- Blue tongue skinks need to eat 40-45% protein – bugs mainly, and some meat, dog/cat food. Please remember that live bugs have to be gut-loaded (read below).
- 50% – veggies and greens
- 5-10% fruit
- For baby and juvenile blue tongue skinks of up to 5 months old – offer 50% protein, 40-45% veggies and greens, and 5-10% fruit
- Shingleback skinks ( Tiliqua rugosa) – will need to eat less protein – around 30%. They also tend to be hungrier, so feed adults 2 times a week.
What do Blue Tongue Lizards eat?
Blue-tongued lizards are omnivores. Garden snails are their ideal food, but they will also enjoy most varieties of fruits and veggies. For a treat, feed them crickets and mice which you can buy at your local Petbarn store. Blue-tongues usually eat from late morning through to midday after getting some sun.
What can I Feed my blue tongue skink?
Bee pollen powder or granules (I use the Stakich brand) are also a beneficial addition to your skink’s diet, especially for shingleback skinks. Use no more than a pinch every other meal. The best water to use for your blue tongue skink is tap water (assuming that the water in your area is safe for humans).
Do blue tongue skink lizards need calcium?
Otherwise, it will start rotting and smelling. Calcium is one of the main minerals that your blue tongue skink needs. To maintain optimal levels of calcium in your skink lizard’s body, you should make sure that it doesn’t eat foods with high phosphorus levels.
What should I Feed my skink lizard?
To maintain optimal levels of calcium in your skink lizard’s body, you should make sure that it doesn’t eat foods with high phosphorus levels. Ideal Ca:P ratio in the diet is 2:1. This is because too much phosphorus will bind calcium and remove it from the body. Over time, this will lead to deficiencies.
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What can bluetongue lizards eat?
Bluetongues are omnivores and should be offered a variety of foods such as insects e.g. crickets, worms, snails and slugs. They will eat a range of chopped fruits and vegetables including dandelion, milk thistle, watercress, banana, apple, pawpaw, pear, green beans, carrots, alfafa sprouts, parsley and tomato.
What can you not feed a blue tongue lizard?
Items such as avocado, onion, eggplant, rhubarb, buttercups, potatoes and tulips are all considered toxic, therefore should be avoided at all costs.
What meat can I feed my blue tongue lizard?
Blue-tongues can also be fed small amounts of tinned dog food (beef or chicken) with added calcium powder as well as boiled egg. Fruits and vegetables that can be offered include apple, pear, melons, pitted stone fruits, berries, banana, squash, carrot, endive and kale.
Can bluetongue lizards eat celery?
Can blue tongue skinks eat celery? Yes, blue tongue skinks can eat raw celery stalks, but only occasionally. This is because celery is high in oxalates.
Can bluetongue lizards eat peas?
Other good vegetables include asparagus, broccoli, brussel sprouts, carrot, green beans, snap peas, tomato, yellow squash and cucumber. Check out the nutritional analysis of vegetables. Fruit: Fruit is a less essential part of the blue tongue skink diet.
Can blue-tongues eat broccoli?
Can blue tongue skinks eat broccoli? You can feed broccoli to your BTS but it shouldn't be a large part of their veggie content. That's because it has too much Phosphorus for your skink to synthesize its Calcium content. It's also 90% water, so it would fill up your pet's stomach without providing any nutrition!
Can blue-tongues eat raw beef mince?
While skinks are in their natural habitat in the wild, they do eat raw meat.
Can blue tongue skinks eat hard boiled eggs?
Yes, you can offer your blue tongue skink eggs as a treat every once per month or so. However, eggs are very high in fat and cholesterol, which can contribute to obesity and other related health problems.
Can I keep a wild blue tongue lizard?
Is this illegal? A: Private individuals can keep blue-tongue lizards, but most species require a permit to keep and sell them. These animals have been bred in captivity, meaning they have not been sourced from wild populations.
Can blue tongue lizards eat cat food?
