Common Blue Tongue Skink Health Issues

Is My Blue Tongue Skink Sick?

If you notice some changes in your blue tongue skinks behavior or appearance, there may be a medical reason for it.

Below your will find a list of the most common health issues that can affect a blue tongue skink.

Click here for a complete care guide on Blue Tongue Skink Care

Health Issue	Symptoms	Description	How to Correct the Problem
Raw Nose	Irritated Raw Bleeding Nose	Typically found in wild-caught skinks. Caused from rubbing the sides of tank.	Cover three sides of the tank so help the skink feel more secure. Check to make the heat and humidity levels are correct.
Shedding Problems	Stuck shed on Toes, Mouth, Tail, Lips and ears	Low humidity can cause shedding problems on some areas of the skink and may build up over time. If left untreated, can cause infection and permanent damage.	Try bathing the skink to soften the  shed. Use your fingernails to gently remove stuck shed.
Parasites	Tiny white worms seen in fecal matter	Usually isn't a problem in captive bred skinks. Wild -caught skinks may have them when you purchase the animal. Also caused from improper cage maintenance.	See your herp vet for a fecal exam and medication.
Stomatitis (Mouth Rot)	Inflamed, red lips Red Bumps around the mouth Mucus in the mouth	A bacterial infection that can be cause from an untreated injury to the mouth or improper cage maintenance.	See your herp vet for a fecal exam and medication.
Dehydration	Dry Scales	Caused from the humidity being too low.	Mist the substrate in the tank twice daily to raise the humidity
Scale Rot	Large blisters filled with fluid	Usually cause from unsanitary living condition. If left untreated the blisters could rupture, leaving and open wound susceptible to infection.	See your herp vet for a fecal exam and medication.
Mites	Lifted scales White specks appearing in patches Black spots that move	Mites are an eight-legged blood sucking organism that can carry and transmit diseases from one reptile to another. Can be cause from living in unsanitary conditions.	Remove everything from the enclosure, replace furniture with cardboard. Repeat daily. Spray the skink with a reptile safe mite solution, every three days. Repeat until the mites are gone.
Metabolic Bone Disease	Lumps on the legs, vertical column of the back and tail Twitches, ticks, spasms or tremors. Soft or swollen jaw. Jerky movements	MBD is the weakening of bone, caused by an imbalance or deficiency in vitamin D3, calcium and phosphorus.	Moderate cases can be treated with the proper diet, temperatures, UVB and a good calcium supplement. More severe cases require vet treatment that may include calcium and vitamin A/D/E shots administered.
Respiratory Infection	Gasping Wheezing Coughing Heavy breathing Mucus around the eye, nose & mouth	Respiratory infections may result from improper temperatures, humidity and poor cage conditions	See your herp vet