Blue Tongues [The Addiction Begins!]

[Piggybuns]

SO. While everyone's wandering around talking about lizards.... XD What I'm asking about would be way in the future, about November or so, so there's no rush on info I need or anything. It's just inquiries in something I'm HEAVILY interested in doing!

Also I was warned, after I got Ghost, that hanging out would make reptiles addictive and ya'll were right. XD

Here I am, Googling lizards now, though I'm torn on ball pythons at the moment which I already know a good deal about (I spent 9 months researching them as well as corns before I made a decision on Ghost), but I've got a while to decide between the two. I can't get one any time before October when my seasonal job kicks back up and I get more work. So I have lots of time to research and gather terrarium goodness IF I 100% decide on one, and I've already looked up LLLReptile's care sheet for a rundown of info. I'd looked into them before when looking up balls and corns, but not too far.

Shredded Aspen
Driftwood Piece
Log Hut
Plastic Plants
Food/Water Bowls
Sphagnum Moss
Calcium Powder
UV Bulbs (Already have a lamp!)
Terrarium

Terrarium: (I added this link so I wouldn't have to hunt it down later! You can see the one I'm looking at in case you have any news on if you used it whether it's good or not.)
Exo Terra 36 x 18 x 12" Glass Terrarium (http://www.lllreptile.com/products/21032-exo-terra-36-x-18-x-12-glass-terrarium)

Does this look about right? Anything else I should consider? I'm aware they're very omnivorous and eat lots of veggies, eggs, need calcium powder, eat every other day, and eat crickets, meal worms, and the like! This is just basic terrarium info for now, so I can hopefully over the course of the summer gather stuff, and then by the time October comes and overtime kicks in for extra cash, I can actually order the Terrarium and skink itself.

Anybody here own one enough to give me some tips? Things to watch out for health wise? Varied temperaments? From what I read they're pretty relaxed lil critters.

Sorry for the wall o' text and 20 questions, I just really like to research extensively before I touch animals. Like I mentioned, I didn't get Ghost until I studied for 9 months and prepared and gathered all the things I'd need for her. XD Since I joined the board and there are so many knowledgeable folks here who have first-hand experience, I figured I'd ask now in case there are behavioral things to worry about, or any hidden health risks in general care sheets don't give you.

I didn't have this board to help me looking up Ghosts's information, so I'll bug you all with my prodding questions, lol.

[Sylphie]

Oh, oh, I can't help, as I'm a lizard newbie too, but I'm looking forward to answers for your questions, as I'm considering blue tongues too!

[Albert Clark]

I don't keep lizards but I think one of your most expensive investments would be how you plan to adequately and safely heat the enclosure. Thermostat decision? Radiant heat panels, ultra therm heat mat, heating lamps and che (ceramic heat emitter)?

[Piggybuns]

Indeed, I'm still reading up on what the best ones are so I don't accidentally burn a lizard or the like. My only rep right now is a corn, which is relatively easy to start with in regards to heating enclosures with a heat mat and an easily maintained gradient! I know they need a lot of humidity too, which is why moss is listed above and I'll need to mist! C:

It was 4 am, I forgot to note that's why I hadn't listed heating quite yet, haha. I have to research how to use half of what was mentioned. I actually have a heating lamp, but I'm not sure it's going to be strong enough even with a good bulb for a bluey, so I'm looking into the others. Unless its "all in the bulb" type you screw into it. Ghost doesn't need heat lamps, so I haven't really looked much into that yet. .o

[chairman]

I house my BTS in a 2'x3' concrete mixing tub whose height is increased by 8". The cage you listed should be fine.

I use cypress mulch for substrate and it has to be deep enough for the skink to completely bury itself in. Others use aspen but BTS love to spill their water and don't mind a little humidity. I try to keep isopods in the enclosure with my skinks as they help keep the tank clean and the skinks love to hunt them.

On feeding, only juveniles get fed every couple days. As adults they only eat once a week or they'll get obese but I will give mine small snacks throughout the week, some berries here and there. They really like blueberries, blackberries, and sliced strawberries. If you go the wet dog food route for food then you have to get a premium food like blue buffalo because 95% of wet dog foods contain a preservative that is harmful to reptiles. Don't feed wet cat food, there's too much protein and not enough vegetable matter.