Feeding Cat/Dog Food To Your Blue Tongued Skink Cat food is higher in protein than dog food, and feeding too much protein in their diet can lead to gout, so it is best to stick with dog food generally. Cat food can be offered to young skinks, but once they are adults, you should only give them dog food.
Can lizards eat peanut butter?
Bearded dragons cannot eat peanut butter as it is too high in protein added sugars and fats. Rather than taking a chance, avoid peanut butter completely to ensure your dragon remains healthy.
Can blue tongue skinks eat raw chicken?
While skinks are in their natural habitat in the wild, they do eat raw meat.
Can skinks eat strawberry?
They can also feed on fruit and vegetables, but the vegetables have to be cooked for the skink to be able to eat it. Skinks especially love bananas and strawberries etc. (no citrus fruit).
Can blue tongue skinks eat grapes?
Adult skinks should have their salad mix coarsely chopped, while juveniles tend prefer finely chopped greens. Fruit should make up no more than 5% to 10% of the diet. Melons, berries, apple, peaches, pears, grapes and plums may also be chopped and added to the mix as an occasional treat.
What do blue tongued lizards eat?
Blue-tongued lizards are omnivores. Garden snails are their ideal food, but they will also enjoy most varieties of fruits and veggies. For a treat, feed them crickets and mice which you can buy at your local Petbarn store. Blue-tongues usually eat from late morning through to midday after getting some sun.
How to legally house a blue tongued lizard?
In order to legally house a blue-tongued lizard, you must register with your local government by applying for a ‘Companion Animal Keeper Licence’. This varies from state to state, so find the relevant information on your government website. For example, in NSW, the ‘Code of Practice for the Private Keeping of Reptiles’ keeps you up to date with the rules and regulations relevant to keeping your new pet. You can then apply for your licence online or call the provided number.
How to house a lizard in a plastic tub?
Use a glass aquarium, wooden box or plastic tub to house your lizard and consider their adult size. Talk to your local Petbarn team member about what size enclosure is sufficient. Use sand, gravel, or newspaper to create a suitable substrate. Keep branches low to the ground and stable.
How to choose a lizard?
When choosing your new lizard it’s important to ensure they’re fit and healthy. Healthy blue-tongues should be active and alert, responding to movements with their tongue or head. Make sure their nostrils and eyes are clear, there is no sign of excessive pieces of skin from shedding and their scales are free from abrasions, swelling or scarring.
Why are my blue tongues moody?
When their skin begins to appear dull and starts to crack it is best to leave them be; blue-tongues can be moody when they shed. Blue-tongues will also enter a process called brumation. Brumation is the equivalent of hibernation and is a natural process your lizard will go through to avoid cool conditions.
How long do lizards stay dormant?
While the temperature of their enclosure will be monitored and they may not necessarily be exposed to cold conditions, your lizard may still enter a dormant state for up to four months. They will not engage in normal activities, like eating or basking, and will generally recoil into a dark spot to sleep.
How often do blue tongues shed?
Blue-tongues will shed their skin up to 10 times in their first year of life and will still shed a few times a year once reaching adulthood. Prior to shedding, your lizard may show a loss in appetite and become increasingly thirsty.
What to feed a blue tongue skink?
So what are the best foods to give your BTS in order to provide a healthy and balanced diet? Here’s our recommendation: 1 Fruit and Veggies: Remember to keep fruit to a minimum and stick mostly to veggies. The best vegetables for blue tongue skinks are collard greens, dandelion greens, green beans, arugula, mustard greens, and endive. The best fruits are berries, squash, apple, and papaya. Avoid onion, avocado, rhubarb, and tomato greens! 2 Protein: Lean meat like chicken and rabbit are great, as are many types of bugs: crickets, silkworms, hissing roaches, and locusts. Avoid seafood! 3 Reptilinks: If you’re not able to find some of these foods or you want to save some time and money, we offer special Omnivore Blends of our links that are perfect for blue tongue skinks. Check out our 50/50 Links and 25/25/50 Links for more info.
