THE ODD COUPLE

[Princess Red Wing]

Hi guys!!

Besides the two cockatiel parrots there are several other pets. My {relatively} new tiel Boniface and my bluetongue skink Chascamichay have become friends and developed a domestic partnership {with the blessing of our dvm btw}. That is to say that Boniface will sing to Chascamichay and do "heart wings" for her and so on and she responds to this! Can you guys believe it?? Boniface used to be completely agoraphobic prior to Chascamichay moving in. In fact our dvm suggestedyone taking Boniface and Chascamihay out of cage together as part of Boniface's rehab.

Anyone else have similar experiences here?? Or is it just us??

Get back to us!

[marie83]

Sorry to be harsh but if I had a vet that said that I would change vets

Far to much that can go wrong regarding injury etc, never mind the risk of zoonosis as most reptiles carry salmonella amongst other things.

[KimberlyAnn]

I agree, that's dangerous! Skinks have very powerful jaws and reptiles in general don't bond with others and have bad memories too. Your skink would not hesitate to bite when it feels threatened. It won't remember who the bird is or make friends with the bird. In fact, they say to never house two Skinks together because it will eventually end in death with no warning. Plus, if the bird gets curious and starts pecking or preening the skink, that is a danger to the skink's scales.

Both animals should live in different environments. A skink needs a lot of floor space. At least a 20g long tank, but it should be more like a 40g breeder tank. A bird needs a certain amount of flying space as well as height to climb. A bird does not need a heat lamp, in fact it could overheat the bird! A skink needs half it's tank at 75℉ and a basking spot of 100℉. To regulate these temperatures, you really need a tank environment. If your skink does not get these temperatures...it cannot digest its food and will die.

And yes, the risk of sickness is HUGE! I do not touch my bird after holding my corn snake without washing my hands with warm soapy water. Just like I would not touch my snake after holding the bird. I want both animals to be well cared for and healthy so their lives can be long and not stressful. Please rethink the living situations with your animals. Your vet is dead wrong and I would even wonder if they are a qualified veterinarian to begin with.

[Eric&Rebecca]

I have to agree i would change vets. Our avian vet who also treats reptiles... odd combination won't even treat them in the same room. He has a bird examination room and a reptile room. Mainly because of the salmonella issue, as clean as you keep your pets it doesn't change their natural bacterias like cat saliva being toxic to birds your skink will be harmful in the same way.