Blue Tongue Skink Info

[texastailfeathers]

I saw a gorgeous, incredibly docile blue tongue skink at a reptile show in July and I didn't think much of it until last week when I saw one one on Animal Planet.

I've searched through the forum archives and I'm surprised there haven't been any threads about them.

I have read countless caresheets and I understand their basic care. Honestly, compared with iguanas and beardies and geckos, they sound pretty easy to care for.

Do any of you CS.com members have experience with blue tongue skinks? I can read caresheets all day long without learning a single thing about what it's really like to keep them. I'm not all that interested in breeding info, although that's always helpful. I'd really like to know about them as pets.

Any stories, photos, or tips to share? Are they as mellow as the breeders all proclaim? Are they as "sweet" as beardies and as "dog-like" as tegus? Is their diet truly as foolproof as it looks (for someone with above average knowledge of animal nutrition)? Do they have any quirks that wouldn't be mentioned in the caresheets?

I'd love to hear from those of you with blue tongue skink experience. Thanks in advance! :cheers:

 

[CMLReptiles]

I have 2 BTS's atm, and yea, they're as easy to care for as it seems. Diet is an odd topic...some breeders opinions differ, which makes it weird. wet cat food, fruits, veggies get fed to mine...mainly cat food. Personality...they're great. They like to hide/burrow, so I use aspen bedding. When out, they tend to be very curious and like to explore. The big advantage to keeping them over some of the other options is ease of care. no special lighting required or crickets to deal with like beardies. They don't get too big like iguanas and monitors, and I've never met one that could be considered mean.

 

[jazzgeek]

I haven't personally kept any, but I've had a few pass through the Petco I managed. IMO, they can vary in temperment a little too much for me - I've held a few that were puppy-tame, and one hellion that bit my right ring finger....and it hurt like a mofo. Of all 5-6 of the reptile bites I've gotten, that was the one that hurt the most.

That said, since they're really not "baskers" - they're more like "burrowers" - I don't find them to be as social as beardies. Feeding them was a breeze, however.

YMMV.

(They ARE very cool looking, no doubt.)

regards,
jazz

 

[tricksterpup]

I love my Blue Tongue Skink!!!! Sydney is a great gal but can get a bit defensive if you put your hand in her cage the wrong way.
I keep her in Aspen and feed her a mix of greens, iguana salad, and bugs.

I have a pretty nice cage for her and she likes to hide underneath the aspen. She has a couple of lights in there, I use a Normal output fluorescent and a Compact screw bulb in her cage.

Her cage is the one on the bottom.

I tell people, if they want a hand holdy pet, these are the best lizards to get next to Bearded Dragons.

 

[Argentra]

SIGH... Blue Tongue Skink... someday...

Anyway, they are really great lizards and quite easy to care for. The most important thing to consider is their cage - it has to have a lot of floor space and little height. Otherwise they eat a nice variety of foods, are usually quite sweet and love being held, and maintain a very manageable size. I know all this because I cared for two wonderful Easterns at the zoo I worked at.

Oh and BTW, Sydney is GORGEOUS!! I love the silver skinks.

Here's a great site:
http://www.bluetongueskinks.net/