What is the nutritional need of a blue tongue skink?
What are the nutritional needs of a blue tongue skink? For starters, everything they eat should have a Calcium to Phosphorus ratio of 2 to 1. This way, your BTS’s body can properly absorb the nutrients from their food. Additionally, foods high in Vitamin D are helpful for the same reason— although a properly lit enclosure will also provide some of this nutrient.
What do blue tongue skinks eat?
As for specific foods, blue tongue skinks are omnivores; they can eat fruits, vegetables, and a few different forms of protein. However, you’re going to want to prioritize protein and veggies over fruit, since they offer more nutritional benefits.
Can blue tongue skinks eat pumpkin?
Blue tongue skinks can eat pumpkin, but you might want to feed them butternut squash instead. Both of these gourds have a decent amount of Vitamin A, they have poor ratios of Calcium to Phosphorus— although butternut squash comes close.
Can you feed broccoli to a BTS?
You can feed broccoli to your BTS but it shouldn’t be a large part of their veggie content. That’s because it has too much Phosphorus for your skink to synthesize its Calcium content. It’s also 90% water, so it would fill up your pet’s stomach without providing any nutrition!
Can you feed skinks fruit?
For the most part, you should limit the amount of fruit you feed your skink . It’s great as a reward when training your pet — or as a garnish on their salad — but you don’t want to feed them too much of it.
Can you feed a skink watermelon?
You can feed your pet skink watermelon, but you should cut it into small chunks beforehand. That being said, it should n’t be a significant part of your pet’s diet for a few reasons. First, it has a meager amount of Calcium content in comparison to its Phosphorus.
What insects are good for blue tongue skinks?
Insects such as hornworms, Phoenix worms, crickets, silkworms and others should be the main source of protein for blue tongue skinks. All insects must be bought for reptile consumption and gut-loaded for 24 hours (apart from Phoenix worms) before feeding to your skink.
What foods bind iodine?
Before starting, let’s discuss few terms: Goitrogenic: foods high in goitrogens will bind iodine and cause thyroid issue long-term. Oxalic foods: foods high in oxalates that bind calcium and remove it from the body, long-term causing calcium deficiencies. Foods high in phosphorus also bind calcium, leading to deficiencies long-term.
Can skinks eat mice?
Yes, your blue tongue skink can eat mice, but only once or twice a month as a treat. This is because they are hard to digest and fatty. Only offer pinky (also called neonate or fuzzy) mice or rats, and preferably only to skinny skinks.
Can you skink blue tongue hay?
It would not be advisable to offer blue tongue skink any hay (orchard, timothy etc.). Alfalfa hay is actually a legume. While hay is high in protein, it’s also dehydrated. This can cause issues with digestion, and might expand in guts or mouth and cause impaction.
Can you dip your blue tongue in applesauce?
A little bit of applesauce can also be used to dip meat if your blue tongue is not interested in it. Make sure that applesauce is free of preservatives, corn syrup, sweeteners or even added sugar. Choose only unsweetened applesauce or make your own.
Can you feed bananas to a blue tongue skink?
In general, you should avoid feeding bananas to your blue tongue skink. This is because bananas are high in sugar and phosphorus, which binds calcium and removes it from the body. Offer a very small piece once a month or less.
Is fish good for skinks?
This is because fish is high in salt and fat, which is not good for skinks. Also, fish can carry parasites and have a high heavy metal load, which over time will cause serious negative effects to your blue tongue’s health.
Keeping Your Pet Reptile Healthy and Happy
The blue-tongued skink continues to be one of the most popular “beginner” pets for new reptile owners. It’s not hard to see why: Along with being colorful and fun to watch, the blue-tongued skink is easy-going and relatively low maintenance. His size will range between 18 and 24 inches as an adult.
Prepare your grocery list
These are just a few of our favorite vegetable and fruit options for blue-tongued skinks:
What to feed blue tongue skinks?
