Mayor Bloomberg is sending out “feelers” to former senior government officials for suggestions on replacing Deputy Mayor Ed Skyler, sources said today.

The sources said two of those approached recently were Marc Shaw, who worked as a deputy mayor in the first Bloomberg Administration, and Bruce Bender, who served as chief of staff to former City Council Speaker Peter Vallone Sr.

“It was in the way of feelers, to see if they had thoughts about a successor,’ said one source.

Both Shaw and Bender are experienced government hands and wouldn’t need much prep time to step into Skyler’s shoes themselves.

But they’re both mighty busy right now.

Shaw is working as the interim chief financial officer at CUNY. Bender is an executive vice president at Forest City Ratner, developer of the Atlantic Yards complex in downtown Brooklyn.