The blue-tongue skink (Tiliqua scincoides) is a species full of personality and fairly easy to care for once you have their home set up for them. They are a great skink for both people new to the hobby and experienced reptile keepers. Not to mention they have a beautiful bright blue tongue and an adorable sausage-shaped body with stubby little legs. If properly cared for your pet skink will provide you with many years of entertainment and happiness. Keep reading to learn how to properly care for your future skink friend!
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Quick Facts
Life Span: 15 – 20
Enclosure Size: 40+ Gallons
Preferred Height: Terrestrial (Ground)
Temperature: Cool Side: 21 – 26°C (70 – 80°F)
Warm Side: 28 – 33°C (82 – 91°F)
Basking Spot: 33 – 38°C (91 – 100°F)
Needs UVB: Yes
Diet: Omnivorous
Sleep Pattern: Diurnal
Care Sheet – Blue-Tongue Skink Care
1. Can You Keep Multiple Skinks Together?
Photo Source
In the wild blue-tongue skinks are solitary animals, only coming together to mate. This means that if you want to keep more than one skink, you should get each skink its own enclosure. We promise they won’t get lonely, and you’re the only friend they need. If you keep more than one skink together, especially two males, they can become aggressive and fight. Fighting can cause injuries or possible death. Even if they are fine together for a while, things could change in an instant, with no warning. There have been cases where skinks have lived together peacefully for years, and one day turned on each other and seriously injured each other for no reason. This is why we recommend only keeping one skink per enclosure.
2. How Big Your Pet Skink Will Get And What They Will Look Like
Size
Blue tongue skinks generally range between 45.7 – 61cm (18 – 24 inches) in total length, with a good portion of that being their tail. Their weight isn’t as well documented, but it is thought to be between 283 – 510g (10 – 18oz), however higher weights are possible. The most important thing is that your skink is healthy, not necessarily its weight.
Make sure you look at the body condition of your skink to determine if they are a healthy weight. In an underweight skink, you may be able to see their spine sticking out, hipbones, a very skinny tail/body, and their head may appear too large for their body. Alternatively, in an overweight skink, you may see things such as large jowls (extra fat under their chin), a head and legs that seem too small for their body, an extra-large round midsection, and they may have trouble breathing or moving.
Appearance
One of the main things that the blue-tongue skink is known for, as it’s even included in their name, is their long cobalt blue tongue. In the wild, they use their tongue in their defensive displays in order to warn off predators. In captivity, it just adds to their unique appearance. Their bodies are round and thick, and they have short stubby legs that end in small feet. Blue-tongue skinks have rather large blocky heads, and their eyes are usually either orange, brown, or reddy-orange. Various greys and browns make up their body color, and their backs usually have either blotches or bands of creams and dark browns. It is important to note that morphs will change the color/patterning on the skink, so the description of colors applies to “normal” or wild colored blue-tongues.
3. The Temperament Of Your Skink And How To Handle Them
Temperament
Blue-tongue skinks are considered fairly docile reptiles, that are easy to tame down if you put in the time and effort. Starting when the skink is young will give you a good advantage in helping your pet skink become social and to bond with you. While naturally they are shy and like to hide in shelters to feel safe, they are also curious and playful lizards that can bring you a lot of joy with their fun personalities. Aside from handling, hand feeding them as well as giving them head and chin pets are other ways of bonding with your skink.
Something that is important to note is that while blue-tongue skinks may be fairly social towards people overall, every animal is different and will have its own personality. Some may enjoy being handled and held, some may tolerate it, and some may dislike/be afraid of being handled. Being aware of what your skink likes, and respecting their preferences is important.
Handling
While it may be tempting to hold and get to know your new pet skink right away, it is very important that you give your skink a chance to get used to its new home. Waiting anywhere from a couple of days to a week or two to allow your skink to get to know their enclosure and start regularly eating is best. However, you are still able to sit near your skink and watch them explore their new home, eat, as well as open their enclosure to feed them and give them water, etc. Just don’t hold them or bother them too much as this can cause them to become too stressed.
