i just got a blue tounge skink for free from some dude...i work at a pet store so he was buying crickets..and he asked if anyone wanted one..it looks to be in healthy shape...it ate a small peice of carrott from my hand...and its getting a bigger cage tonight. im not sure if it is male or female...but its wonderful...cant wait to hold it! anyone have any tips on how take care of it?? i have to basics...but i didnt know if there was anything else i should know that some one else would from exp. with them.
my new....Blue Tounge Skink
- Thread starter sydward
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http://bluetongueskinks.net/care.htm This is the best care and general information site I know of. 
They also have an entire forum for BTS owners. Good luck, I love these guys and I'd kill to be as lucky as you right now.
They also have an entire forum for BTS owners. Good luck, I love these guys and I'd kill to be as lucky as you right now. 
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blueys are great! Definitely check out bluetongueskinks.net, it is the best place for getting all your bluey questions answered. What kind of bluey did you get? You should post pictures. Congrats on your new addition!
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These things look awesome! Get some pictures!
im not quite sure what kind of BTS i have...and how do i post pitchures? i tried a million times...but it never seems to work...
my BTS link(his name) is so curious about everything but he is so scared at the same time...he hides at the slightest movement around his cage...but he has been sleeping for almost 2 days straight now...and hasnt moved to much..is that okay..normal behavior?? he still eats out of my hand though...he had some watermellon and honeydew eariler...and then i went to go check on him and he was asleep...is he sleep deprived at night or something? i dont know...but i love him!!! i am taking him to a rep. vet in a week or so, so he can have his check up...since i have only had him for a few days, and he was given to me. for free!!! he has so yellow spots on his chin, and i read that it might be bad...but we will see...also are carrotts really bad for them?
my BTS link(his name) is so curious about everything but he is so scared at the same time...he hides at the slightest movement around his cage...but he has been sleeping for almost 2 days straight now...and hasnt moved to much..is that okay..normal behavior?? he still eats out of my hand though...he had some watermellon and honeydew eariler...and then i went to go check on him and he was asleep...is he sleep deprived at night or something? i dont know...but i love him!!! i am taking him to a rep. vet in a week or so, so he can have his check up...since i have only had him for a few days, and he was given to me. for free!!! he has so yellow spots on his chin, and i read that it might be bad...but we will see...also are carrotts really bad for them?
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I'm not too sure about the care of BTS, but to post pictures just use photobucket.com or imageshack.us. Once you upload your picture onto it then all you have to do is copy and paste the
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Haha big lizards can be stubborn! I can't wait for the picture, I'll have an eye on this thread.
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he appears to be an irian jaya blue tongue skink. What are you feeding him aside from fruit? Carrots are ok, but not the best veggie to offer. Variety is key. What are your temps on the hot side/cool side? They do sleep a lot and he will be more visible once he's settled in to his new home more, but if your temps are too low, he'll stay burrowed for longer than normal.
irian jaya blue? cool....im not sure what the temps are yet....i am working on getting a digital thermometer....we need one for the little beardy too....i have only had him for a few days so....and i wasnt expecting him before that so didnt have time to really do research...the guy was really wanting to rid of him...he eats crickets..honeydew..watermellons...LOVES blackberrys...apples..ummm....i am working on the greens..i might pick up so romaine lettuce or something....i am still looking for a good varitey, and finding out what all he likes...i think the guy before me that had him, didnt feed him fruit...he didnt say though...i also give him his cal/d3 suppliment every couple of days....any suggestions on what else to feed him? am i doing okay with him? and i have a basking lamp for him, but i feel it isnt really to good...i hate the lid i have for him, it frightens him in to his hide tube..and he is so shy.....i really want to get him out and bond....and i know it doesnt hold in heat...but its all i have for now....but i dont want a closed lid...so he can have well circulated air...know what i meen?
