Reptile & Amphibian Forums

okay, so I just moved my male gold skink out of his cage into a new big one with sand and a bunch of fun things for him to explore. He was never the best eater, didn't do it as regularily as the female and was picky at that. He's stressed now, it's obvious. He only at a bit before the move, and he hasn't touched anything since. I'm getting a bit worried, cause the female isn't eating that much either. What is going on??? I really want to know, cause I do not want these guys dying!!! what can I do to help them eat more, it's not critical right now but it will if they don't eat in the next two days!

In order for others to evaluate your situtation, you must post details about the setup in question. Size, temps, humidity, substrate, lights, location in the house, etc. What kind of foods have you tried?

Why is it so critical that they eat in the next two days?
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...the oldest task in human history: to live on a piece of land without spoiling it."
Aldo Leopold (1938)

"Sometimes I think the surest sign that intelligent life exists elsewhere in the universe is that none of it has tried to contact us."
Calvin and Hobbes (Scientific Progress Goes 'Boink', 1991)

okay, well the female is just upset cause I put in some fake foliage on one side which she needs to adjust to and that her male buddy is gone. They loved the set up before- astroturf, a heatlamp over the rock shelter (which also acts as a basking rock quite nicely as it is a large flat surface on one side). then there's a water dish. This is all in a 10 gallon aquarium. The female is in that, which she loves. I'm not that worried about her cause she's tough.

The male is in a cage that is like 25 gallons or so, so it's alot bigger than anything he's lived in. It's got about 2/3 covering with sand, and one third by newspaper. On the sand is a deer antler covered in fake foliage, which acts as kind of an oasis type spot for his large water dish. He's never lived alone, he's not a year old yet, he's never seen sand either. It's a whole new world for him.

I've tried crickets, the female at one but ignored the other. I think she should be eating more if she's pregnant like everyone has told me, but whatever she'll make it. The male though, didn't eat much the day before the move. Today he didn't eat at all, actually ran from the crickets. He's never been the best eater, sometimes he would go like 4 days without eating just cause he is whiney. Never eats more than 3 crickets, usually only two when he does it. So he'll have gone almost a week with little to no food in his system, which isn't good. He needs energy to survive the adjustment to his new environment I'd say.
So what can I do to get him to eat???

Again, check temp first ... also the most common cause for not eating well... herps need high temps to digest well.
If they can't digest well, they won't eat well. Cage temp should be mid 70's to mid 80's, with a basking spot of 90-100 ... without that temp/gradient, you'll have trouble, so that's the first thing to check.

How long has he been in his new setup? An adjustment period of up to a week is not uncommon. During that time, or at least until he eats several times in his new environment, you shouldn't handle him.

You might try some more "tempting" foods if you're really having difficulty getting him to eat ... a lot of skinks like snails (not too big, depending on his size). Mealworms or earthworms (pinched into bite-sized pieces) are also popular. I've rarely run into a lizard that would refuse wax worms, but they'll have to be dusted with calcium powder, because their Calcium/Phosphorus ratio is out of control -they're also really fatty, so they're not a good everyday meal, but they can be useful for an "off-food" lizard now and then.

Also, sand might not be the best for a gold ... you might want to use a bark substrate mixed with sand. Humidity levels should be moderate, not like a real desert species ... say 30% or so ... occasionally misting the cage will do the trick for that.

I think the problem wasn't the cage itself, just that the two skinks I have were apart. Neither one wanted to eat, which is weird. The temp was fine, so was the humidity. I put them back in the old set up together last night, and this afternoon they both ate well.

My male actually loves being handled I think. He never really runs from my hand unless he has a reason to, and he clings on to me so tightly that he leaves scrtach marks. The female does the opposite...she doesn't cling, and she jumps when she gets a chance. So maybe the lack of handling he got in the new cage affected him, cause he does seem to like going for five minute walks around my house.
thanks for the help anyways...