Small rodents such as pinky and fuzzy mice can be offered as well, but only as occasional treats. Ground turkey, chicken, duck, rabbit, lean beef, venison, lamb, etc. About the Blue Tongue Skink Blue-tongued skinks are fairly large lizards, reaching 18 to 20 inches in length. Bookmark Beautiful Dragons’ Nutrition chart for reference next time you’re at the grocery store. Blue tongue skinks are omnivorous, which means that they eat both plants and animals in the wild. Generally, the Blue Tongued Skink reptile will like to consume small sized insects including worms and snails as well as plants likes fruits, berries and vegetables. Babies are more carnivorous/insectivorous for their first season/year of life. It makes a good diet when mixed with vegetables. Avoid onion, avocado, rhubarb, and tomato greens! Fruits should comprise no more than 10% of a skink’s diet. Marley eating blue penguins (NEW pics) Everything Blue Tongues! Staples should include appropriately sized crickets, mealworms, wax worms, and roaches. Their large teeth can easily crush shells. Grain is fine as long as the formula is high-quality and not too high in carbohydrates. Frozen whole prey items must be prepared correctly before feeding. This provides a variety of flavor and nutrition for my skinks, while still adhering to the right nutrient ratios. Blue-tongued skinks are found in both Australia and New Guinea. However, some lizard owners swear by giving their lizard dog food and say that they love it. Blue tongue skinks aren’t the most agile of lizards. Information about other fruits can be found in the abovementioned nutrition chart. Live or frozen/thawed pinky rats and fuzzy mice (treat only), Whole fish, small or in bite-size chunks (treat only), Blueberries, blackberries, raspberries, strawberries, Peaches, cherries, pears, apples, bananas, nectarines, If you are in the US, a full list of recommended raw dog food brands can be found on this page of, If you are in Canada, a full list of recommended raw dog food brands available in your area can be found here at. Skinks are easy-to-care-for, low-maintenance lizards, and make good pets for children and beginners, as long as owners are prepared for their relatively large size compared to other pet lizards. I mainly focus on writing comprehensive care guides, but you’ll also find product reviews, resource directories, and the occasional blog post here. Live Invertebrates. Dark, leafy greens are an excellent source of nutrition for Blue Tongue Skinks, and they can be paired with a variety of fruits and vegetables. Pros and cons of feeding cat or dog food to your blue tongue skinks. Arcadia’s Omni Gold blue tongue skink diet is also really good if you can get your hands on it, and Herpavet Lizard Food by Vetafarm is popular in Australia. When a skink feels threatened, it will turn towards the thing and open its mouth very wide to stick out its blue tongue. In this section we’ll discuss options for protein, vegetables, and fruit that are safe to feed your pet. The Northern blue-tongued skink is the largest blue-tongue. Do blue-tongued skinks bite? Here’s why. And it’s all FREE, because I believe that good information should be accessible to all. High-colored or rarer forms may cost more. Skinny Blue Tongue Skink Not Eating. This also means that you have a wide variety of dietary options to choose for them since they tend to eat just about anything edible put in front of them. Blue-Tongued Skink Size. Can I force feed? Have a question? *Adult shingleback skinks should be fed 2x/week due to a low protein diet. Yes. Northern blue-tongued skinks range in price from $150 for babies to $250 for adults. However, this reptile not only eats just about everything, but can also eat for long periods of time. Aside from being a source of hydration, this also helps maintain humidity and provides a place to soak while in shed. But here’s a general guideline, with 1-2 Tbsp. With this product you always will get a perfect gift idea for your Birthday Kid or for every other occasion, like christmas, easter, fathers day, mothers day, thanksgiving, halloween, christmas, new year and so on. Best calcium for blue tongue skinks with UVB: Best multivitamins for blue tongue skinks: 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. That’s how ReptiFiles was born! Coupled with the fact that by nature, they have genuine reasons for not wanting to eat. Hopefully, you should get the hang of things within a couple of months especially when you find out that your skink will eat anything from fruits and vegetables to insects and other proteins. My name is Mariah Healey, reptile husbandry specialist and consultant. Water should be changed daily. 