Latin name: Tiliqua scincoides
Length: 48 to 53 cm long
Age: up to 12 years old
Origin: Australia, New Guinea, Indonesia
Preferred climate: 25 to 30 degrees during the day, 20 – 23 degrees at night
Price:

Around € 130,00

The blue-tongued skink belongs to the skink genus and originally comes from Australia, Indonesia and New Guinea.

Since a few years they are also kept as pets. They are also suitable for terrarium beginners, because they can become tame and are relatively uncomplicated in keeping. They also do not necessarily need a conspecific.

Blue-tongued skinks are large lizards, with short legs. They move snake-like. Their basic color is gray or gray-brown with up to nine horizontal stripes. In case of danger they can throw off their tail, which then grows back again. Nevertheless, you should never grab the animal roughly by the tail, as the regrowing tail is usually not as strong as it was originally.

The most striking thing about the blue-tongued skink is its actual bright blue tongue.

The blue-tongued skink is an omnivore. In the wild, it feeds mainly on green food. In addition, it eats live food and fruit. This diet should also be provided in human care.

As green food you can offer vegetables and herbs. For example, cucumbers, lamb’s lettuce, fennel, spinach, basil, parsley and chives are well suited. Wild herbs such as dandelion and clover from untreated and clean meadows may also be offered.

Suitable fruit is for example banana, apricot, pear or berries.

As live food can be fed pretty much all food insects from the trade, so for example crickets, crickets, zoophobas, cockroaches and worms. Regularly you should sprinkle the feeders with a calcium preparation.

Every now and then, the diet may be broken up by a boiled egg, boiled fish or some rice.

The large blue tongue skinks also need a spacious terrarium. For one specimen the minimum dimensions are 2,00 x 0,50 x 0,50 m (LBH). If there are several animals, the terrarium must of course be extended accordingly.

Forest bark litter is best suited as flooring. Skinks like it humid, therefore an area in the terrarium should be covered for example with moss. To support the humidity, a small watering hole or an artificial waterfall is also very suitable.

Clay tubes or hollowed out stones can serve as shelter for the Blue Tongue Finches. A few sturdy branches or stones can be used for climbing and as a resting place. Above a stone you can also well attach the heat lamp, which may bring it selectively up to 40 degrees. Otherwise, the temperature in the terrarium should be 25 to 30 degrees, at night it may cool down to 20 degrees. The humidity should be 60 to 90%. The best way to maintain this is with a sprinkler system. Alternatively, you can also spray regularly.

For basic lighting in the terrarium is suitable HQI spotlight, which creates a natural light. Besides the heat lamp there should be a UV lamp. The UV light is needed by the animals for the formation of vitamin B3.