How to Keep a Blue Tongue Lizard
Blue tongue lizards, or skinks, are native to Australia and can live 20 years. It is illegal to keep wild reptiles, but captive-bred blue tongue lizards are available at some pet stores or from a reputable breeder. Get your terrarium ready prior to bringing home a new pet lizard. Furnish at least a 55-gallon glass terrarium with a secure screen cover. Blue tongue lizards can mature to 25 to 30 inches long and need plenty of space, as well as time out of the cage.
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Things You'll Need
- Terrarium with cover
- Substrate
- Ultraviolet-A light
- Ultraviolet-B light
- Timer
- Shallow bowl
- Thermometers
- Heat lamp
- Hiding accessories
- Water dish
- Food
- Vitamins
Instructions
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Line the bottom of your terrarium with 3 inches of aspen shavings or a substrate sold at pet stores. Do not use sand or crushed walnut shells because ingestion can be fatal. Always keep your lizard's environment dry.
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Mount ultraviolet-A and ultraviolet-B lights as well as a heat lamp inside the cage. Keep all lamps out of the lizard's reach. Read the product directions for safety.
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Place two stick-on thermometers on the terrarium glass, close to the bottom. The temperature should stay between 95 and 100 degrees Fahrenheit at one end, and around 72 degrees at the other end.
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Connect the lamps to a timer; allow eight hours of darkness and cooler night temperatures. However, never allow the temperature to drop below 70 degrees Fahrenheit.
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Provide several places for your blue tongue lizard to hide; leaves, bark or fake foliage work. Avoid keeping your pet lizard's cage near any outside heat sources, including windows. Rooms with excessive noise or vibrations can stress your lizard.
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Provide a basking rock directly under the heat source (do not use heat rocks). Place a large, heavy, shallow bowl of water in your blue tongue lizard's terrarium; keep it away from the heat source. Keep it full of fresh water for bathing and drinking.
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Feed your lizard a plate of fresh-chopped fruits, vegetables and live insects twice weekly. If you have a baby blue tongue lizard, offer food daily until it is fully grown. Avoid placing food directly on the bedding to avoid ingestion of substrate.
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Spot-clean the cage daily. Wash out the water bowl and give fresh water daily. Clean the cage every three weeks and replace the substrate.
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Handle your blue tongue lizard frequently; wash your hands before and after holding it. Support your lizard's legs and cradle its body; do not grab its tail or hold it in an unnatural position. Take your lizard outside daily in warm weather; provide a safe and secure outdoor area so it can bask in the natural sunlight.
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Tips & Warnings
Feed skinks a varied omnivore diet of crickets, mealworms, garden snails, earthworms, boiled eggs, greens, dandelions, apples, raisins, sweet potato, berries and other fresh, raw foods.
Wash vegetables and avoid insects that may be contaminated by pesticides. Consider giving bottled spring water or well water since regular city tap water contains chlorine and fluoride chemicals. Do not feed lizards dog or cat food or raw meat. Feed them calcium and vitamins according to package directions.
Conditions such as hypothermia, fractures from accidents, burns, puncture wounds or other trauma can be life threatening; care must be taken to keep reptiles out of harm's way.
Disease or parasites can cause eye or mouth discharge, loose feces, loss of appetite and weight loss; see a qualified reptile vet annually or as issues arise. Temporary loss of appetite is common while your blue tongue lizard is shedding.
It is not a good idea to house to lizards together in one cage, especially if one is bigger than the other. Blue tongue lizards give birth to six to 12 live young. At birth they are about 4 inches long and they mature at about two years old.
References
Resources
- Photo Credit front door visitor 2. image by mdb from Fotolia.com