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. The best fruits are berries, squash, apple, and papaya. ZooMed's canned Omnivorous Lizard di… Blue-tongued skinks feed on a variety of miniature plants, arthropods, snails and worms. Feeding your Skink with Cat Food. Frozen vegetables can be used, but shouldnt be used exclusively because they dont have enough thiamine to support a healthy skink. You should also be able to recognize if your reptile is not eating properly and what could the possible reasons for that be. Besides the skink stew, I feed substantial quantities of fresh thawed rat pups and medium-sized mice to my blue-tongue skinks. It looks very vicious as it does this, and this instantly frightens predators. Affectionately referred to as “garbage disposals” by some keepers, they are enthusiastic eaters with a taste for just about anything — insects, slugs/snails, roadkill, small animals, fruits, flowers, etc. The bulk of the diet—45 to 60%—should consist of greens. Because they’re made with whole rabbit rather than just the muscle meat, this is an especially valuable addition to your skink’s diet. The best water to use for your blue tongue skink is tap water (assuming that the water in your area is safe for humans). What sets this site apart from the rest? They are not cunning predators but rather general omnivorous opportunists. Can I force feed? Blue tongue skinks are omnivores in the broadest sense of the term. This is why, you need to monitor their eating timings and do not allow them to get obese or sick from overeating. Eating is one of the primary habits of the Blue Tongued Skink reptile apart from sunning themselves all day long. Your Blue-tongued skink can eat all available cricket species, calcium worms (Black Soldier Fly larvae) morios, locust, silkworms, dendrobaena (earth worms), varied roach species and snails. The common blue-tongued skink is primarily found along the eastern coast, but it is also native to Tanimbar and a few other islands of the region. Blue-tongued skinks comprise the Australasian genus Tiliqua, which contains some of the largest members of the skink family (Scincidae). I have kept a variety of exotic pets for the majority of my life, but I have worked with reptiles specifically for about 10 years. Young skinks (under 12 months) need 70-80% of their diet as protein. The blue-tongued skink (Tiliqua spp., Cyclodomorphus spp.) Vegetables should comprise 20-30% of a young skink’s diet, and 40-50% for adults. Note that if you give your insects a dry gutload, they will need a source of water. No, they should not eat dry dog food. The blue-tongued skink is a large, diurnal lizard, whose appetite for slugs and snails makes it a favorite pet among gardeners in Australia. In the very broadest sense of the term, Blue Tongued Skink reptiles are omnivores which means that they eat plants as well as meat and you need to design their diet accordingly. Dry dog food is not easily digested by blue tongued skinks and they will struggle to eat it. I find reptiles so wonderfully captivating, challenging, and diverse that I have dedicated my career to understanding them better. Just got a BTS and want to introduce yourself? Are There Any Harm? Reptile health information given on this site is not intended to act as or replace the advice of a certified veterinary professional. Use no more than a pinch every other meal. Your skink reptile doesn’t want to eat or losing its diet. They are commonly called blue-tongued lizards or simply blue-tongues or blueys in Australia.As suggested by these common names, a prominent characteristic of the genus is a large blue tongue that can be bared as a bluff-warning to potential enemies. Blue tongue skinks are omnivorous, meaning that they need to eat both plant and animal matter to get the right nutrition. The claim that grain-free dog food is best is largely unsubstantiated and may even be harmful, although that claim is still being investigated. There are other ways you can supplement the diet of a blue tongue … She’s been keeping and breeding skinks for 6 years on it with great success. Personally, I still find the protein/vegetable ratio in dog food to be a little too high for my taste, so I add mix-ins of fresh vegetables, fruits, Repashy powders, etc. They will also accept crickets, mealworms, superworms, roaches, and waxworms. Blue tongued skinks in captivity should eat a mixed assortment of chopped up vegetables, including carrots, peas, collard, mustard, and dandelion greens, and beans. Good lean meats include, premium canned cat food, cooked ground turkey, cooked chicken Meats to feed occasionally include pinky mice, egg whites, cooked lean ground beef Feeding Precautions Things you need to keep in mind when feeding your skinks. dog food, cat food, and other prepared diets are already fortified with vitamins and do not need the addition of a multivitamin, Click to share on Facebook (Opens in new window), Click to share on Twitter (Opens in new window), Click to share on Tumblr (Opens in new window), Click to share on Reddit (Opens in new window), Click to share on Pocket (Opens in new window), Click to share on WhatsApp (Opens in new window), Boa Constrictor Enclosure Size Requirements, Boa Constrictor UVB & Other Lighting Requirements, Boa Constrictor Temperatures & Heating Requirements, Boa Constrictor Décor & Environmental Enrichment Ideas. You can check the temperature with your temp gun. © Blue Tongued Skink Care - Caring for Reptile Pet Blue Tongue Skinks, Dealing with Blue Tongue Skink Metabolic Bone Disease, Symptoms and the Treatment of Mites in Skink, Tips and Suggestions on Preventing Escape. If you have a question about the safety of a certain brand/formula, check these sources: Not sold on dog food? Reptilinks offers a 50/50 Omnivore Blend made with whole rabbit, green beans, collard greens, dandelion greens, and endive. Dog food contains more vegetables and is less likely to cause obesity. Blue Tongue skinks are quite fond of collard greens, dandelion greens, green beans, arugula, mustard