Care & Management | Blue Buddies

Care Sheet

Housing

We recommend an enclosure size of 4’w x 2’d x1’h. for an adult Bluey. It is important to remember adult Blue Tongues should never be kept together. They are not a communal species and don’t like each other’s company.

Bedding

We use a natural cypress. We feel it has just the right mix of absorption and humidity retention. Many beddings are used by other keepers. All have their own qualities both good and bad. Some of the most popular ones are reptile beddings such as zoo med forest floor. Reptile carpets, paper towels and newsprint, and natural earth in bio-active set ups. Anything containing cedar, pesticides and chemicals should be avoided. We change our bedding about once every 2-3 months. This will vary depending on the type on bedding or substrate that you use. Additionally, we spot clean the cages every other day.

Water

Blueys will get most of the water they need from their food. However, they do seem to enjoy drinking from a shallow water dish from time to time. One should be offered and changed every other day or so.

Heating and Lighting

The same bulbs used for light can be used for heat. Or they may be supplied separately with things such as ceramic heat bulbs. The enclosure should have a cool end temp of about temperature of about 75 to 80 degrees F, and a warm end temperature of about 85 degrees F. this gradient is needed because lizards being cold blooded need to regulate their own body temp. a even warmer area about the size of the lizards torso should be provided for basking. This area should be about 95 to 105 degrees. Heating can be accomplished through various types of overhead lights. Heat tape, heat pads and ceramic heat emitters can also be useful. A heat gun to monitor temperature is also highly recommended. As is the use of thermostats to control temps.

Ultra-violet Light

In many reptile species ultra-violet exposure is necessary for the absorption of vitamin D. Ground dwelling skinks and particularly BTS’s don’t seem to require additional U.V. However, at Blue Buddies we use and recommend a low level U.V. Because reptiles see U.V. We believe having U.V. allows them to see the world in a more natural way. Which in turn makes them more comfortable and well adjusted. Also, perhaps it may help with vitamin D absorption to some degree.

Diet

Blue Tongue Skinks are generally very good eaters. Taking a variety of foods, weather the food is good for them or not. So it is up to us to make sure their diet is a healthy one. They also have a tendency to overeat which can cause them to become overweight. People have many opinions about what is best for them. Some people favor a varied diet. While others prioritize natural foods.

At Blue Buddies we feed a diet that is primarily made up of high-quality grain free dog food once a week in a portion about the size of their head. This method has a long history and many proponents among breeders and keepers of multiple lizards. For more information about it we recommend T.C. Houston’s channel on YouTube -reptilemountaintv. His channel is a wealth of information and he’s done extensive research in BTS nutrition. We should also mention that we do give our lizards occasional treats. We believe this helps their psychological well being as well as helping keep their feeding instinct strong, but this is based solely on our opinion. Some treats we offer are cooked egg, fruits, berries, mustard greens and can o’snails by ZooMed. Never give your skinks avocado, onion, potato, tomato and rhubarb.

Cage Furnishing

We recommend giving your pets two hides in their cage. One at the warm end and one at the cool end. They can be made up of an almost limitless variety of things. Some things often used include premade resin or ceramic hides. cork bark, driftwood, plastic pipe fittings, old plastic pasta bowls. Some of these items need some modification so the lizard can get in and out, But the important thing is that they are big enough for your pet to fit its body in and that it makes it feel secure. We also like to include a small plastic plant in each enclosure so they have something green that they would see in nature, but this is just based on opinion and optional. Another thing we include is a stone or brick so the lizards have some rough texture which can help with skin shedding and filing down of their claws, as would occur in the wild.

Nails

Unfortunately, Blue Tongues can have some pretty sharp nails. Thankfully, however, there are methods for mitigating that. A decently rough rock put in a high traffic area (such as by their basking spot or food bowl) should help to wear down their nails. If they are still not as dull as you would like, TC Houston, a reputable blue tongue breeder, has a good video in clipping their nails and proper nail maintenance. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yH3cEX3UbkQ

Breeding and Brumation

Blue Tongue skinks are not the easiest species to breed. Thus, at least in part accounting for their higher price. For starters they are Non-Sexually Dimorphic meaning males and females are indistinguishable to the eye. Many breeders believe the only reliable way to sex them is to put them together during mating season. A male will chase a female, two males will fight, and two females will generally ignore each other. However, this method is far from 100 percent. Sometimes a male may just not be in the mood to chase a female and sometimes females will fight. Blue tongue Skinks have very different personalities. And even that may vary from moment to moment. There are some other methods some breeders use, for instance if your tickle a female on the back between her rear legs during breeding season she will often wag her tail. Also, males will occasionally release sperm plugs at the start of the breeding season. This is a sure way to know you have a male. But sometimes sperm plugs can be hard to distinguish, being mistaken for other waste products. We have had very good success with a method of measuring ratios developed by the University of Sydney. This method is promoted by the YouTube channel Bion and can be found here.

Additionally, BTS’s are seasonal breeders and females will only produce one clutch per year.

Also, BTS’s are temperamental breeders. A male and female may just not like each other and refuse to breed with a particular mate. Or a lizard, male or female may decide to just inexplicably take a year off and not breed at all. Another negative about their breeding is that the mating process is particularly brutal with females often obtaining quite serious injuries during mating.

To be fair, one advantage to BTS mating is that they are live bearing so there is no need for incubating eggs, as with most other reptiles. Also, mother BTS’s are not aggressive toward their young.