When it is time to start holding your skink and getting them used to you, there are a few general tips to follow. The first is to make sure that when you hold your skink you either hold them close to the ground or over a soft surface. This way, if the skink gets away from you, or you accidentally drop them, they won’t fall far and get hurt. A good way to help them feel secure is by making sure you support their whole body while holding them. When you first start to hold your skink start with only a few minutes at a time so as to not overwhelm them. If your skink is responding positively you can gradually increase the time you hold them each day until you are both happy with the amount you are able to hold them.
Behaviors
Blue-tongue skinks are diurnal. This means that like us humans, they are awake during the day and sleep during the night which is another reason they make a good pet reptile. Since they are diurnal they spend the daytime eating and exploring so you will be able to interact with them more than you would nocturnal reptiles.
They are ground dwellers and spend most, if not all, of their time on the ground. They are also naturally burrowers and will burrow into the ground for various reasons, like cooling off or hiding to feel secure. If you startle them or harass them their response may be to puff up their body to look larger, stick out their blue tongue, and hiss. They do this in the wild to scare away predators. If your skink does this give them some space and time to calm down and try interacting with them again later when they are calm.
Just like many different lizards, skinks are able to drop their tail by choice. While the tail will regrow if it has been dropped, it is often not the same as the original tail and it is easy to tell that it is different. The best ways to avoid this from happening are to never grab them by their tail, be careful when handling them, and give them space if they seem stressed out or upset.
4. Heating And Lighting Requirements
Heating
Blue-tongue skinks are from a warmer area of the world, meaning that they need those same warm temperatures to be happy. This is especially important as reptiles are cold-blooded, and rely on external heat sources to keep warm as they don’t produce their own heat. It is also important to include a gradient of different temperatures in your skink’s enclosure so that they are able to move to warmer or colder areas of the tank depending on their needs. The most accurate way to measure the different temperatures is to use a temperature gun like this. This will allow you to quickly and accurately check different areas in your tank to make sure they are correct. The temperatures you’ll need to include are:
Cool Side: 21 – 26°C (70 – 80°F)
Warm Side: 28 – 33°C (82 – 91°F)
Basking (Hot) Spot: 33 – 38°C (91 – 100°F)
Nightime: 18 – 24°C (65 – 75°F)
Ways To Heat Your Tank
One of the main ways people heat their blue-tongue skink’s cage is by using a heat bulb and lamp fixture set up over the enclosure. You can either use a reptile-specific light, or a halogen flood light bulb will work just as well. Ceramic heat emitters also work well and last a long time, however, they don’t produce light. Make sure that whatever fixture you’re using to hold the light bulbs is made to hold the amount of wattage you are using.
The wattage that you will need to produce enough heat will depend on the temperature of your house. You can either try a couple of different wattages at first or buy a higher wattage and use something like a light dimmer to turn the heat down. If using a ceramic heat bulb or a heat mat you may also want to buy a thermostat. A thermostat will keep track of the temperature in your tank using a probe, and turn the heating device off and on as needed to keep the tank at the temperature you set the thermostat to. This doesn’t work well with bulbs that produce light, as the light will be flickering on and off throughout the day which can get quite irritating.
Finally, you may choose to use a heat mat to get the proper temperature in the tank. This goes underneath the tank and heats it from below. If you choose to use a heat mat you may also want to use a spotlight-type heat bulb above the tank during the day to create a nice basking spot for your skink. Whatever you choose, make sure it is placed on one side of the tank, not in the middle, as this will allow for the proper gradient in temperature needed.
Nighttime Temperatures
A slight drop in temperature during the night is completely fine and even healthy for skinks, as this mimics what happens in the wild. If your house is between 18 – 24°C (65 – 75°F), or you are already using a heat mat then you don’t need any additional heating for your tank. If your house is colder than that, you may need additional heating during the night. An under-tank heat mat set to a lower temperature or a ceramic heat bulb is a good way to add extra heat without extra light. As it is night time you don’t want to use anything that produces light.