greens, end vine, apples, berries squash, papaya, and a few other types. If you’ve never made skink chow before, I recommend using Arctic Exotics’ recipe. The western blue-tongued skink is found along the southern and western portions of the continent, and the Pygmy blue-tongued skink is native to the area surrounding Adelaide. They have long, solid bodies, triangular-shaped heads and comparatively small legs. Filtered and spring water are fine. Yes, your blue tongue skink can eat dandelions. Make sure your blue-tongued skink has a varied diet, consisting of about 50% vegetables and greens, 20% fruits and flowers, … What is ReptiFiles®? ReptiFiles.com is a compilation of factual, science-based research from the best reptile care resources in the world, packaged in one neat website. Most blue tongue skink keepers swear by cat and dog food, and many skinks enjoy eating it. Blue tongue skinks aren’t huge climbers, but they do enjoy basking on a raised rock every once in a while. Rare blue-tongued skinks such as centralians and shinglebacks may cost between $1,500 and $5,000 each. A variety of dark, leafy greens (collard greens, mustard greens, romaine lettuce) and fruits (banana, apricots, apple, figs) should also be regularly offered. The same goes for potentially toxic substrate materials like cedar chips or cat litter! as a serving size (about the same size as their head). Insects can be fed live or from a can, but letting a skink hunt is good for exercise and mental stimulation (enrichment). The feeding patterns and frequency for baby reptiles, young reptiles and adults will differ which is something you need to be vigilant in order to boost their growth and health. Blue-tongue skinks are opportunistic omnivores: their diet includes insects, larvae, snails, slugs and other invertebrates; soft fruit, flowers, greens and seeds; other reptiles, including smaller skinks; occasional small mammals, eggs and hatchling birds; and carrion. Cat food is best for juvenile skinks because of its high protein content, but when your skink reaches ~1 year old, it’s time to switch to dog food. It probably comprises 20% of their total diet. Therefore, their diet should include proteins, carbs, vitamins, and minerals. Gel water crystals work perfectly for this purpose. One should take care to only feed lean meats, as the high fat content of meat can be hard on the liver of a blue tongue skink. Skinny Blue Tongue Skink Not Eating. Their diet comprises meat, insects, vegetables, fruits, and mineral supplements. Adults should get roughly 50-60%. If you’re not using UVB lighting, be sure to use a supplement that includes particularly high quantities of vitamin D3. Note: Powdered and ready-made reptile diets already have the correct calcium to phosphorous ratio, meaning that you do not have to add calcium powder to these formulas. Yes, blue tongue skinks can eat carrots and carrot tops (raw), but only from time... D. Can blue tongue skinks eat dandelions? Distinguishing Traits of Male and Female Blue Tongue Skink, Explaining the Feeding Mechanism of Blue Tongue Skink. I wasn’t either, at first. How To Force Feed A Blue Tongue Skink Blue Tongue Skink Force Feeding (Source: TinyTigers Den) Despite the fact that blue tongue skinks have a wide variety of foods, they aren’t heavy or everyday eaters like dogs or humans. When young BTS don’t get enough protein in their diet, their scales can become deformed — known as “pyramiding.” When adults get too much protein, they can become overweight and their kidneys can even start to shut down (although the latter is only in extreme cases, and obesity is much more common). Blue tongue skinks need to feed on a balanced diet. In the wild blue-tongue skinks eat mostly land snails, carrion, insects, wild veggies, berries, fruits, and plant materials. The body temperature of a mouse is similar to a human’s, so you’ll want the prey to be about 98-100°F before offering it to your skink. Skinks will eat almost any fruit or vegetable, and you can include these foods on their menu: Keep your skink’s bones nice and strong with a pinch of calcium powder: 1x/week for adults, 2x/week for anything younger. Can blue tongue skinks eat apples? Because they are highly agile, it becomes easy for them to catch prey like the common dragonflies in a single swift movement. A quick look at all my beautiful Blue Tongue Lizards whilst I feed them some nutritious treats! Thaw it out in the fridge the night before feeding day, then about 15-30 minutes before feeding, stick the prey in a BPA-free plastic bag like a Ziploc and submerge in warm, almost hot, water. You will find that some places recommend pinkie mice to be used for if your pet skink needs a calcium boost such as if they have just laid eggs or are recovering from being sick. Adult shingleback skinks should have a diet of 70-80% plant matter, or 3 out of 4 meals. Squash, bell pepper, parsnip, carrot. They will consume just about anything put in front of them. In the wild, blue tongued skinks are omnivorous, meaning they will eat both plant and animal matter. Because they live among humans, blue-tongued skinks have to watch out for dogs and cats, as well as their other natural predators, such as snakes and kookaburras. Most also contain vitamin D3, but it’s worth checking the ingredients label just in case. Harm of Replying too Much on Pet Store Advice while