Blue Tongued Skink

The Blue-tongued skink is a lizard native to Australia but are now found all over the world as pets. Also called blue tongue lizard or just blue tongue in Australia. There are nearly 800 species of Blue-tongued skinks distributed around the world in mild or warm climates.

Physical Attributes

Skink's have very diverse appearances ranging in size from 6 inches to 2 feet. The blue tongue skink has a blue tongue that it uses to startle and ward off predators with. They have short and weak legs but are surprisingly fast, able to move their bodies over the ground with great agility. Skinks either have elongated toes or short stuby ones and none of them have well developed claws, but some have special scales on their feet to aid in tree climbing.

Diet

Skinks are omnivores eating many types of foods. They are ground-dwelling lizards which feed on a variety of small animals (insects, snails, carrion) and plants (wildflowers, fruits and berries).

Reproduction

The breeding season of the Blue tongue skink occurs once yearly and it consists of the male seeking out females and trailing her. During and prior to mating the male will aggressively bite and hold the female. Damage to the scales are common at this time, but the couple will usually get along for the rest of the year.

Offspring for the Blue tongued skink develope inside the female and are born live. Usually giving birth to 6 to 12 young the infants are minitures of the parents. Several days after birth the infants will begin to feed on small insects and lick fruit.

Behavior

Skinks are shy and secretive lizards that will shy away from danger and rarely travel to far from their shelter. The Northern Blue-tongue Skink (one of the largest of the skinks) copes well with handling and are popular as pets.

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