If you’re considering the purchase of a pet blue-tongued skink, be prepared to make a commitment of at least twenty years. The normal life expectancy of a captive skink is anywhere between fifteen and twenty years, but some have been reported to live in excess of thirty-two years.Mar 25, 2016[1]
How Long Do Skinks Live In Captivity?
They have short legs, broad bodies and triangular-shaped heads and can live 15 to 20 years in captivity.[2]
How Long Do Blue Tongue Skinks Live Wild?
Blue tongue skinks are a group of diurnal, terrestrial lizards found throughout Australia and parts of Indonesia. They can grow up to 24” long, and have an average lifespan of 15-20 years, although with good care, they can live past the age of 30.Apr 13, 2020[3]
How Old Is The Oldest Blue Tongue Skink?
Although they are not aggressive, they have strong jaws and teeth, meaning that a bite from a skink can be painful. It is advisable not to startle or provoke them, as they may bite if they feel threatened. Specimens can live up to 20 years or more.[4]
Are Blue Tailed Skinks Poisonous To Humans When They Bite
Though some skinks can have bright skin and patterned bodies (which are mostly a sign of a poisonous species), this is not the case. Their bright colors are merely to imitate poisonous species and deter predators. All skinks are perfectly safe to handle, and even their bites are harmless, apart from some slight pain.Nov 2, 2021[5]
What Happens If A Blue-Tailed Lizard Bites You?
The blue-tailed skink bite presents no threat to humans, as the animal is not venomous, and there is no record of a skink causing lasting injury to an adult or child, according to the Savannah River Ecology Laboratory.[6]
What Happens If You Get Bit By A Skink?
Skinks bites are mild and pain-free, so they are not dangerous to humans. Despite their slight skin resemblance to snakes, skinks are not poisonous or venomous. Their bites are also mild and minor. Therefore, they do not pose any danger to humans.Feb 4, 2022[7]
Are Blue-Tailed Skinks Toxic?
Skink for a Snack
Though skinks are not really toxic, cats can get sick from eating the critters. Skinks are among the reptiles potentially carrying dangerous parasites that end up inside Missy’s bile duct, causing inflammation. The bile duct becomes blocked, causing toxins to accumulate in the liver.[8]
Do Skinks Hurt When They Bite?
Due to their size and the crushing power of their jaws, yes, it does hurt when Blue Tongue Skinks bite. Their jaws aren’t designed to slice and tear, so they rarely break the skin much with a bite. However, they are designed to crush up food items such as snail shells, so they’re very strong![9]
What Do Blue Tailed Skinks Cages Look Like
ImagesView all[10]
What Does A Blue-Tailed Skink Need In Its Tank?
Skinks like to burrow. Deep mulch or sand type bedding. Create a dense leafy area for hiding and another area for basking. Provide clean, chlorine-free water in a shallow bowl that cannot be tipped over.[11]
What Does A Skink Need In Its Cage?
Damp substrate should keep the tank humid, but you also need to provide your skink with a water bowl. Get a shallow water bowl for the tank big enough for your skink to lie down in. Give your skink plenty of space to dig and hide. Skinks will get bored or anxious if they don’t have hiding spaces in their tank.[12]
Can Blue-Tailed Skinks Be Housed Together?
They also like high humidity, which can be achieved by lightly misting the enclosure once a day. Female skinks can be kept together, but more than one male in a habitat will result in aggression.[13]
How Do You Keep A 5 Lined Skink?
Provide your skink with fresh water daily and feed it every two days or so. Keep a shallow water dish in the ‘cool’ side of the tank for your skink to drink from and soak in. Offer live crickets and meal worms to your skink and supplement this diet once in a while with reptile pellets or canned reptile food.[14]
Where To Find Blue Tailed Skinks
You can find blue-tailed skinks in a variety of locations throughout the West, from south-central British Columbia to southern Baja California, and eastwards to Montana. If you’re out for a walk in any of these places, keep your eyes peeled for a little lizard with a blue caboose.May 3, 2017[15]
Where Can Skinks Be Found?
skink, (family Scincidae), any of about 1,275 species of lizards, mostly secretive ground dwellers or burrowers, that are represented throughout most of the world but are especially diverse in Southeast Asia and its associated islands, the deserts of Australia, and the temperate regions of North America.[16]
How Do You Attract Blue Tailed Skinks?
Blue-tailed skinks, like most lizards, are attracted to light. Set up a light, such as a lamp or a flashlight, and some bait (either crickets or mealworms) near the area where you think the skink is located to help lure it out.[17]
Is The Blue-Tailed Skink Rare?
The critically endangered blue-tailed skink became virtually extinct back in 2009, but a breeding program run by Parks Australia and Taronga Zoo has seen their numbers swell to about 1,500 in captivity.[18]
Where Do Skinks Live In The Us?
Broad-headed skinks live in the eastern half of the United States, from Pennsylvania to Florida and Indiana to Texas. They reside in the lower half of the Chesapeake region year round, in Pennsylvania, Maryland, West Virginia and Virginia.[19]
Why Do Pet Skinks Die
Disease and Illness
As mentioned above, the most fatal diseases for blue tongue skinks are metabolic bone disease and parasite infection. Parasites can infect the skin and internal organs to the point that it will take only a few hours to kill your pet.[20]
Why Did My Pet Lizard Die?
Substrate impaction, internal parasites, bacterial infection, reproductive problems, protozoal infection and trauma are just a few things that come to mind.[21]
How Long Do Skinks Live As Pets?
They have short legs, broad bodies and triangular-shaped heads and can live 15 to 20 years in captivity. 2. They’re generally happy to be handled.Nov 29, 2016[22]
How Do You Help A Skink Die?
