Reptile & Amphibian Forums

I got home from a 4 day vacation and noticed my fire skink laying above ground late at night (which is not her usual routine). She almost always has her eyes closed since then( but they look fine when open), and she's very lethargic, and disinterested in eating. She has not shed in awhile, but does seem to be thermo-regulating. last night I noticed her burrowing for the first time in days, but those eyes are still closed. upon returning home on tuesday, I DID notice that her heat pad had become unplugged,but the tank was still very close to prime temp on both sides.Her tank mate died last summer for no apparent reason, and I am very worried. My vet is out of town, WHAT DO I DO?

I don't know anything about fire skinks but one thing about your description caught my attention as a potential problem for any lizard.

When you said the tank is at near 'prime' temperatures, is that prime basking/hotspot temperature? IF so is the entire tank at that temperature? Most lizards need a cooler area to got to as basking temps are often much higher than safe ambient temperatures for the lizard (basking temp is to get them up to idea core temperatures then they move away to cooler areas to maintain it). If you lizard can't cool down, heat stroke could cause it to be lethargic and unresponsive.

To cool your tank so there is a proper heat gradient, moving it into an environment that is at the cool end temperature will help. Increasing ventilation too. If the entire room the tank is in is too hot...you will have to either use AC to cool the room down some, or move the tank to a cooler room. (sometimes just putting the cage on the floor if its on a table can drop temperatures significantly. Very shadow water could be used to cool your lizard quickly..but since skinks are not known for swimming you want to make sure the water is not very deep. Don't use cold water..it can shock the system and cause more harm than good. Water temperature should be luke warm..or about the same temperature as fire skinks need for ambient temperatures (probably around 70-80F..but check species care info, as I don't know their desired temp range)
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PHLdyPayne

i'm neither a vet nor an expert, but my reptile vet has told me if any of my lizards are lethargic to give them a soak in luke warm water with a drop of mineral oil added. they absorb water through their skin, and some of the mineral oil with it.

my fire skinks love to bathe, so much so their water needs to be changed constantly. Do you have a water dish big enough for them to get in?

the other thing my vet cautions me about is checking heat gradients. It is quite warm here right now, and my reptile room is warm. What I do to help the cool end is add extra soil for them to burrow and stay cool in, and that is where their water/swiming pool is too. There is a fan that blows across the tops of the tanks to help with ventilation.

Is your skink eating normally?

just my 3 cents (inflation from 2)

Sasha
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3 fire skinks, 1 blue tongue skink, 2 plateds, 2 beardies, 1 mali uromastyx, and a wide assortment of geckos.

Does she look unusually wide in the middle? Could she be gravid?

Also, when is the last time that you changed the substrate? Is it moist enough or has it possibly dried out? Is it possibly to wet? Do you keep crix in there? Could they be biting her?

I would make an appointment as soon as your vet gets back.

She made a great comeback for a few days, but she has since passed. thank you for your help.

I am sorry that she passed.