What To AVOID Using
As always, the thing you should NEVER use in your tank is a heat rock. This is a fake rock that heats from the inside. These are notorious for severely burning reptiles. They are especially dangerous since you are unable to adjust the temperature. You can still use rock basking areas or other rock decors, just stay away from any that heat up. If you already have one you can still use it as decor, just don’t plug it in.
UVB
Why Do They Need UVB?
For a long time, many blue tongue skinks were kept without UVB and were able to live a long time. However, as the reptile hobby is becoming more knowledgeable, we are learning how important UVB is for reptiles and their health and well-being. Blue-tongue skinks are diurnal, which means they are awake during the day. And during the daytime in the wild, they will spend many hours basking out in the sun which provides natural UVB.
UVB helps your skink create vitamin D, which helps maintain the bones of your skink and helps with the absorption of calcium, which also helps bones. A lack of Vitamin D or calcium can cause metabolic bone disease. Metabolic bone disease (MBD) can cause your skink’s bones to become deformed, making it hard for them to walk or eat. UVB also aids in strengthening immune systems, stimulating endorphin production, and generally just improving the overall wellbeing of the animal.
Getting The Proper UVB Setup
The best way to make sure your skink gets a healthy dose of UVB rays every day is to use a tube light. Make sure you pick a tube light that has at least 10% output and covers at least 50 – 70% of the length of your cage. Two of the two most well-known brands for reptile UVB tubes are Reptisun and Arcadia. A good choice would be the Reptisun 10.0 for example. You will also need a hood for your bulb to go in and to power it. A hood like the Reptisun T5 Hood is good because it has reflectors, which help the UVB rays disperse more evenly throughout the cage.
You’ll want to make sure that your UVB bulb is on for at least 8 – 12 hours a day. Using a timer can save you a lot of time, as you’re able to set the timer to turn on and off at the same time every day. It is important to note that even if your UVB light still looks like it is working (the light still works), that doesn’t mean it is still producing proper UVB. You should change your UVB light no matter what approximately every 6 – 10 months.
Other UVB Options
While coil UVB bulbs are available for sale in many reptile stores, they aren’t really all that good. They only cover a small intense area, so unless your skink is sitting right underneath it, it isn’t that helpful. Tube lights allow the whole tank to receive UVB, so your skink is covered mostly wherever they go. You can also occasionally bring your skink outside on a nice warm day to get natural UVB lighting from the sun. Make sure to keep a close eye on your skink at all times, and don’t allow them to eat any random plants or bugs they find, as this could be dangerous for them.
Lighting
As mentioned before, since blue-tongue skinks are diurnal, having a proper day and night cycle is important, as it will allow your skink to know when it’s time to sleep and when it’s time to wake up and get started on their day. Your UVB and/or the heating method you choose may already produce enough light for your skink, which is great! If not, a simple LED light bulb will do the trick. You can hang it above the cage using any sort of reptile light fixture. Adding it on a timer with your UVB and heating will make it easy to keep a proper schedule for your skink no matter your schedule.
5. What Your Skink Will Want To Eat
How Often And What Percentage Of Protein/Plants
Blue-tongue skinks are omnivores, meaning that they need a mix of both plants and animals to survive. Younger skinks need a higher protein diet, and as they age they gradually switch over to a more plant-heavy diet. How often you feed your skink also depends on how old they are. This is based on a skink of normal weight, as obviously you would need to feed an underweight skink more often, while an overweight skink will need either less food or to be fed less often. An average serving for a skink is around 1 – 2 tbsp. However, babies may need to eat more as they are growing. Try to make sure that you choose a variety of different foods to feed your skink. This will keep them interested, as well as make sure they get a wide range of nutrients.
| Age Range | How Often They Should Be Fed | Protein/Plant Percentage |
| 0 – 4 Months | Daily | 70 – 80% Protein 20 – 30% Plants |
| 5 – 9 Months | 3 Times A Week | 70 – 80% Protein 20 – 30% Plants |
| 9 – 12 Months | 1 – 2 Times A Week | 70 – 80% Protein 20 – 30% Plants |
| 12+ Months | 1 – 2 Times A Week | 40 – 50% Protein 50 – 60% Plants |
Proteins
The majority of protein for your blue-tongue skink should be from feeder insects. Other proteins like eggs or ground turkey should be more of an occasional treat. An important note is that you should never catch bugs from outside and feed them to your skink, as they could have things like pesticides on them that can be harmful. Also make sure to purchase insects that are raised to be eaten by animals, as you know they will be safe and won’t have any bad things on/in them. Finally, you will want to gut-load your feeder insects, making sure they are full of lots of nutrition for your skink.
