Blue tongued skink is obese?

Question

we have had Dexter 1.5yrs and the herpatologist said if we ran out of crickets he would eat catfood in an emergency, but I think it went to far. How do you put a skink on a diet?

http://i81.photobucket.com/albums/j240/dizzynic/animals/l_a0c73f9867b9df73656ec2e11e11ba54.jpg

Answer 1

He doesn't look obese to me. Most BTS are wide like yours. I wouldn't worry.

Answer 2

feed it 2 the cat that is lickin its lips

Answer 3

umm...wow thats pretty bad. I would get him back on crickets and take him to a vet...fast!

Answer 4

you have to do it slowly. minimize the amount of cat food and use crickets instead. you have to wean him. sounds funny but if you try to take cat food out of his diet all at once..then he may refuse to eat at all...

Answer 5

no he is not fat. Mine looks similar. It is hard for them to get overweight. I would be more worried about an underweight or emaciated reptile than a slightly large one. I would stop the cat food. Most cat foods have higher amounts of protein and fat, as well as more fiber, than say dog food. Also many cat food and dog food have non digestible items in them called by products like feathers, hair, hooves, fecal matter, and diseased meats. Look at the main ingredients and see if it says "by products" on it. The blue tongue skink diet should be about 60% plant and 40% animal. They love juicy fruits like fresh cherries and peaches. Avoid frozen because it can cause a thiamin defency in reptiles. Also if you can`t go out for cricket, blue tounge skinks also eat frozen thawed mice. Mine eats one small adult mouse about once a week w/ his veggies. So you could keep a bunch in your freezer and not have to go out to the store for crickets as much.