I am able to supply all my required heat with a single 45watt flood bulb... basking spot around 90, temperature gradient down to the low 80s.


Personality-wise, they prefer interaction on their own terms. Reach in to grab a skink and you're going to get an all-out defensive display and maybe a bite. Wait till they notice you and they'll pretty much walk out into your hand. Once out they're more cornsnake than ball python activity-wise but it isn't too distracting to hang out and watch tv with them.

If you get one, get an Australian one. You're guaranteed to get a captive bred animal that way. If you get an IJ skink then know that it is wild or "farmed". If someone claims to have a CBB IJ skink do a lot of research on the seller before paying a premium price for a misrepresented animal.

[Piggybuns]

WOW! Thanks there's a lot of info in there I didn't think about before. Like isopods. I had no idea they would keep a tank clean, for anything really. Glad to know the tip about handling, I'm used to Ghost slithering away at first and scooping her out to make her comfortable faster because she's fine out, but just doesn't like the initial pickup. It's neat they seem friendly enough to come out to YOU. I'm impressed and happy with that!

I thought I read somewhere adults ate once a week, how big a meal should you provide? A half an average size plate? Lil smaller?

Yep I heard about mulch too, I had no experience with it so I'm glad you told me how that works for you. Aspen seemed too... soft to me, I guess because I know they like to dig, and I figured they'd appreciate something chunkier to dig at. .o

And thank you about the note about Australian BTS. I did see there was another kind but wasn't sure of the difference. If it's GUARANTEED to be captive bred from Australia, I'm going to do that without a doubt. Do you have any experience with LLLReptile? They seem to have BTS's there, but the problem is they didn't give me any info on my corn. No sex, no feeding date, no lineage notes, or where she technically came from. They're based in California and I think somewhere I heard all their animals are captive bred, but since this would only be my second ordering of an animal, I'm wondering if folks in here happen to know anything about their reputation. I wasn't entirely pleased with not being able to know anything about Ghost after she arrived, which I figured would be on a fact sheet. Was one of the things I apparently overlooked when researching. .o

[chairman]

It is not legal to export any reptiles out of Australia so all Australian reptiles in the trade are, by definition, captive bred. There are several Australian species to choose from, I just happen to have Northerns.

LLL Reptile is, to my knowledge, a reseller. You'd be better off finding a breeder. A good breeder is better than a great reseller, IMO. And find one soon, you'll want to put your name on a wait list now for this summer's babies. I can PM you the contact info for the breeder I bought from but there's plenty of good sources around. However, no one is going to sex your skink, it is nearly impossible to tell what they are until you brumate them and introduce them in spring. Pairs usually mate, anything else fights or is disinterested

My adults eat the rough equivalent of a hopper mouse per week plus veggies and fruits/berries. I just keep my eye on their body tone and adjust the amount of food I offer based on what kind of fat reserves they have in the base of their tail. I forgot to mention earlier, don't feed eggs.

Interesting bit, my BTS and my hingeback tortoises are my only isopod hunters. I find it amusing because they're both very large species to even show an interest in a food that small.

[sirtalis]

Isopods are awesome they ate at least 50-60% of my leopard geckos feces when I kept him in a bio active set up, way less work lol

[murrindindi]

I house my BTS in a 2'x3' concrete mixing tub whose height is increased by 8". The cage you listed should be fine.



Hi, a 3 x 2 feet enclosure is NOT big enough to house an adult Blue tongue skink on a permanent basis, even though they may not be the most energetic of lizards, then the fact they may live for 15+ years in that tiny, tiny space. Neither is a basking surface temp of 32c (90f) high enough, I would recommend it`s around 38c (100f).
The size the OP is asking about would be acceptable for a hatchling only temporarily.
I`d like to ask why eggs should never be fed?

[murrindindi]

Isopods are awesome they ate at least 50-60% of my leopard geckos feces when I kept him in a bio active set up, way less work lol

Hi, no they didn`t, the faeces would have broken down anyway over time. The idea that placing some bugs into the substrate negates the need for cleaning up is a myth, I believe started by individuals who may keep multiple animals which means cleaning would be a major daily chore, so they don`t (they claim the bugs do it for them).
Having said all that, the bugs DO help keep the substrate (soil) healthy, and I recommend using them for that purpose.

[sirtalis]

Really?... Then what happens to the feces over time. I just assumed the isopods ate it because it disappeared after a while.