I purchased a Pink Tongue Skink from Kevin Lamm who advertised it in an Ohio reptile sale group. In the photo that he sent it appeared to be in good health, so I drove 2 hours to go pick it up. I examined the animal briefly in person before purchasing it. It appeared healthy to me but I am not experienced with skinks. Its eyes and mouth were clear. I noticed one of its toes was black from stuck shed that had become constricted and its tail was thin, but did not think it would be a problem.
Shortly after on the way home I noticed something did not seem right. It looked skinny to me, but did not appear this way when I was holding it before. I offered it water and it drank it very intensely. When I got back I put it in some shallow water and again it drank very intensely again. I thought that it was just thirsty from being in the container for 2+ hours.
When I brought it home it ate immediately, but it basked under the lamp constantly, barely moving from the spot. Occasionally its breathing would appear heavy. The next day its behavior was the same, lying under the lamp and not moving very much. I thought it was stressed and still acclimating. The day after it was lying on the bottom of the enclosure. When I offered it food it came up to the plate, but this time it just layed its head on the edge and closed its eyes instead of eating. It did not drink either.
I came back to check on it a few hours later, and it had passed away.
Contacted him about the skink passing, and I stated I believed she was ill. He refused to take any responsibility. He said something in the food I offered it must have done it or that it got overheated. I know that is not true as I had the basking lamp on a thermostat and checked it with a thermometer and a temperature gun multiple times a day. It had a basking spot in the low 90s, and areas below the basking spot where it could also bask in the lower 80s if it wanted. The cool end of the enclosure was at 75 degrees. I heavily misted the enclosure twice a day.
I realize in the conversation below I state that the skink acted normal (eating and drinking), but when thinking back on this now and after talking with a few people that keep skinks I think that this animal's behavior was not normal and there was something wrong. I did not have any experience with Pink Tongues previously. There may be some fault on me for stating that, but I still had this animal for less than 2 days and he stated that it was completely healthy even though it had a dead toe. And it appeared to be thin/malnourished to me. I believe he was ignorant to the state of the animal's health.
He did not respond after I said I did not think she was over heated.
I had this animal for about 48 hours. I received it Sunday 7/17 at 6pm and it passed away around Tuesday 7/19 around 7pm. It is my opinion that this was not a freak accident, I believe there was something underlying that was set off by the stress of moving.
I do not know if he has a fauna account or sells online but I know he sells in Ohio reptile Facebook groups. I would avoid buying any animals from this individual. I am very upset over this experience.
Here is the photo he sent me of the skink:
Here is a photo of the skink when I noticed something was not right:
Here are photos of the conversation after I contacted him about its passing: