Care Sheet Curiosity

[Bighead]

I am on an Australian reptile kick and was thinking about a blue tonge skink. This is the first care sheet I read, and haven't looked into it more yet, but there were definite flags going up in my head when I saw this. What do you guys think?

http://hayshaven.tripod.com/id43.htm

P.S. I will do plenty more research about them before I decide if I should get one, so don't worry about that.

[Invictus]

The thing that raised the flags for me was the comment about UVB lighting, and how there is no proof that reptiles need it. This is absolutely not true. There is PLENTY of proof that some lizards require UVB in order to properly absorb vitamin D3 into their bodies. (I think it's D3... I could be wrong about the specific vitamin.) Everything else looked ok to me, but I'm no expert. By all means, continue your research.

[Lrptls]

your correct Invictus, its D3

[snakeskin]

And they need UV lightning to make D3 themselves in order to absorb the ingested calcium we provide them :)

Cheers and beers,
Peter

[LISA127]

The care sheet looks fine to me. Except most adult blue tongues will not eat mealworms. Or crickets much for that matter. The meal worms are simply too small for adults. And the crickets are too fast for them. I use superworms, butter worms, silk worms, and nightcrawlers. Basically anything larger and slower. They will eat just about anything larger that moves. You can also, occassionally, feed things like plain cooked chicken or turkey and scrambled eggs. As far as the UVB, i definetely supply a good one at all times. However, if you live in a warm climate where you can let him outside a few times a week, you probably could get away with a regular fluorescent. I don't, so mine always have good quality UVB. Bts's need UVB no doubt, but they aren't the sun worshippers that beardeds and uro's are. I also keep an uth pad and a 75 to 100 watt light bulb on one end of the enclosure. The uth pad is on 24/7.

[M_surinamensis]

Questionable care sheet...

Herps are generally fine on aspen, not pine... Pine isn't as bad as cedar but it's still somewhat toxic.

Frozen mixed vegetables are essentially nothing more than water... There is some use for certain herps in order to help hydrate them a bit but, much like lettuce, it's mostly worthless. Plus frozen mixed veggies are usually something like green beans, carrots, corn and peas... Which isn't a useful mix at all nutritionally, even if it hadn't been frozen.

The UV thing has already been touched upon... Although blue tongues are somewhat inclined to spend a good deal of time under ground and certainly don't display the basking behaviors of other diurnal lizards.

[LISA127]

i disagree on the frozen mixed vegies. in moderation and in a varied diet, they are fine. who ever said green beans, carrots, and peas have no nutritional value? they are not just water, and freezing them does not hurt the nutritional value. just make sure you feed a variety. blue tongues are not big veggie eaters anyway. but frozen mixed vegies are one thing i have found they will eat. in general, they prefer the fruits more, and the protein is what they need most.