| Insects | Meat | What To Avoid |
| Dubia Roaches | Eggs | Lubber Grasshoppers |
| Crickets | Lean Turkey, Chicken, Beef Etc. | Fireflies |
| Locusts | Organ Meat | Spiders |
| Reptile-Safe Snails | Live or Frozen Thawed Pinkie Rats or Fuzzy Mice | Wasps |
| Grasshoppers | ANY Wild Bug Not Specifically Raised For Reptiles | |
| Black Soldier Fly Larvae | ||
| Silkworms | ||
| Hornworms | ||
| Discoid roaches |
Plants
Vegetables will make up the majority of your adult skink’s diet. Try to provide a variety of different vegetables for your skink to eat. Fruits are also a nice treat to feed your skink, but they should only make up around 10% of their diet, no more than that. If you grow the fruits and vegetables in your backyard and are sure there were no pesticides used while growing them, then you are able to feed those to your skink. However, be wary about collecting fruits, veggies, or plants in public areas as you don’t know if there is anything toxic on them.
BlueTongueSkinks has a great in-depth chart of foods that will help you decide what to feed your skink and how often.
| Vegetables | Fruit | What To Avoid |
| Squash | Apple | Avacados |
| Turnip Greens | Banana | Rhubarbs |
| Collard Greens | Blueberries | Onions |
| Endive | Cherries | Eggplants |
| Dandelions | Peaches | Mushrooms |
| Mustard Greens | Kiwi | Garlic |
| Green Beans | Cantaloupe | Citrus |
| Bell Peppers | Fruit Seeds | |
| Carrots |
Prepared Meals
There are a few different prepared foods that you can feed to your skink. While it may not be best to only feed them these prepared foods, it can be great as an occasional treat or if you just don’t have time to prepare an intricate meal for your skink. Repashy sells reptile-specific food like grub pie, meat pie, veggie burger, and fruit powders that you can either add water to and serve as is with other food, or add into the other food you are feeding them. They even sell a blue-tongue skink food called bluey buffet. Reptilinks have an omnivore blend that you can purchase.
Some keepers swear by feeding their blue-tongue skinks dog and cat food. Again, we don’t recommend that being the only protein you feed your skink, but it can be a good addition. Wet canned food or raw cat/dog food is generally better than kibble. Look for foods that are of higher quality, and don’t contain artificial flavors, colors, or fish. Cat food is best for young skinks under 1 year old, as they need the higher protein formula. Once they reach adulthood around 1 year, you should switch over to dog food as this is lower in protein and more balanced for adult skinks.
Supplements
There are two different vitamins that will help keep your skink healthy.
Calcium: A pinch of powdered calcium added to your skink’s food once or twice a week will help keep their bones nice and strong. If you are using UVB lighting (which we highly recommend), you’ll want to pick calcium that does not have D3 added, as the UVB will provide enough D3. If you aren’t going to use a UVB bulb, you’ll need to pick calcium with D3 added into it, as this will help your skink properly absorb the calcium.
Reptile Multivitamin: Reptile multivitamins are just like human ones – they make sure that your skink is getting all the vitamins they need to be happy and healthy. Rep-Cal Herptivite is a good option. Whatever multivitamin you choose should advise you on how often to feed it to your reptile on the packaging, but around once a week is a good standard.
6. What Substrate Should You Choose?
Blue-tongue skinks are burrowing animals who love to burrow and dig in their enclosure for all sorts of reasons. This is why it is best to give your skink an enclosure that has at least 10.2 – 15.2 cm (4 – 6 inches) of soft loose substrate for them to dig in. When deciding what substrate to choose for your personal enclosure you have a few good options to choose from. Below are the pros and cons of some of the recommended substrates, as well as what substrates need to be avoided altogether.
Substrate Options
| Name Of Substrate | Forms It Comes In | Pros | Cons |
| Wood | -Shaved Aspen -Cypress -Fir (Reptibark) | -Lightweight. -Fairly inexpensive. -Good humidity retention. -Easy for blue-tongue skinks to burrow in. | -Avoid aspen shreds (shavings are fine), as shreds have been known to get stuck under the eyelids of blue-tongue skinks, causing injuries. -Avoid fragrant woods like pine and cedar as they can cause infections and irritation. |
| Coconut | -Bark -Husk -Soil | -Good humidity retention. | |
| Paper | -Shavings -Shreds -Pellets -Fluff-Like | -Cheap. -Easy to change/clean. | -Poor humidity retention. -Can get soggy and gross when wet. |
| Sand | -Playground Sand | -Retains heat well. -Retains moisture relatively well. | -Controversial – can cause impaction in some cases. -Heavy and hard to clean. -To prevent impaction you will have to either get a dish with edges to prevent sand from getting all over your skink’s food or remove them from their enclosure to feed them. |
| Bioactive | -Mix of various soils, mosses, etc. to make bioactive setup | -Can grow plants (make sure plants are non-toxic to skinks). -Looks the most natural. -Once it is set up properly is fairly self-sustainable. -Skink can still burrow in it. | -Can be expensive to get set up. |
| Paper Towel | -Sheets -Hand Shredded | -Cheap. -Good for monitoring if your skink is ill or if you need to make sure they are going bathroom properly. -Easy To Clean. | -Doesn’t look visually appealing -Doesn’t let your skink burrow or dig. -Doesn’t do a great job at helping with humidity. |
Substrates To Avoid
| Name Of Substrate | Why They Are Bad |
| Alfalfa Pellets | -Heavy, hard to burrow in. -Unsanitary. |
| Carpet | -Doesn’t allow them to burrow, skink may try to crawl underneath it. -Nails can get stuck and ripped out by carpet. |
| Pine And Cedar | -Contains irritating oils that can cause irritation and respiratory problems. |
| Calcium Sand | -Even though it is sold in pet stores it is not safe. -It is not good for them to lick at the sand and consume so much calcium – can lead to illnesses and even death from consuming too much. -Can Cause Impaction. |
| Cat Litter | -Too dusty which can cause respiratory infections and eye irritation. -May contain toxic chemicals. -Is Very drying and bad for humidity. -Can cause impaction. |
| Clay Litter | -Clumping of litter can cause impaction if swallowed. |
| Gravel or Rocks | -Can cause impaction if eaten. -Not easy for your skink to burrow in, which could cause injury. -Not good for humidity. |
| Walnut Shells | -Can cause impaction. |
| Dirt From Outside | -Could contain any number of harmful toxins, parasites, insects, plants, etc. |
7. How To Set Up The Perfect Enclosure For Your Blue-Tongue
Enclosure Types and Size
The minimum size of an enclosure for a blue-tongue skink is a 40-gallon long tank. You can also use the dimensions of 91.5cm (36 inches) long, 46cm (18 inches) wide, and 38cm (15 inches) high. However, bigger is always better when it comes to enclosure size, and your skink will always appreciate more room to move around and explore. There are many different types of enclosures that you can pick from, that also vary in price.
ExoTerras are glass enclosures with doors in the front, which makes it easy to get into the enclosure. Glass aquarium tanks with mesh lids can be used, but at such large sizes, it can be hard to get into the tank if it is on a stand. If you’re looking for something more aesthetically pleasing, Custom Reptile Habitats is a great place to buy beautiful enclosures. You could even build your own if you wanted to. The only thing to keep in mind is making sure the enclosure you get is big enough and isn’t made of anything toxic to reptiles. Other than that, you’re able to decide how much you are willing to spend, and what kind of look you are going for.
The only type of enclosure that we wouldn’t recommend is a mesh enclosure. This is because the mesh allows all of the moisture out of the cage, making it hard to keep up the proper humidity. It can also let out heat, and their claws could also get stuck in the mesh.