Buying... Dos and Don’ts of Blue-Tongued Skink Purchase on Internet. However, this reptile not only eats just about everything, but can also eat for long periods of time. Sometimes I dip the rodents in raw egg (especially the larger furred mice) to stimulate interest and facilitate swallowing. A list of food and diet that a skink needed, food percentage. Not distilled, reverse osmosis, or softened. Blue tongue skinks may try to eat the substrate, which could lead to impaction issues. The rest is explained here. Flowers: Dandelion, rose, hibiscus. The tail is slightly shorter than the length of the body and tapers to a point. Food Feeding Mechanism ReptiFiles is not a veterinary website, nor is the author Mariah Healey a veterinarian. Greens: Turnip greens, collard greens, dandelion greens, grape leaves, mulberry leaves, cilantro, mustard greens, carrot greens, escarole. If the threat remains, it will hiss and flatten out its entire body to make themselves bigger. Remember, within the captive diet it's vital we replicate the need for dietary variety. If your pet reptile is experiencing a medical emergency, contact an experienced reptile veterinarian immediately. Blue-tongued skinks are omnivores, eating both plants and meat, but their diet should consist of about 70% fresh fruits, vegetables, and other plant mattergreat news if you dont like the idea of bringing live insects into your home to feed your skink! If you like this 'Blue Tongue Skink Shirt | Eat Sleep Repeat Gift' Design, get yours here. is a stocky, cylindrical lizard with small legs and a large head, known for its deep, vivid blue tongue. Note: All feeder insects should be gutloaded for at least 24 hours before feeding. A large water bowl no more than 3” deep should be provided — 9″ x 13″ baking dishes work great. Omnivorous skinks are especially fond of bananas and strawberries but it is important not to offer citrus fruits because these fruits can kill your skink. Yes, your blue tongue skink may eat pinkie mice as an occasional treat. In extreme situations, do not hesitate to contact a vet or a reptile expert and definitely, do not experiment with different unorthodox diets with your skink reptile. The best vegetables for blue tongue skinks are collard greens, dandelion greens, green beans, arugula, mustard greens, and endive. While their bites don't always have enough force to break the skin, … Generally, the Blue Tongued Skink reptile will like to consume small sized insects including worms and snails as well as plants likes fruits, berries and vegetables. Blue-tongued (BT) skinks are mild mannered, social lizards native to the semi-desert and open woodland regions of Australia, New Guinea, and Tasmania. Adding multivitamin to a prepared diet can potentially cause vitamin overdose! The animals they prey upon are mostly slow moving, like for example garden snails. Q: Can blue tongue skinks eat dry dog food? In fact, I’d be very surprised if they are even tempted to try it. This is the place! The most common problem you can face while feeding a Blue Tongued Skink reptile is that of overfeeding. Find out what to do. However, listen to Reptile Mountain explain how it works: 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. In fact, I used to have a recipe posted on here for homemade blue tongue skink chow because I believed dog food was inferior. And since skinks have the endearing habit of also using their water bowl as a toilet, be sure to disinfect it weekly with an animal-safe disinfectant like F10 or chlorhexidine. Forum rules In this forum all are welcome to ask blue tongue skink-related questions, share information, ideas, tips, experiences, and pictures with fellow BTS enthusiasts. They even have a blue tongue skink-specific formula: Bluey Buffet. 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. Nutritional problems are the primary cause of blue tongue skinks sickness in captivity. Feeding your Skink with Cat Food. You’re unlikely to find your … Recommended dog and cat food brands include: Ideally the food should contain as much of the whole animal as possible (meat, bones, and organs), which is why I love raw dog food diets. Bee pollen powder or granules (I use the Stakich brand) are also a beneficial addition to your skink’s diet, especially for shingleback skinks. This is why, knowing what to feed them and what their diet patterns should be is very important if you wish to keep a healthy and well-fed pet reptile. C. Can blue tongue skinks eat carrots? In Australia, blue-tongued skinks are very common and are often seen in people's yards, where they eat insect pests. Blue tongue skinks are omnivorous, which means that they need to eat both plants and animals to receive the nutrition that they need. Vegetables. Ideally, they should come pre-gutloaded from the breeder. Well, for one, ReptiFiles offers reptile care information that you can actually trust. Are There Any Harm? Example: “ReptiFiles.com is the best place to learn about correct reptile husbandry.”. Depending on the species, blue tongue skinks generally measure between 15”-24” long, with an average lifespan of 15-20 years in captivity. And since they’re omnivorous, the key to success with skinks is feeding them as large a variety of foods as possible. Just like humans, skinks’ nutritional needs change as they grow.
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