There might be various reasons why your blue tongue skink is not eating, including external and internal factors. My blue tongue skink is not eating – why, and what can I do? How long can a blue tongue skink go without eating? Why is my new blue tongue skink not eating and why is my blue tongue skink not eating vegetables? All in this post.
Reason 1: Low temperatures in the tank
If your blue tongue skink is refusing to eat, then it could be due to low temperatures in the tank. Blue tongue skinks need high temperatures in a basking spot to digest their food.
Without high temperatures in a basking spot, your blue tongue skink won’t digest food – it will rot in the guts, causing constipation, poor appetite and so on.
Your blue tongue skink needs high basking temperatures of 95-105 degrees Fahrenheit (35-40.5 Celsius). Ambient temperatures should be at around 85-95 degrees Fahrenheit (29.5-35 Celsius). Make sure there is a gradient however – the cool side should be only reaching 70-80 degrees Fahrenheit (21.1-26.6 Celsius).
To achieve high basking temperatures, you can use halogen flood bulbs like this, household bulbs, incandescent bulb or others. The main thing is that the bulb has to produce light and heat during the day.
Also, check temperatures in the tank by placing digital thermometers like this, on each side of the tank. You can also place 3 – one in a hot, middle, and cool sides. On top of that, please check temperatures with a handheld infrared thermometer like this, by pointing 1.5-2 inches (3.8-5cm) away from the specific spot.
You can read a full guide on heating and lighting in a blue tongue skink’s tank here.
Reason 2: Your blue tongue skink is new
If you have just brought your blue tongue skink home, it will be scared and stressed. Your blue tongue skink will spend first week or few weeks hiding, eating almost nothing and being scared.
Captive bred blue tongue skinks can take around 2 weeks to start eating and behaving normally. While for wild caught blue tongue skinks it can take even 2 months.
If you would some help taming and bonding with your blue tongue skink, read this post.
Reason 3: Lack of bright light and/or UVB
Following the first point, the lack of bright light or UVB will lead to poor appetite. Blue tongue skinks require bright light and UVB, because it promotes hunger and activity.
During the day, you must use the bulb that produces heat and light. At night, lights should be turned off, not to interfere with a sleep cycle. If you need to heat the tank just a little at night, use a low wattage ceramic heat emitting bulb like this, which doesn’t produce light.
UVB is also crucial for blue tongue skinks – it promotes healthy growth and supports healthy functions. Your blue tongue skinks needs high output UVB tube – such as this 10.0 high output UVB tube.
You can read a full guide on heating and lighting in a blue tongue skink’s tank here.
Reason 4: Breeding period
If your blue tongue skink is refusing to eat, it could be due to sexual activity during the breeding season. This is very normal, and will pass once the breeding season comes to an end.
Blue tongue skinks reach sexual maturity at the age of 12-16 months (for males), and around 24-30 months old for females. Your blue tongue skink might start showing breeding symptoms when reaching sexual maturity.
Breeding season generally runs through April to late September, but will vary in different climates.
Reason 5: Your blue tongue skink is bored with its food
If your blue tongue skink is refusing to eat, it could be because its bored with its food. This specifically happens when you feed it same foods every time – yes, blue tongues can get bored of same foods!
If you believe this is the reason – try to offer different veggies and greens, as well as fruits, berries and herbs to entice your blue tongue. Always try to offer mainly staples, with additions of other foods.
You can find a chart of various foods that you can offer your blue tongue skink in this post.
Reason 6: Stress
If your blue tongue skink is stressed, it won’t be eating normally. Stress can be caused by different things – it can be other pets, cage mates (please only house alone), very bright light, wrong humidity levels, too much noise and more. Have you recently changed the setup?
Please review the setup to see if there is anything in the setup that could be causing stress to your blue tongue. Make sure temperatures, humidity, lighting are all optimal, as well other factors such tank accessories, general well-being etc.
Another big cause of stress might be the size of the tank. If the tank is too small, your blue tongue will start stressing and might try to escape and refuse to eat. Small tank will also prevent from creating a temperature gradient or placing enough enrichment accessories.
Adult blue tongue skinks need a tank that is at least 55 gallons. It also has to be wide (horizontal), rather than vertical. You must also include a basking platform, two-three hides, plants and some low climbing accessories.
Reason 7: Dehydration
If your blue tongue skink is dehydrated, it’s appetite will also suffer. Blue tongue skinks tend to drink from a bowl, and get moisture from their food.
Signs of dehydration include wrinkly skin and slimy saliva. If you pinch the skin, it won’t go back to normal quickly if an animal is dehydrated.
In mild cases, you can provide fresh water, drop water on your blue tongue’s nose. You can offer watery veggies such as lettuce and cucumbers for the time being. However, if your blue tongue seems very dehydrated, doesn’t eat or move much – take it to the vet immediately for fluid administration.
Make sure to always have a bowl of fresh water in the tank, and always change the water if it has been soiled. Blue tongue skinks also enjoy soaks, so a big water dish (but not deeper than 2-3 inches) is required.
