Blue-tongued Skink

Establish a lateral thermogradient ranging from 90°F on the warm side to 75°–80°F on the cool side. Maintain both at all times with controlled heat lamps and / or heat pads using dimmers or thermostats.

Offer water in a shallow bowl and change it daily. Some keepers choose to mist the enclosure lightly once per day to simulate a morning dew. Be sure not to over saturate the cage, it should be fully dry within 4-6 hours of spraying.

Provide a hide on the hot side big enough for the skink to fit under. Once your skink is feeding and settled, add more hides, branches and silk plants.

Enclosure size: babies can start smaller, but most species need the floor space of a at least 4ft x 2ft (~40-gallons).

Blue tongue skinks can be successfully maintained atop coco coir, coco fiber, loose soils, fine wood chips, cypress mulch, or other commercially available reptile substrates. Tiliqua are semi-fossorial, and will take advantage of substrates which allow them to dig and burrow.

The blue tongue skink is an endearing, medium-sized lizard hailing from Australia, Indonesia, New Guinea, and Tasmania. There is currently upwards of 8 distinct recognized species. In the United States herpetoculture, the most commonly kept "blueys" are the northern blue tongue skink (Tiliqua scincoides intermedia), Indonesian blue tongue skinks (Tiliqua gigas sp.), and eastern blue tongue skinks (Tiliqua scincoides scincoides).

Feed babies daily; adults may be fed 2-3 times per week. Offer variety: insects, snails, worms and rodents, alternated with a varied vegetable and fruit plate. Commercial diets such as Repashy Bluey Buffet may be used with success. Keep treats such as dog and cat food to a minimum.

Dust feeder insects with a 50/50 mix of calcium and multivitamins at every feeding. Without them, skinks can develop vitamin or calcium deficiencies.

While not necessary for survival, evidence suggests that UVB lighting is likely beneficial for your skink; we recommend providing 5.0 UVB during the day.