1In a saucepan, mix equal parts pediatric electrolyte beverage and sterile water, making enough for use in the plastic container or dishpan. Gently heat the solution to lukewarm.2Place the plastic container or dishpan on a folded towel. … 3Place the lizard in the container and allow him to soak.[23]
How Long Can A Skink Go Without Eating?
A blue tongue skink can go weeks without eating – blue tongue skinks during brumation can go up to 3 months without food. However, this is not recommended outside brumation – babies will not survive for too long because they don’t have as much internal fat storage as adults.[24]
What Is A Skinks Preditor
Skunks have few predators—hungry coyotes, foxes, bobcats, and cougars, also large owls (which have little sense of smell). Domestic dogs will also kill skunks.[25]
What Animal Would Eat A Skunk?
Coyotes, foxes, dogs, bobcats, mountain lions, badgers and big owls can all eat skunks but rarely do. Gehrt’s research shows that less than 5 percent of skunk mortality is caused by predators.Mar 27, 2017[26]
What Is A Skunk Afraid Of?
It may seem ironic, but skunks hate certain odors (as if they have room to judge). Citrus, ammonia, mothballs and predator urine (dog, coyote, etc) are three smells that can scare off skunks.[27]
What Could Kill A Skunk?
To stay outside the range of spray, these hired workers will sometimes kill skunks by injecting chemical solvents, such as acetone (aka nail polish remover), into the animal’s chest using a long pole syringe, likely causing a painful and stressful death..[28]
What Is A Skunks Prey And Predator?
Skunk Facts
Main Prey Insects, Rodents, Rabbits Fun Fact. Also known as the Polecat! Habitat Open woodland and dense shrub Predators Owls, Coyote, Wild cats Diet Omnivore.Jul 4, 2022[29]
How To Clean A Blue Tongued Skinks Cage
What can you clean your blue tongue skink tank with? For light daily or weekly cleaning – you can use a 1:1 vinegar and water solution. Or, you can also use a 1:1 hydrogen peroxide (3-5%) and water solution. You can pour the solution in the sprayer to clean the glass.[30]
Resources
[1]https://www.petmd.com/reptile/species/blue-tongued-skink
[2]http://www.vetstreet.com/our-pet-experts/want-a-pet-reptile-consider-a-skink
[3]https://www.thebiodude.com/blogs/reptile-and-amphibian-caresheets-with-cited-veterinary-and-herpetology-sources/blue-tongue-skink-care-guide
[4]https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Blue-tongued_skink
[5]https://kidadl.com/facts/are-skinks-poisonous-fascinating-facts-on-blue-tailed-skinks-for-kids
[6]https://www.cuteness.com/article/blue-tail-lizard-toxicity%23:~:text%3DThe%2520blue%252Dtailed%2520skink%2520bite,the%2520Savannah%2520River%2520Ecology%2520Laboratory.
[7]https://a-z-animals.com/blog/are-skinks-poisonous-or-dangerous/%23:~:text%3DSkinks%2520bites%2520are%2520mild%2520and,are%2520not%2520dangerous%2520to%2520humans.%26text%3DDespite%2520their%2520slight%2520skin%2520resemblance,pose%2520any%2520danger%2520to%2520humans.
[8]https://animals.mom.com/is-the-blue-tailed-skink-toxic-to-cats-12622786.html%23:~:text%3DSkink%2520for%2520a%2520Snack%26text%3DThough%2520skinks%2520are%2520not%2520really,to%2520accumulate%2520in%2520the%2520liver.
[9]https://reptilecraze.com/blue-tongue-skink-bite/%23:~:text%3DDue%2520to%2520their%2520size%2520and,so%2520they’re%2520very%2520strong!
[10]https://www.raisingbrain.com/single-post/2019/08/20/pet-blue-tailed-skink-setup-and-care
[11]https://petdepot.net/care_sheets/Bluetailed_Skink_care_sheet.pdf
[12]https://www.wikihow.com/Care-for-a-Skink
[13]https://www.cuteness.com/article/care-bluetailed-skink
[14]https://animals.mom.com/how-to-care-for-five-lined-skinks-as-pets-12544183.html
[15]https://fishbio.com/blue-caboose/
[16]https://www.britannica.com/animal/skink
[17]https://www.wikihow.com/Catch-a-Blue-Tailed-Skink
[18]https://www.abc.net.au/news/2019-09-09/near-extinct-blue-tailed-skink-recovers-on-cocos-islands/11486788
[19]https://www.chesapeakebay.net/discover/field-guide/entry/broad_headed_skink
[20]https://reptilecraze.com/10-signs-your-blue-tongue-skink-is-dying/
[21]https://reptilesmagazine.com/pet-lizard-death/
[22]http://www.vetstreet.com/our-pet-experts/want-a-pet-reptile-consider-a-skink
[23]https://animals.mom.com/save-hungry-dehydrated-lizard-3399.html
[24]https://www.lizards101.com/blue-tongue-skink-is-not-eating-why-and-what-to-do/
[25]https://wdfw.wa.gov/species-habitats/living/species-facts/skunks
[26]https://www.nwf.org/Magazines/National-Wildlife/2017/April-May/Animals/Skunks
[27]https://www.hgtv.com/outdoors/gardens/animals-and-wildlife/making-a-stink-how-to-keep-skunks-out-of-your-garden
[28]https://www.humanesociety.org/resources/what-do-about-skunks
[29]https://a-z-animals.com/animals/skunk/
[30]https://www.lizards101.com/how-to-clean-a-blue-tongue-skink-enclosure-remove-smells/