my Blue Tongue Skink has crusty scales on top of his head. i changed his substrate from newspaper to edible sand stuff recently but this did not really coincide with this dermatitis. seems fine in other ways but just off his food a little. can anyone ask me qujestions to try to diagnose this problem. the icky area is growing slowly. he is such a sweetheart. never tried to bite and loves being cuddled

Hello and welcome to Herpcenter. The crusty scales, is it due to an injury. Is a wound of some type or maybe some old shed. Just fyi...the edible sand can also cause impaction in some reptiles, so please moniter. You say he is off his food, how are his temps, when is the last time he ate and when is the last time he poo'd.

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MARSHA

:D I'm smiling because I have no idea whats going on!

I cannot moniter his poo because it gets soaked up in the sand, No injury that I know of unless one of the crickets that was in there about 2 months ago did it. Is that possible? I will take him off the substrate immediately just in case. He ate just a little bit about 4 days ago. Not much at all, if any. Before that, I honestly can't remember. What does old shed look like? These look a little pink or red in the deepest areas. Very dry, though. No seepage.

The crusty stuff could also be a sign of mites.

advice: make a vet appointment, quarantine him from any other herps you may have until then.

Let us know how everything turns out.

and i'd also advise you to stay away from any type of sand substrates. Just ask my vet about all of the impaction surgeries she has performed since "calci-sand" and other similar products have come out onto the market.

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While we use sand with some of our lizards I would caution you on the "edible" stuff - no sand is actually edible and any particle substrate runs the risk of impaction.

The skin problem sounds like some kind of infection or irritation - how long has it been there? A pic might help us with a diagnosis, however, if it is getting worse then I would advise a vet visit as soon as possible.

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A Blue Tongue Skink should not be kept on sand. It isnt their natural substrate and it tends not only to get eaten but to also crust up the eyes, nose, vent and irritate the skin.
Blueys can be kept on particulates though, and most people do. SHAVED aspen (not shredded) and carefresh (in the hamster section of the petstore) are popluar, other people use coconut fiber or bed-a-beast. I personally use linoleum and lots of hides.
You could try misting him and seeing if that helps.
To help determine what is wrong we need more information.

Basking and cool temps?
how old is the skink?
How long have you had it?
Does he have a moist hide?
What are you feeding him?

Bluey's should be eating every day or atleast every other. You should probably put him on something like paper towels so you can watch his bowel movements too, that'll give you a better change of getting a sample to take to the vet to get tested.
Does it look anything like what is going on around Jack's eye in this picture? It is a bite from a female, but i'm trying to determine if it might be a burowing injury.

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