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Fruit should be fed sparingly. A healthy diet for an adult is mostly greens and veggies with a little protein. I mostly feed my guys on collard greens and endive greens. Lettuce isn't as good. Pretty much any squash is good and cactus pads (with spines removed) is a favorite among my guys. Toss everything in a chopper and you are good to go! Favorite fruits for my guys are mango, raspberries and blueberries. Like I said though, feed sparingly. For protein, my guys mostly get human grade cat food but that is because I am vegetarian and don't have meat in the house. Chicken breast, lean beef, venison, etc work well. Just make sure you don't season it when you cook it. When I do buy meat for them I usually just throw it in the crockpot for a few hours and call it good. Blueys go crazy over eggs, but eggs should also be fed sparingly...and be warned: eggs will make your bluey's poo smell really really bad. Lose the crickets entirely....they really aren't any good for them nutritionally. Silkworms and butter worms are good for live prey. Snails are a fantastic live prey source: the bluey gets a good enrichment from the live food as well as a jaw workout on the shell and a calcium hit to boot. Just make sure that if you catch a snail outside to detox it first to make sure it isn't going to die from pesticides or whatnot.
The bluey's tank should have a warm side at about 95-100 degrees and a cool side around 70 degrees or so. A large water dish for him to get in and soak is good and a basking rock on the warm side is an absolute must. Don't put any electric heat rocks in and they don't need any heating pads.
I guess that's the short version of their care. bluetongueskinks.net definitely has a huge caresheet that is very thorough that you should probably read up on. Printed out I think the caresheet on that site takes up 40+ pages, so it will take you quite some time to read.
The bluey's tank should have a warm side at about 95-100 degrees and a cool side around 70 degrees or so. A large water dish for him to get in and soak is good and a basking rock on the warm side is an absolute must. Don't put any electric heat rocks in and they don't need any heating pads.
I guess that's the short version of their care. bluetongueskinks.net definitely has a huge caresheet that is very thorough that you should probably read up on. Printed out I think the caresheet on that site takes up 40+ pages, so it will take you quite some time to read.
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this is an old picture of my blueys' setups:
with a close-up on one of them:
that will give you the basic idea anyway. Good lluck with your new buddy!
with a close-up on one of them:
that will give you the basic idea anyway. Good lluck with your new buddy!
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That's a sweet setup! What size are those cages?
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Thanks! The whole thing is 6ft long by 4 feet high by 2.5 feet deep. It is two units stacked on top of each other and then each one has a removable divider. Each bluey has 3ft x 2.5ft of surface area to root around in.
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That is awesome, did you build them yourself?
awsome cages....yeah i have been to that site and read just bout everyhting there...what bout water snails?? i work at a pet store so i could pick some up. i was going to try mango today actually...i picked one up...mmm mmm mmm i feed him fruits every other day or so...he didnt like the kelp...kolar greens...well, i forgot which one i treid...but we had some the other day, and he just licked it and turned his head..haha....he REALLY likes blackberrys...i dont have a huge acesse to anything other than crickets and millworms...i can talk to my boss about ordering me some silks or something though...i thought about feed him cat food but, im not sure if i really want to......but i will try chicken and stuff...i have some organic cat food in a tiny little can i will try and see if he likes...any fodd i shouldnt try..like salmon or something?
i feed him fruits every other day or so...he didnt like the kelp...kolar greens...well, i forgot which one i treid...but we had some the other day, and he just licked it and turned his head..haha....he REALLY likes blackberrys...i dont have a huge acesse to anything other than crickets and millworms...i can talk to my boss about ordering me some silks or something though...i thought about feed him cat food but, im not sure if i really want to......but i will try chicken and stuff...i have some organic cat food in a tiny little can i will try and see if he likes...any fodd i shouldnt try..like salmon or something?
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no, I comissioned a friend to design and build them for me. They turned out pretty well.
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awsome cages....yeah i have been to that site and read just bout everyhting there...what bout water snails?? i work at a pet store so i could pick some up. i was going to try mango today actually...i picked one up...mmm mmm mmm
water snails are fine too, just be sure that they aren't from a sick tank or anything. You might want to keep them a couple days in fresh water before feeding just to be sure. If you don't have access to nutritious live bugs, just don't feed live bugs. They aren't really necessary if your bluey is getting protein from somewhere else. They are good for enrichment though.
The cat food I feed is Evo by Natura
http://www.evopet.com/products/default.asp?id=1662
Spots Stew is also decent. Basically, you want to avoid a lot of by-products and add-ins. Definitely go with real meat and avoid cat food altogether if you can. It's just hard for me since I'm a veggie.
Generally, avoid seafood when dealing with blueys. Lean red meat or poultry is good. As I said before though, variety is key.