Entertain Your BLUE TONGUE SKINK

[@rovena996]

my lizards are against the wall opposite of my computer desk. they get to watch me play games and occasionally screech or bang my knee on the desk. sometimes they get to witness a rare mental breakdown where i just lay on the ground for a hot second. they really enjoy the show :/

[@PetsinaPawd]

I love how they're so oblivious to everything that goes on, but so interested in watching anyway

[@rovena996]

@@PetsinaPawd the eye contact is what always gets me with bts.

[@ReptileMountainTV]

Great video! Nicely explained with great examples. Cheers 👍🏼

[@PetsinaPawd]

Oh wow!! TC you are a huge inspiration! I'm very honored by your comment, it means a lot. Reptile Mountain Approved! 👍

[@bluedragon7720]

my sweet rescue estern blue tongue was being kept in a 30gal with literally just fake grass and a plate of low-quality cat food. no hides, no rocks, nowhere to burrow. he's now in a 90cm long tank with a giant space for burrowing and a big series of slate steps with hides underneath them, and he's cuddling around my neck now

[@bluedragon7720]

I feed my boy a blend of pumpkin, kale, and mince twice a week, and 2 or three snails every other day.

[@PetsinaPawd]

Love to hear all that! Sounds like a very happy blue tongue.

[@hallway_revenant7919]

My northern blue tongue is also a rescue. A breeder surrendered her after she dropped her tail due to stress from her cage mate. She is absolutely GORGEOUS and I am going to try and breed her next year because I absolutely love her amber orange scales. She’s almost a lava morph, the breeder was probably trying to make one. She has a decent 40 gallon tank. While 40 is a little small, I try to take her out when I can and have provided ~7 cm coco core for her to bury in. I recently bought an outside pen so she can explore our yard without the danger of running off. (We don’t use and pesticides or insect killers, of course) I also added a few plants to her tank, all of which are healthy for her to eat and fun to hide in. It’s been absolutely beautiful watching her development and I am so unbelievably proud that I have managed to gain her trust.

[@BriDia3]

​@@hallway_revenant7919be careful that she doesn't burrow under the outside enclosure and escape

[@hallway_revenant7919]

@@BriDia3 the tank is fully glass- I got one with a deep bottom for dirt

[@snakesonaframe2668]

I pile up a bunch of blankets and pillows and stuff on my bed and just put my BTS on the bed, he has a ball climbing and burrowing around in them. Just make sure your BTS doesn't walk off the edge, mine doesn't but you never know.

[@PetsinaPawd]

Great idea!

[@LisaDevine-um8td]

There is a skink on my hand right now

[@Aurorarose98]

I have two baby blotched blue tongues, thank you for posting this, I’ve been looking for more enriching activities to giving them.

[@PetsinaPawd]

I'm jealous you have blotched blue tongues! Enjoy them :)

[@Aurorarose98]

Olive's Ark I definitely do, I’m from Australia so we don’t need licenses from them, they are the best. Next on the list to get as a pet is a marbles gecko that actually lives in my town 😊

[@hoa_xxi5818]

Rebecca Harding I live in Australia too! Did u get them from a breeder?

[@Aurorarose98]

Georgie Miller yes I did, he is a small town local breeder 😊

[@hudsonmtb6371]

I have a baby northern blue tongue skink and it’s awesome

[@PetsinaPawd]

Congrats on the baby!

[@0217euromut]

Thank you! We took a pet skink in and I have 0 experience with them, so this has helped so much!

[@arjangilera]

I feed my BT catfood, banana, snails and occasionally grasshoppers and mealworms. She is 14 years old and still doing great

[@arjangilera]

Also she was together with a beardie in the past and since 2017 together with a Giant plated lizard(matabosaurus)

[@PetsinaPawd]

I'm glad your skink is doing well! But I don't reccomend cohabitation between species, especially when they're not from similar habitats. However, good idea on the snails and grasshoppers. Those are perfect snacks

[@hallway_revenant7919]

Whenever my blue tongue gets banana she can smell it the second I enter the room and runs to the glass XD

[@finalizedofficial8837]

What type of dog food do you feed your blue tongues? I have 4, and unfortunately my favorite one recently passed from a respiratory infection that was too strong even with antibiotics.. it made me really reconsider their diet and such for a strong immune system… and now I’m giving this frozen dog food with raw organs and carrots/blueberries in it- with the occasional fruit and leafy green. I really want my lil babies to live as long as possible.

[@aprillesoonspalmer7987]

Great ideas! Excited to try the holee roller with Kezumi!

[@PetsinaPawd]

Have fun!

[@htlbeatz912]

The snails from the Asian market work awesome too

[@spedhead9267]

This is insanely helpful

[@hallway_revenant7919]

Bruh I thought you were crazy with the sock my skink freaking loved it! She tried to crawl inside it so I cut the toe cap off. She loves it so much and it is really confusing

[@PetsinaPawd]

Yep! "Smelly" objects are a great form of enrichment. A cloth left outside for a day will do the same trick

[@Gabi-jj7zf]

This is so helpful thank you so much!! My little girl has been a picky eater recently and this is great info

[@PetsinaPawd]

Glad it helped! Good luck with your girl!