List Of Things You’ll Need
Blue-tongue skink enclosures can range anywhere from simple and minimal to bioactive and look like a little piece of nature in your home. It’s up to you to decide how you want your tank to look. However, below is a list of essentials that every blue-tongue skink setup needs to have in order to properly accommodate your skink’s needs.
- Enclosure
- 2 Hides
- Water & Food Bowl
- UVB Light & Hood
- Substrate
- Heat Light and Fixture or Heat Mat
- Basking Rock or Platform
Hides
Since blue-tongue skinks are natural burrowers and have predators in the wild, having hides in your enclosure will help them to feel more secure. You’ll need to include two different hides to meet those needs, however, you can always include more if you want to. One of the hides should be placed on the cool side of the tank, and the other on the hot side of the tank. If you wish, you can add some damp sphagnum moss to the hides in order to help with humidity and shedding. They can be plain like an opaque container turned upside down with a hole cut into it. Or you can buy or make your own hide that is more fancy looking. They can also be naturalistic looking like rocks or logs, or they can be more fun and colorful, the choice is completely up to you.
Basking Rock/Ledge
Having some sort of rock or a basking ledge placed under the hot spot can be very beneficial for your blue-tongue skink. Stone especially is great at absorbing heat, creating a nice and toasty warm spot for your skink to lay on and regulate its temperature. This is especially important as a lot of the substrate used for blue-tongues is good for burrowing, but not great for basking on. What you use is up to you and your preference of cost/look. You could use a regular old rock, a flat slab of stone from a hardware store, or a specifically made basking ledge that looks nice.
Plants
Plants are a great addition to any enclosure. Again, not only do they look great and make the tank look more like the skink’s natural habitat, but it also provides more things for your skink to explore and hide in. Fake plants are completely acceptable, and there are many life-like fake plants out there for you to choose from.
If you have the time, money, and want to put in the effort, real plants are a great way to add enrichment and beauty to your tank. You can set up a bioactive tank and plant the plants right into the ground. The BioDude sells awesome kits that can help you set up your bioactive terrarium fairly easily. You could also plant the plants into terracotta pots placed into the tank. No matter what way you choose to set up your tank, please make sure that you only include reptile-safe plants in your enclosure. The BioDude also has a great list of safe plants that we recommend you check out when deciding what plants to buy.
Other Decor
The rest of the decor that you choose to add is up to you. While adding in anything else isn’t necessary, it does have its benefits. The first is that it makes the enclosure look nice, and who doesn’t like having something pretty to look at. Secondly, is that it adds enrichment for your skink, and gives them things to climb on, explore, and just overall adds to their happiness. You can add things like branches, rocks, cork bark, or other fun decors you can find at pet stores. As always just make sure anything you add is reptile safe and doesn’t have any super sharp edges.
You may also choose to add a background to your enclosure. These can be intricate 3D ones or ones you stick on the outside of the cage and are a picture. Ideally, you’d want to cover 3 sides of the cage (both sides and the back), as this gives your skink extra coverage on the tank, and can help them feel more secure and safe in their home.
8. Humidity And Water Requirements
Humidity
The humidity preference for your blue-tongue skink depends on which subspecies it is. Below are the 3 different T. scincoides subspecies and what their humidity needs are:
Tanimbar Blue-Tongue (Tiliqua scincoides chimaera): 60 – 80%
Northern Blue-Tongue (Tiliqua scincoides intermedia): 40 – 60%
Eastern Blue-Tongue (Tiliqua scincoides scincoides): 40 – 60%
The most accurate way to measure humidity in your tank is using a digital hygrometer, something like this will work just fine. There are a couple of tricks you can use as well as the hygrometer to determine if your humidity is ideal for your blue-tongue skink. If your skink’s belly is dry and rough, or they are having trouble shedding properly the humidity is too low. If their belly is smooth and shiny and the skink is able to easily shed your humidity is good.
