Reptile & Amphibian Forums

We've had company in town for the last week & they are staying in the room next to my herp room. My BTS has not been eating well & isn't happy about being petted, he's puffing up & blowing air out his nose, making a "poofing" sound. I'm avoiding touching him & have covered all but his spotlight area with a big towel. I'm also trying to limit traffic in the herp room. Do you think this will help?
-----
1.3.0 leos, Yoda, Geo, Tang, Ginger
1.0 Blue Tongue Skink Indigo (Indy)
0.1.1 frogs Buffy the Cricket Slayer, Butrose Butrose Froggy
1.1.4 firebelly newts Wayne Newton, Isaac Newton, Fig Newton, Juice Newton, Olivia Newton John & Helmut Newton
1.1.0 cats Gus & Mena

Indos, from my understanding and by observing the ones I have, are the lest docile of the BTS. I have 8 and they all squirm and would rather not be held. It could be one of several factors. It could be wanting to winter depending on how long you have had it and its age or it could be stressed or many other things. If it looks to have good weight and isn't eating it may just want to winter for a short time. I wouldn't panic unless it is thin and not eating, then I'd see about getting it to a vet. How long have you had it and what is the set-up and what are you feeding it and what is its size and sex?

I'm fairly certain he's an Australian BTS & he's relatively tame. He'll normally chill in my arms for a few minutes of petting before trying to move on. This behavior is different, he's getting stressed by just petting him while he's lying in his cage. His setup is a 30 gal breeder w/ soft indoor/outdoor carpet, 2 corkboard & 1 wood logs to hide under, a piece of driftwood to climb on & aid in shedding, a water bowl large enough to soak in (though he doesn't soak) & his food dish. He has a UTH & I recently (after this behavior started) changed his 40 watt "normal" lightbulb to a UVA/UVB producing compact flourescent. He's getting ready to shed, but has shed before w/o personality change. He ate his food yesterday after I covered the cage & appears a bit less stressed now. I've had him for about 3 months & believe him to be about 2 years old (I'm pretty sure that's what the seller said).
I'm not paniced or thinking he needs a vet, I just think he's stressed by the increased activity in our house & was wondering if anyone had further suggetions besides covering his cage & leaving him alone for week or so.
-----
1.3.0 leos, Yoda, Geo, Tang, Ginger
1.0 Blue Tongue Skink Indigo (Indy)
0.1.1 frogs Buffy the Cricket Slayer, Butrose Butrose Froggy
1.1.4 firebelly newts Wayne Newton, Isaac Newton, Fig Newton, Juice Newton, Olivia Newton John & Helmut Newton
1.1.0 cats Gus & Mena

Your BTS is probably stressed when you reach from above into its cage because this is how most preditors would attack-from above. Once you have it in hand try rubbing beneath its chin-this usually calms them. It could be wanting to winter if it has cooled any in your house or it has wintered in captivity this time last year. If it's eating I wouldn't be too concerned. It might also be tired of the same dish, though you probably add a variety. Try different brands and flavors of dog foods, diced fruits and veggies and try feeding it by hand occasionaly such as small amount of bannana-not a lot of this though most seem to love it. Mike

I feed a large variety of foods. I make up a month's worth of packets at a time, freeze them & try to make each one a bit different. He clearly prefers the ones w/ dog food in them (Iams, of course). I loosely follow the BTS diet that someone posted on this forum, using several different protien sources (egg, chicken, dog food, fish, turkey, pinto beans), various veggies (carrots, peas, potatoes-yams & yukon gold, lima beans, broccoli, cabbage, various greens, green beans, corn), various fruits (apple, mandrin orange, mixed fruit cocktail), raisins, tomatoes etc... Each day's a little different.
I've always approached him the same way, what I was describing was clearly a change in his behavior. He is much calmer now. Our company left on Monday & I had his cage covered Sun-Tues. He's eating pretty normally now & seems much less stressed. I think there was just a lot more noise & activity around than he's use to.
Thank you all for your responses.
-----
1.3.0 leos, Yoda, Geo, Tang, Ginger
1.0 Blue Tongue Skink Indigo (Indy)
0.1.1 frogs Buffy the Cricket Slayer, Butrose Butrose Froggy
1.1.4 firebelly newts Wayne Newton, Isaac Newton, Fig Newton, Juice Newton, Olivia Newton John & Helmut Newton
1.1.0 cats Gus & Mena