blue tongue lizard help!!

[aussiereptilekid]

hey im new to this site but i just want to ask something thats been going on with my bluey when i feed him it looks like theres lots of saliva in the back of he's throat and when i feed him carrots and mushroom i noticed that the slices of carrot were stuck in his throat and he was trying to get them down and he did but it took him a little like 1 minute. also last night i gave him a cut bit of mushroom and then when i went to bed i heard him moving around his enclosure and when i turned my torch light on he was drinking water for about twenty minutes before i put him back in his hide and it wasnt hot in my room so im just really worried about the saliva in his mouth cause i dont wand him choking to death after i feed her plz help thanks

 

[aussiereptilekid]

please someone help

 

[lizardman59]

how big is the food you are giving your bluey sclices of fruit crickets etc

 

[lizardman59]

or she could just be dehydrated and needed a good drink if the temps are fine i cant really think of any other reasons

 

[aussiereptilekid]

hey well i make sure i give her food no bigger then the width of her eyes basically in her enclosure i have for heat is a heat rock and a 75 watt globe everyday i take her out in the sun and i got her from a pet shop and it didnt say how old she was or sex and i only learnt that if they dont know they could be wild caught. shes a adult bluey

 

[aussiereptilekid]

plz it would be great to get more answers and thanks lizardman51

 

[Helikaon]

they usually get mucousy when they are dehydrated which would make sense if it drank for ages afterwards. but if it is eating well then i would say there is no problem. if something changes then id look at doing something.

 

[aussiereptilekid]

hey thanks i just got worried about the food getting stuck in her throat cause of the saliva thanks for the reply i have to feed her tonight ill see how it goes

 

[aussiereptilekid]

hey i feed her/he but she ate okay but it kinda looks like shes struggling like she full pushes her neck in and i think thats normal but she does it heaps and how would i get her to drink the water from the water ball thnx

 

[aussie-albino]

Try a fairly flat water dish

cheers
Scott

 

[aussiereptilekid]

ok thanks scotty1

 

[JackTar]

I would advise against having a heat rock for a Blue Tongue, they can't feel heat right along the length of their bodies/tails so they could be getting burnt and not even know it. Someone will probably tell me I'm wrong but I am pretty sure this is the case. Have you tried giving it cat food? I had two for years and that was almost all they ate, I just bought the little tins and they would go through about half of one between them. Don't buy the cat food with fish in it though just lamb, chicken or liver or whatever just not fish.

 

[sezzle1]

I have an adult bluie and i still cut his food pretty small. Bout the size of a blueberry for example. So they only have to chew it a little bit before swallowing. I find that carrot is sometimes too hard, so i grate mine.

The person who posted before me is right- blue tongues need protein but I believe that cat food is too high in fat and salt. I give mine boiled egg or roo mince. You can buy roo mince from the supermarket very easily these days. I just buy some, put it in small bags and freeze it. Then I just defrost enough for one feed.

I hardly ever see my bluie drink by the way. if you do have trouble getting him to drink from a bowl, you can try misting the lizard directly with a spray bottle as they will sometimes lick the droplets from themselves (good for shedding as well). Or sit your lizard next to the water bowl and spray water into water bowl, so that water is moving. Somtimes that stimulates them.

Hope this helps

 

[aussiereptilekid]

hey jacktar and sezzle i really appreciate the help you guys r giving me umm ive never tried cat food but ive tried mince meat and chicken.i do mist her once in a while how much do you guys think i should mist her once a week once a month etc. about the heat rock i always check if its getting to hot and making sure i look at the blueys belly and make sure she's not getting burnt ive had the heat rock for about two months now and it seems fine.it gets fairly hot in my room and i usually take her outside cause thats the only place she takes 2's and today it was boiling and she was really hot so i thought to spray her with the hose really softly and she seemel to like it she just seemed to lick it and if she looked like she didnt like it i wouldve stopped. yer so thats about it also i will just tell you the things she eats at my house chicken mince meat crickets woodies grated carrot mushroom apple lettuce banana yer thnx

 

[JackTar]

I should have asked this before but you DO have a UV light for your lizard yeah? If it is not getting enough vitamin D (from sunlight or UV) this will make it sick.

 

[aussiereptilekid]

hey do you mean a uvb yer i have that

 

[JackTar]

Then I couldn't tell you what is going on, I would suggest you take it to a vet. As I said I don't have Blue Tongues anymore, they drove me pretty mental to be honest they don't have that much going for them. Their crap stinks (a lot) and they drag it everywhere, they shed millions of individual scales all over the enclosure, they are as boring as bat s*it and too high maintenance (compared to snakes anyway). They are pretty placid, well mostly, and make pretty good companions when they aren't shitting or p*s*i*g all over the enclosure but man what an effort.

 

[sezzle1]

Yeah and UV stimulates appetite too.

I mist mine once per week, but I mist my beardie daily as they are less likely to drink from a bowl.

Also, make sure that when you put your bluie in the sun that she is always supervised, and has access to shade. Sorry if i'm telling you something you already know, but some people don't realise that reptiles can die VERY quickly from getting too hot.

 

[aussiereptilekid]

yer i do always supervise him/her thanks for all this information guys i might just take it to reptile lounge or that vet in currumbin valley