Hello,
I am trying to breed my northern blue tongue skinks. The one that I think is a male(though not sure) is literally pushing the other one around with his nose. Has anyone seen this behavior before. Later on, the suspected male bit the leg of the other. Does this mean they are both male? The other one is really passive so far.
The advice I’m going to give is general reptile advice not specific BTS advice.
Usually when males push another reptile around they are territorial during mating season. In my opinion this looks like the male thinks the other is a male when it’s actually a female. Make sure the female is of appropriate age and weight. Are you housing them together or in separate containers and then putting them in the same container? If you’re putting them in the same container are you putting the female in the male’s enclosure? If they’re not housed together I’d try putting the male in the females enclosure or putting them both in a new, scent free enclosure. If you have another female of age or you know someone who does you could try taking the substrate and rubbing on the female to make the female smell more like a female than she already does so the male thinks she’s female.
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Unless you 100% know both of their sexes then I wouldn’t put them together. If they are both male then you could end up with a skink missing some toes (or worse). Confirm their sex with a knowledgeable skink breeder. You also need to make sure your female is ready to breed, so ask the breeder how to tell that too.
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Unfortunately, blue tongues are extremely difficult to sex. There are some minor differences in things like head shape and body shape, but those are not always evident. The only way to confirm a skink as a gender without watching it breeding is by seeing sperm plugs or seeing the hemipenes when the skink is defecating. Due to this, the general consensus for sexing skinks is by observing their behavior when you put them together. I do have some evidence for one of them being a male due to what I think are sperm plugs and my sister saying she saw hemipenes once. That same skink also acted very territorial. However, I have no idea what sex other skink is. The only confirmed way to prove a female blue tongue skink is by it producing offspring.
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My concern is that the other skink may be a male. It is quite hard to tell with blue tongue skinks.
I placed them in a new, scent free enclosure. I put a towel in there for traction, but no bedding because I did not want cypress mulch in undesirable places.
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Whether or not the other skink is male or female the supposed male thinks it’s a male or isn’t sure. From what you’ve said about the supposed male being territorial I agree with you on the thought that it’s a male.
Just think evey NBTS is male until it pops out a litter or you see private parts or sperm plugs. You can guess by measurments or body structure but those are not accurate. Jaws, tail, hips, body build, and behaviore can help you make an educated guess.
You could have a submissive male who just lets the other male have his way or a clumsy breeder male not nowing what going on. Dont leave them together unsupervised. Be ready because that leg can easily pop off if he decides to roll and your not ready to unlach him from that leg in seconds. You shouldn’t attempt to breed unless you are prepared and know what your doing.
Males will charge each other or one will just stay still. Females have different posture and movements to signal male she is ready. Even if you have a pair they may not be on the same cycle. Its impossible to tell you what your situation is based off such little information. Things get physical for both genders in a hury or stalemate lingers on. Females will fight back if not ready and can crush your males skull or rip his arms/legs off with little effort. Females will nip at male to get him going or have slight head jiters / tail wags. However anything over emphasized can be a defensive posture or threatening posture. Especially when head held high at 45 dagrees or head turned to protect arms while providing back as protection with puffyness on body. Running away while pooping is never a good sign. Hard to say with such litt information or visual aids what your looking at but hopefully this helps.
Check out videos online to get a better understanding of mating behaviors and what your getting yourself into.
O and Your male can become steril with one scratch from female during lock because they will try and push him off. Its part of natural selection and making sure only sutable males breed.