Hello All!

[LilyPad]

Not on the subject of housing together, which I personally wouldn't attempt, but rather the food you give your skink. I would NOT feed him cat food as the taurine necessary for a cat's health can harm the skink. Instead, use a high quality canned dog food such as blue buffalo, something with whole meats and no byproducts. Even plain chicken may not have the vitamins your skink needs and a high sodium count unless you're using low sodium.

[AlexanderSalamander]

I actually wasn't aware of that, but thank you! I do my best to provide him with a varied diet so that each meal has some variety, do you think he would be ok if I still mixed in cat food every once and a while as he seems to love it? In regards to the chicken, I have read that it is very protein rich and is not harmful. Just curious, do you have any skinks?

[LilyPad]

I do not have any skinks but I've been researching them and bearded dragons for about 7-8 months as eventually I would like to get one or the other. I would just get the dog food rather than cat food if you're opposed to introducing live food, he'll probably like that just as much. Blue Buffalo is a great brand with less preservatives, no by products or dyes, etc. I'm sure there are other equally good brands, I'm just not sure which kind. As far as I've read, the effects of taurine are not completely known but it is no longer recommended as a food source. Also, both dog and cat foods can be fattier than necessary for a skink. I reread and misread thinking that you were feeding him canned chicken. Freshly cooked chicken breast isn't bad, just make sure it's thoroughly cooked and don't use it every day or as the bulk of his diet, it doesn't quite have the vitamins he needs.

Here is a great food chart to follow - http://bluetongueskinks.net/foodchart.html

Personally, I would keep him housed alone and start teaching him to eat live food such as dubias and earthworms. I bet you notice a big difference in activity level.

[MsBlueRose]

Awesome advice, Lilly-pad. I had no idea that there was that much of a difference in canned cat food and canned dog food. I don't own any lizards at the time, but I used to own an iguana. I miss him dearly. I never feed him meat at all because I did not want him to hunt my birds. I would like to get another in the future. Thanks for chiming in on the thread.

[AlexanderSalamander]

That's really good to know! Also, I do mix in live food every once in a while and he does get a kick out of it. there will be worms and Arthropods along with the occasional roach(if I can find a cheep breeder/supplier.) This thread has been helpful so far so PLEASE keep it coming

[LilyPad]

Dog food does still have a small amount of taurine, but not as much as cats. I had an iguana growing up too, she ended up dying of kidney issues when she was only about 6 years old (I was 12 at the time.) That sparked my interest in researching reptile diet despite very very little information being on the internet yet then. She was fed monkey biscuits, canned fruit, and regularly stole cat food as she was pretty much a free range reptile. After she got sick, I learned how everything we were taught by both the vet and the pet store owner was WRONG and she really suffered because of it, it was too late to save her by that point.

[AlexanderSalamander]

Thanks for alerting me to that. You could become a herp dietician if there was such a thing. This has all been very helpful!

[MsBlueRose]

I know how you feel Lilly. My iguana died while I was still young too. My brother ended up giving it the flue, which my brother had and knew beter than to handle him but did not listen. Aparently repitles can pick up a lot of things from us that we would never suspect they could... And you are right about there not being enough nfo on the web about proper care and diet and even the vets don't know everything they should about the animals they treat and are giving out bad advice. It has inspired me to study to be an exotic vet. I have been researching many illnesses and causes of injuries for frogs and reptiles and have learned a signifigant amout in a shourt time. But I had to dig deep to find it. The information needed by keepers is hard to obtain. There is a lack of knowledge on the subject and not enough people are posting their findings one the web. I hope to change that one day. I love my little guys to much to sit here in the dark after losing some to unknow causes. I now know what I lost each of them to, but I hate that it took me so long to find good sources of info that I lost them before I could do anything about it. I don't want to sit around and wait for that to happen again. I start school this fall for exotic vet training. Not sure where they are gonna start me in classes though. I guess I will find out soon! Lol. Thanks for sharing your experiences with us. I love this site!

SIncerely;
MsBlueRose