For both species you must:Provide branches and vegetation.Provide a light source and basking spot.Feed calcium-dusted and gut-loaded insects.Provide water, use a mister, and keep humidity correct.Keep adult blue-tailed skinks in a terrarium of at least 20 gallons per one skink.[1]
Can You Keep A Wild Blue-Tailed Skink As A Pet?
Pet Ponder says a blue-tailed skink makes a good pet because they are easy to care for. Because they are reptiles, they require a warm spot in which to bask to increase their body temperature. These animals also like abundant places to hide such as caves or rocks they can crawl under.[2]
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.[3]
What Do You Feed A Blue-Tailed Skink?
When it comes to being predators themselves, blue-tailed skinks aren’t picky. Their diet can include crickets, beetles, flies, grasshoppers, spiders, and even earthworms.[4]
Can You Hold A Blue-Tailed Skink?
Grab the skink’s body quickly to catch it.
Skinks can detach their tails when threatened and escape if you grab them there. Be careful not to squeeze too hard, or else you could injure the skink. Keep your fingers away from the skink’s mouth. Although skinks are not poisonous, it can still hurt when they bite![5]
How Often Do Blue Tailed Skinks Eat
What Do Blue Tailed Skinks Eat in the Wild and as Pets?petkeen.com › Blog Posts[6]
How Much Does A Blue-Tailed Skink Eat?
Feed your skink about as much live food as they will consume in five minutes. Use gut-loaded insects for food.Nov 5, 2021[7]
Do Blue-Tailed Skinks Need A Heat Lamp?
Temperature should range from 90F(high) basking area at one end to 75F(low) cooling off area at the other end. Radiant heat is recommended; use an incandescent light or ceramic heater as the primary heat source. Mist the enclosure lightly once a day.[8]
Can You Hold A Blue-Tailed Skink?
Grab the skink’s body quickly to catch it.
Skinks can detach their tails when threatened and escape if you grab them there. Be careful not to squeeze too hard, or else you could injure the skink. Keep your fingers away from the skink’s mouth. Although skinks are not poisonous, it can still hurt when they bite![9]
What Does Blue-Tailed Skinks Eat?
Their tails grow back, but are often darker in color and misshapen. When it comes to being predators themselves, blue-tailed skinks aren’t picky. Their diet can include crickets, beetles, flies, grasshoppers, spiders, and even earthworms.[10]
How To Keep Blue Tailed Skinks Away
The goal here is simple: by taking away skink food, they won’t want to live around your home. Next, after the Cyonara treatment dries (which should only take 30-60 minutes), apply PEST RID GRANULES and PEST RID SPRAY.Jul 9, 2014[11]
What Kills Skinks Instantly?
Coffee Powder. This is a very effective method to kill lizards. Make your own lizard death-balls by combining coffee powder and tobacco powder and rolling them into small balls. Stick them on toothpicks or matchsticks and leave them around the house – especially behind shelves and cupboards where they hide.[12]
How Do I Keep Skinks Out Of My Garden?
Removing debris, opening up thick bushes with low-hanging branches, and removing water sources will make the lizards’ stay in the garden much less comfortable.[13]
Why Do Skinks Keep Getting In My House?
Lizards and geckos are most likely appearing in the house because they can easily find food inside. In most cases, food will be small insects like ants, roaches, and beetles. If you get rid of the household pests then the population of lizards inside the house will gradually disappear.[14]
Are Blue Tailed Skinks Good To Have Around?
Try to learn to enjoy these fascinating animals (the males have bright red heads in the spring, and the juveniles and young females have bright blue tails). Skinks are good to have around and can even be entertaining to watch. There is no way they can hurt you or your child physically.[15]
How Big Do Indonesian Blue Tongue Skinks Get
Blue-tongued skinks are fairly large lizards, reaching 18 to 20 inches in length. They have long, solid bodies, triangular-shaped heads and comparatively small legs. The tail is slightly shorter than the length of the body and tapers to a point.[16]
Are Indonesian Blue Tongue Skinks Good Pets?
Blue-tongued skinks are intelligent and friendly, even enjoying limited interaction with humans, making them great as pets.[17]
How Big Is A Full Grown Blue Tongue Skink?
This skink is very well known for its long, bright blue tongue. Total length of approximately 60 cm (24 in.) 283-510 g (10-18 oz.) Blue-tongued skinks are omnivores, meaning they feed on a variety of plants and animals.[18]
How Big Do Indonesian Skinks Get?
Indonesian BTS are 15-30” long (38-76 centimeters) and weigh around 700 grams. They are typically smaller than Northerns. All blue-tongued skinks have long bodies, short, thick tails, short legs, triangular heads, and of course blue tongues.[19]
What Is The Largest Blue Tongue Skink?