Raising Humidity
The natural humidity of your home may be too low for your skink in which case there are a couple of different things you can do to up the humidity. Using thick layers of substrate will help as the more substrate you have, the more it is able to hold water. If even more humidity is needed you can mix some water into the substrate until it is damp (not soaking wet).
You can also mist your skink daily to add humidity, the ideal time for misting is in the morning, and/or at night time. Another option is making them a humid hide, which is a reptile cave or hide with damp sphagnum moss added inside of it. Make sure to check the moisture level of the moss often, and change it if it gets dirty or has any mold. Finally, using a larger water bowl may also help increase the humidity. Don’t place the water bowl directly under the heat lamp, as this will evaporate all the water quickly and make the water too hot for your skink.
Water
As with any animal, blue-tongue skinks need water to survive. A dish with clean water should be available at all times. When choosing a dish there are a few things to consider. While a bowl big enough for your skink to drink from is fine, many skinks enjoy soaking in their water occasionally. However, skinks aren’t great swimmers, so the bowl should be big enough that your skink can at least partially lay in it, but not so big they could drown or get stuck in it. A sturdy bowl that isn’t easily tipped or broken is the best choice, as you don’t want your skink to spill their water everywhere or be able to injure themselves on any broken pieces.
Change your water daily, and make sure the bowl stays clean and doesn’t get any dirt or slime in it. Filtered water is ideal, however, tap water is fine if it is also clean enough for you to drink. Make sure your skink always has access to fresh, clean water. If your skink uses their water bowl as a toilet, make sure you disinfect it with a reptile-safe cleaner.
9. How To Tell The Sex Of Your Blue-Tongue Skink
Appearance
Knowing the sex of your blue-tongue skink can be nice to know, as well as it can be helpful when picking a name. However, when it comes to the actual care of your blue-tongue skink, the sex of your skink doesn’t really make a difference, as care is the same for both males and females. There are a few slight differences between male and female blue-tongue skinks that you can see, however, they aren’t overly obvious. A few different things that you can look at include: males tend to have a larger and more triangular head, slimmer sides a thicker tail base, and a huskier throat than females do. However, a larger female with a healthy, thick tail may resemble a male.
Checking For Hemipenes and X-Rays
If the skink you are buying is old enough to check, asking the breeder if they already know the sex, or to check the sex for you before you buy your skink is an option. If the breeder isn’t able to tell you, or you have already bought your skink and want to know for sure, you have a few options. The first is to take your skink to the vet or a reputable herpetologist and ask them to try to evert (pop out) the possible male’s hemipenes (reproductive organs), however, this isn’t the most comfortable or safe way. The second is while at the vet you can ask the vet to perform an X-Ray or ultrasound at the vet. This will allow the vet to take a look at what organs are inside the skink (male or female).
Seminal Plugs
Male blue-tongue skinks will also drop or get rid of seminal plugs, which is a sure-fire way to in fact tell that they are a male. Females do not drop these plugs. These plugs are small in size, a clearish-white color, and are slimy little blobs with tails that give them a total length of around 2.5cm (1 inch). They resemble small tadpoles and are usually found in pairs. These are different from the urates (pee) of the skink, as the urates are more chalky and solid white.
10. Picking The Morph Of Your Blue-Tongue Skink
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Check out our blue-tongue skink morph article to see some of the options available to pick from!
While blue-tongue skinks may not have as many morphs available as ball pythons or even leopard geckos, there are morphs out there to choose from if you wish to. While the natural look of blue-tongue skinks is already beautiful, some people prefer a little extra. The morph you choose will fully depend on your preference, how much you are willing to spend on the morph (morphs tend to be more expensive), as well as the availability at the time you are purchasing your new pet. As always, make sure to do some research to make sure there are no negative side effects of the morph you are purchasing. We did a quick look and couldn’t find any problematic morphs, so you should be fine with whatever you choose!
And you made it to the end! This can be a lot of information to take in at once, so just start slow and get one thing ready at a time. Soon enough you’ll have a happy healthy skink friend of your own with an awesome enclosure. Good luck and we hope you enjoy your new skink friend! Enjoy this article? Share it with your friends using the links below. Also, leave a comment below and let us know what you think. Thanks for reading!