Reptile & Amphibian Forums

I had two oscillated skinks. One of them became very sick and passed away this morning sadly. I was asking around at local pet store and they told me thatit may be due to the fact that I was feeding them mealworms and not pinching off the heads of them. I've had the skinks for about 6 months and they seemed to be fine eating the whole mealworms. The other skinks seems to be totally fine though. I was wondering if this advice on mealworms was true, seeing that nobody told me about it until just recently. I was also wondering is somebody could give me some advice on the proper foods, proper amounts, and how often to feed my skink. He's about 6 inches long and weighs about 2 grams. Help!! I know nothing and want to keep my other skink from becoming sick!!

That's a very old and 100% untrue myth -- that mealworms can and do eat their way out if fed live to lizards. It is simply bologna, so no, the heads of the mealworms (live or dead) did not cause your ocellated skink to die.
It's a shame that an employee at a pet store, who supposedly is knowledgeable, would spread such misinformation.
Best of luck with your surviving skink and here's some information on them:

http://www.faunaimportuk.com/caresheets/eyedskinkcaresheet.htm

http://www.giveusahome.co.uk/allpets/lizards/ocellatedskink.htm

http://www.reptileallsorts.com/eyedskink-cs.html
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Edward
Carpe diem

first of all the mealworm head thing is a myth.people say a mealworm can eat out of a lizards stomach before it is digested.this is totaly untrue.although you should limit the amount put in if you are using king mealworms.these are the huge 2-3 inch mealworms.also most lizards cannot live only on mealworms.feed them crickets as well.your skink is a common barrel skink imported in the US so you should be able to find some info.their scientific name is chalcides occelatus.the other skink was probably sick as most of these lizards are imported and not captive bred.it also could of had parasites.hope this helps
nick

Hello Spike and Nick:
It would help quite a bit if you would let us know how you are keeping the skinks. Chalcides are found in desert areas and love to spend much of their time underground. The best way to keep them is on sand with rockpiles leading to a basking spot.
I have kept them for many years, one animal living over 10 years. They will eat both crickets and mealworms. Occasional specimens will also nibble at fruits. Most of mine spent much of their time under the sand but would always come out in the morning to search for food.
I hope this helps. Have A Great day!!!

hey you probaly dont remember but last year i had a bark lizard that had babies and you helped me with raising them.thanks to your advice they all are alive and none of them died.i have 3 of them right now and sold the other 3 to people i know will take care of them.after all this i did not see any of your posts so i would like to thank you for helping me with this(since i havent been able to contact you).since then i have bred leo geckos,armadillo lizards and this summer im going to breed some crested geckos.thanks again
nick

Hello Nick:
Actually I do remember you and I'm glad things worked out for your lizards. They really are neat little guys. I'm glad my years of working with various species have allowed me to help others from time to time. Thanx again for the kind words.
As for my absence; I've been on these boards since almost the beginning but computer problems and working two jobs for a long period of time kept my spare moments to a minimum. Now things have changed and I'm able to spend a little more time here. I'm glad I didn't have to use another name here.
Feel free to contact me if you want.
Have a Great Day and See you on the posts!!!