Reason 8: Mouth rot
If your blue tongue skink is suffering from a mouth rot infection, it will be painful for it to eat. Signs of mouth rot include yellow drainage around the mouth, redness, crust around the mouth, and even damaged mouth scales.
To treat mouth rot, you need to apply topical antiseptics to the mouth. However, in more serious cases, your vet will administer antibiotics. If you suspect mouth rot, take your blue tongue to the vet.
You can read about mouth rot causes, symptoms and treatment in this post.
Reason 9: Illness
Internal stress factors (illnesses or infections) can make your blue tongue skink refuse to eat. One of the reasons that can lead to poor appetite is an internal parasitic infection. Other reasons can include vitamin or mineral deficiencies, Metabolic bone disease, intestinal infections and more.
If you suspect that your blue tongue skink is sick – take skink’s poop for a full parasitic test first. If any parasitic infection is confirmed, your vet might ask to bring the blue tongue for a visual checkup, tests or to prescribe medication.
Is your blue tongue skink lethargic and getting any bubbly secretion from the mouth, making forced exhalation, wheezing? It could be suffering from a respiratory infection. Raise temperatures in the tank and take your blue tongue to the vet.
Reason 10: Brumation
Brumation is a period of a winter cool down, when blue tongue skinks sleep more, don’t eat, and generally survive winter. The signs of brumation is lethargy, refusing to eat, hiding and sleeping more.
Brumation times can vary greatly due to climate and place (season), but generally it can be between November and March. During brumation, you should not feed your blue tongue skink, because it won’t be basking and won’t digest food.
Reason 11: Your blue tongue skink has grown up and needs to eat less
The fact is, young blue tongue skinks do need to eat more because they are growing. However, in general, adult blue tongue skinks don’t eat much at all.
Baby blue tongue skinks under 5 months old should eat 6 times a week, while sub-adults up to 10 months old – 2-3 times a week. Adult blue tongue skinks will only need to be fed once or twice a week.
So if you have had your blue tongue skink since it was a baby, you should slowly reduce how much food you feed it. And this is normal.
Reason 12: Impaction
While blue tongue skinks thrive on loose substrate, they can still get impacted by ingesting it. Signs of impaction include constipation, bloated belly, poor appetite. You might also see your blue tongue skink forcing to poop but unsuccessfully.
If you suspect an impaction, take your blue tongue skink to the vet for an X-Ray. Before you do, give your blue tongue 2-3 drops of mineral or vegetable oil. Offer some pumpkin and applesauce puree that act as natural laxatives.
Reason 13: Shedding
Your blue tongue skink might be refusing food because it’s shedding. Believe it or not, most reptiles become fussy eaters few days before, during and even after shedding.
Make sure you adjust correct humidity levels, have a bowl for soaking and even give a bath to help with shedding. Once it’s finished, your blue tongue skink should be eating normally again.
My blue tongue skink is not eating, when should I get worried?
If your adult (12 months+) blue tongue skink is eating few tablespoons of food 1-2 times a week, it is enough food. Blue tongue skinks don’t need to eat much at all.
As mentioned above, it’s normal if your blue tongue skink doesn’t eat for 1-2 weeks in a row. However, weight loss and extreme lethargy are clear indicators of a problem. Please get digital scales that weigh to the nearest 0.1 gram, like these.
Keep a diary and weigh your blue tongue skink once a week. If your blue tongue skink loses more than 7-10% of body weight, you must take it to the vet as soon as possible.
Baby blue tongue skink is not eating?
If your baby blue tongue skink is not eating, then you should entice it to eat. Babies can sometimes be fussy about food. What often helps is offering higher protein food, such as cooked mince meat or premium dog food.
Sometimes you will also need to push the bowl with food to your blue tongue skink’s nose for it to start eating. This actually does help. But never force feed or put food in your blue tongue’s mouth. It can actually cause choking and death, because your skink will push out the food it doesn’t want to eat.
Strong smell of cat or dog food can help entice your blue tongue skink to eat. Don’t offer cat food to blue tongues over 4 months old, though.
How long can a blue tongue skink go without eating?
A blue tongue skink can go weeks without eating – blue tongue skinks during brumation can go up to 3 months without food. However, this is not recommended outside brumation – babies will not survive for too long because they don’t have as much internal fat storage as adults. 2-3 weeks without food for adults is pretty much normal.
Blue tongue skink is not eating vegetables?
If your blue tongue skink has got used to eating only meat or dog food, it might be refusing to eat vegetables or greens. While it can be hard to train your blue tongue to start eating veggies and greens, it’s possible.
Start by adding some chopped vegetables to meat or dog food that you are offering (or whatever it’s used to eating). Then, start offering some of the favorites – little bit of banana, mango, and other fruit. You can then offer some snails or cooked egg.
If your blue tongue skink is still very picky, you can skip its meals if it’s refusing to eat any of it. This would mean that your blue tongue is hungrier for the next meal, and is much more likely to accept what you are offering.
Don’t make your young blue tongue skinks under 10 months old starve though – let it reach at least 12 months old to make changes in the diet. The best thing is to offer a variety of foods to prevent making your blue tongue a picky eater.
If you would like to see a big chart of best blue tongue skink foods, see this post.