Most blue tongue skink keepers swear by cat and dog food, and many skinks enjoy eating it. It makes a good diet when mixed with vegetables. Make sure to use canned food rather than kibble (although kibble is alright occasionally if water is added), and avoid formulas containing artificial colors/flavors or fish. Grain is fine as long as the formula is high-quality and not too high in carbohydrates. The claim that grain-free dog food is best is largely unsubstantiated and may even be harmful, although that claim is still being investigated.
What do blue tongue skinks eat?
Blue tongue skinks are omnivorous, meaning that they need to eat both plant and animal matter to get the right nutrition. In this section we’ll discuss options for protein, vegetables, and fruit that are safe to feed your pet. Just like humans, skinks’ nutritional needs change as they grow.
What do shingleback skinks eat?
rugosa) are more herbivorous than other species of blue tongue skink! Although in the wild they occasionally scavenge and eat insects, the vast majority of their diet is flowers and leafy greens. An adult shingleback’s diet should be only 20-30% protein.
What is the best multivitamin for blue tongue skinks?
Best multivitamins for blue tongue skinks: Herptivite. Arcadia Earthpro A. Repashy Supervite. Use each supplement as directed by the label, but keep in mind that dog food, cat food, and other prepared diets are already fortified with vitamins and do not need the addition of a multivitamin.
How long should I gut feed a feeder?
Note: All feeder insects should be gutloaded for at least 24 hours before feeding. Ideally, they should come pre-gutloaded from the breeder. If they weren’t, or you buy your feeder insects in bulk, the easiest way to keep them fed and gut-loaded is with a rotation of Lugarti Dubia Diet and Repashy Grassland Grazer.
What is repashy's dog food?
If you’re looking for a more reptile-specific prepared food, Repashy ’s Grub Pie, Meat Pie, Veggie Burger, and fruit powders make great mix-ins to add to dog food for variety. They even have a blue tongue skink-specific formula: Bluey Buffet.
How to keep skinks strong?
Keep your skink’s bones nice and strong with a pinch of calcium powder: 1x/week for adults, 2x/week for anything younger . If you’re not using UVB lighting, be sure to use a supplement that includes particularly high quantities of vitamin D3.
How Often To Feed A Blue Tongue Skink?
In warmer months, a blue tongue skink should be fed every 2 days, whereas, in colder months, a skink should be fed every 3 days. Keeping its tank in temperature constant throughout the year is essential.
How Much Should I Feed My Blue Tongue Skink?
In one sitting, you should offer 1 to 2 tablespoons of food. However, you should feed your skink as much as they want and will. Once your blue tongue skink stops eating, remove all uneaten foods because they can rot and create a foul smell.
Should I Feed My Blue Tongue Skink every day?
Blue tongue skink tends to Store internal fat. It would help if you fed your blue tongue skink every other day as it can cause fouling of habitats and dietary issues. Young growing skinks need to be provided daily, but adults should only be fed twice or thrice a week.
Do Skinks Eat Every Day?
They are diurnal reptiles and can be fed every day, but it is not recommended. Adult blue tongue skink only needs to eat twice a week, whereas Juveniles can eat every day. Juvenile blue tongue skink needs to eat every day to support their growth. Bluetongue skinks 0-6 months old can be fed daily, whereas 6-12 old skinks every other day.
How Long Can A Blue Tongue Skink Go Without Food?
A blue tongue skink can survive for another 7-21 days without eating in the summer season. In the winter season, they can even go up to three months without food during brumation. Lizards bred in captivity can only go upto a few days without food.
Do Blue Tongue Skinks Need To Eat Bugs?
Yes, Skinks diet should consist of 40% protein in which the primary source should be insects & bugs. Blue tongue skinks can eat many bugs, but gut loading the feeder insects is essential for their diet.
How Do I Get My Blue Tongue Skink To Eat Greens?
Being omnivorous, blue tongue skinks can eat greens and always love to feed on plant matters. If your blue tongue skink is not eating greens, consider switching their diet or its variety.