The northern blue-tongued skink (Tiliqua scincoides intermedia) or northern blue-tongued lizard is the largest and heaviest of the blue-tongued lizards (family Scincidae, genus Tiliqua). They are native to Australia and found almost exclusively in the Northern Region.[20]
Where Do Blue-Tailed Skinks Live
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[21]
What Do Blue-Tailed Skinks Live In?
The Blue Tailed Skink or Five Lined Skink is a species of lizard that is native to the Eastern United States and parts of South-Eastern Canada.[22]
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.[23]
Are Blue-Tailed Skinks Good To Have Around?
Try to learn to enjoy these fascinating animals (the males have bright red heads in the spring, and the juveniles and young females have bright blue tails). Skinks are good to have around and can even be entertaining to watch. There is no way they can hurt you or your child physically.[24]
Where Do Blue Skinks Live?
Living with skinks
Blue-tongued skinks are found in both Australia and New Guinea. In Australia, blue-tongued skinks are very common and are often seen in people’s yards, where they eat insect pests.[25]
How Long Do Blue Tongue Skinks Live In Captivity
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[26]
How Long Do Blue Tongue Lizards Live For In Captivity?
Blue-tongued skinks have been known to live up to 30 years but average 15-20 years in captivity.Jul 19, 2021[27]
Do Blue Tongue Skinks Like To Be Held?
They’re generally happy to be handled.
Blue tongues tend to be gentle, intelligent, inquisitive, easily tamed lizards that often like to be handled. Many even enjoy being petted or having their heads scratched. Children should be supervised when handling them, as the reptiles can become startled and jump.[28]
How Do I Know If My Blue Tongue Skink Is Happy?
Your Blue Tongue Skink Is Calm When Handled
If you’re not sure whether your skink likes being held, check its breathing, movements, and tongue flicks. A happy skink will breathe calmly and have smooth inquisitive movements.[29]
How Often Can I Hold My Blue Tongue Skink?
It should not be handled until it is comfortable in its new environment. Once your new skink is eating regularly, then handling can begin. Initial handling sessions should be limited to ten minutes or less per session. This can be done a couple times each day during the acclimation process.[30]
Resources
[1]https://reptile.guide/blue-tailed-skink/
[2]https://www.cuteness.com/article/care-bluetailed-skink
[3]https://petdepot.net/care_sheets/Bluetailed_Skink_care_sheet.pdf
[4]https://fishbio.com/blue-caboose/
[5]https://www.wikihow.com/Catch-a-Blue-Tailed-Skink
[6]https://petkeen.com/what-do-blue-tailed-skinks-eat/
[7]https://reptile.guide/blue-tailed-skink/
[8]https://petdepot.net/care_sheets/Bluetailed_Skink_care_sheet.pdf
[9]https://www.wikihow.com/Catch-a-Blue-Tailed-Skink
[10]https://fishbio.com/blue-caboose/
[11]https://bugspray.com/blue-tailed-skinks-in-garage.html
[12]https://1stpip.com/10-easy-ways-to-get-rid-of-those-pesky-lizards/
[13]https://www.gardeningknowhow.com/plant-problems/pests/animals/managing-lizard-populations.htm
[14]https://www.organiclesson.com/get-rid-of-house-lizards/
[15]http://archive-srel.uga.edu/outreach/ecoviews/ecoview060521.htm
[16]https://happyhollow.org/explore/zoo/education-ambassador/indonesian-blue-tongued-skink/
[17]https://animals.howstuffworks.com/animal-facts/blue-tongued-skink.htm
[18]https://seaworld.org/animals/facts/reptiles/eastern-blue-tongued-skink/
[19]https://aminoapps.com/c/reptiles/page/item/indonesian-blue-tongued-skink-care-sheet/wKb6_b2MHpIBQa0WY2PWBozbdMejwlnBnbE
[20]https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Northern_blue-tongued_skink
[21]https://fishbio.com/blue-caboose/
[22]https://www.reptilerange.com/blue-tailed-skink/
[23]https://www.chesapeakebay.net/discover/field-guide/entry/broad_headed_skink
[24]http://archive-srel.uga.edu/outreach/ecoviews/ecoview060521.htm
[25]https://sdzwildlifeexplorers.org/animals/blue-tongued-skink
[26]https://www.petmd.com/reptile/species/blue-tongued-skink
[27]https://www.unusualpetvets.com.au/caring-for-blue-tongued-skinks/
[28]http://www.vetstreet.com/our-pet-experts/want-a-pet-reptile-consider-a-skink
[29]https://reptilecraze.com/signs-your-blue-tongue-skink-is-happy-and-healthy/
[30]https://canobievet.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/02/Skink-Care.pdf