[@hallway_revenant7919]

If you have a picky eater, smear a little bit of banana on the food. Works great. Don’t do it too much, banana can cause indigestion if they have it too often. If it still doesn’t eat, maybe take it to a vet. It could be a sign of parasites or an infection / mouth rot. Live insect feeds help too.

[@justalex691]

U have 10 different lizards and I am starting to move to larger lizards and I’m happy to say I’m now a proud owner of a recent buy of my beautiful little sausage guppy she’s pretty picky and I’m now trying quail eggs so we’ll see how that works out thanks for the tips

[@PetsinaPawd]

Try snails and quail eggs! Snails are a great food source and most skinks go crazy for them. Just make sure you buy them in a store and don't collect them from outside.

[@justalex691]

@@PetsinaPawd thanks so much

[@amberperillo6651]

My northern is named Hades too!! I also have a leopard gecko named Apollo

[@PetsinaPawd]

It's just a perfect skink name!

[@bisquitngroovy]

Great tips! Thank you!

[@PetsinaPawd]

You bet!

[@fansiderc9302]

My Tiliqua gigas evanescens loves people singing, music, and when people get into debates lol. They come out and watch without question during those activities. My skink has their very own blanket and they know it is their blanket. It is so adorable! Once I can finish a new 4*3 enclosure we will be getting another one!

[@PetsinaPawd]

Ours loves when company comes over. He surfs the glass so I always have to tell people to go over and say hi so he can see them. Its like having a dog in a glass box

[@fansiderc9302]

Pets in a Pawd lol that’s what my sister calls my BTS. ❤️ love them so much!

[@critterc0rner]

I have 3 easterns and one in particular gets bored so easily despite having a large 4ft tank and so much enrichment and stuff that gets rearranged often, I kind of already know most of these except the ball, I will definitely try it. I had used some treat dispenser toys but they always give up after a while so I mostly use them as scenting toys by stuffing herbs and flowers in them. Also my skinks are in seperate enclosures all are decked out and full of enrichment, they also have a 5ft diameter outdoor playpen that I fill with unused decor.

[@PetsinaPawd]

Sounds like you've got it down! Some reptiles are just more active than others so don't feel bad if one gets bored. As long as you provide things to do!

[@hallway_revenant7919]

My skink has a sock that she keeps in the corner. I cut thé toecap off because she likes to go inside it sometimes, but for the most part it stays in the corner. What’s weird is that whenever I move it, she always puts it back in the corner.

[@lyzzidc]

I have 2 Shinglebacks (types of bluetongues) and they climb and stick their head up out of the raised garden bed their in/scratch the wall when I'm home, for me to get them out so sit with me, their great. I would also recommend having substrate they can bury themselves in, they love doing this. I have used PVC pipes for years for my snakes, lizards and pet snails, good for all reptiles and other pets to climb and hide in

[@PetsinaPawd]

Yes! I didn't mention deep substrate because for me it's a part of the minimum setup needed anyway. But I so agree PVC pipes are so great to use! Cheap and easy to mix up

[@shannabowles7658]

Thank you sooooo much for these awesome ideas! I'm a brand new skink owner and my little Hufflepuff still doesn't like me, so I will definitely be trying these suggestions!

[@PetsinaPawd]

If theyre new to your home it can take a little bit of time to warm up. I hope you enjoy your new little buddy!

[@hallway_revenant7919]

One weird thing that helped my skink warm up to me was just opening her tank and laying my hand on top of her. She would huff for a few seconds, then when she realized I was not going to hurt or move her, she would just go back to sleep. It’s weird, but it works well since scent is a huge factor for them.

[@miyukiwynter885]

I want a blue tongue so bad but I don't have the space....

[@Falsehooddiaries]

I have a little west plains skink. can they do the same enrichment?

[@Amaya_Doll04]

I was thinking of putting some food on a small lick mat like for dogs for my blue tongue, would this be 1. Safe and 2. Enriching for him?

[@PetsinaPawd]

That's safe! As long as the lick mat can't be eaten. And it's a great for of enrichment as the skink will have to move around the mat to access food

[@neo2024]

where did you get the terrarium or what brand is it? :)

[@PetsinaPawd]

It is a 75 gallon regular aquarium. I've got it from petco but as far as glass terrariums go I'd HIGHLY recommend this one amzn.to/35Q9rKj

[@Gecko_Kaiju]

Would it be a bad thing to take a blue tongue skink outside where not only Predators could get to the reptile. I mean sure you could watch over him or her but what if the air makes the reptile sick or bugs and gnats make your reptile sick I would say it as kind of a last resort if you choose to take them out as enrichment.

[@PetsinaPawd]

Outdoor enrichment is fine in safe environments. Meaning no way of escape and monitoring the reptile the entire time (predators or not). The risk of illness will be low as long as your skink doesn't eat anything outside. The "air or gnats won't harm it". I'm also saying this with a Western United States perspective. It may be different in other regions

[@kirkulessonofgoose7503]

🇦🇺❤️🇦🇺

[@thebluebanana6865]

DO NOT let them hunt in there encloser they will eat substrate by accident