEllo

I know bannas arnt a forever food..... i want BIG TIME for them to eat anything else.....

where can one find mulberry leaves?

I will keep playing with foods......

clp

Mulberry: They are a shade tree planted in residential neighborhoods here on the US west coast. They are also the foodsource for silkworms, so they are planted in groves around silkworm facilities in Japan. They come in fruited and fruitless varieties- most of the ones planted as shade trees are the fruitless kind. They need a fairly mild climate (ie you won't find them where there is lots of snow or long periods of sub freezing temps. If you live in a mild climate area in the US- ask your botanincally inclined neighbors if they know of any nearby. I have 2 on my street. You can also do a web search to get a good photo of the leaves and tree (they are very distinctive), and go looking around.
Here is a photo of mulberry being eaten.
Jess b