Blue Tongue Skink - The scientific name for this lizard is Tiliqua gigas. There are several excellent publications on the proper care and breeding of this lizard. I will only reference a few key points here, and encourage you to do your own research if this is an animal that catches your fancy.
They range throughout Australia, into New Guinea. There are a number of sub-species occupying these regions. They have been illegal to export out of Australia for many years now in order to protect them in the wild. As a result a variety of species is available as captive bred locally. They will readily breed under the right conditions. This makes them a good specimen for the serious hobbyist. Due to it's size, and therefore, captive requirements, I would not recommend this as your first attempt at being a serious hobbyist. Their are several other lizards that require the same techniques to be developed for successful keeping, but on a smaller scale. Some keys to the success of this animal in captivity, are diet, and temperature. While these are omnivores, they will be rather picky on their choices of vegetation, so you will have to experiment. Minimize the fruit, and consider them as treats, maximize any other vegetables that are readily accepted. Keep in mind that cabbages, cauliflower, Brussel Sprouts and Broccoli should be very limited in any reptiles diet. They interfere with the thyroid function, and calcium absorption.
On the carnivore side of the equation you will find them anxious to consume meal, and earth worms. Crickets will provide a challenge for them, but should not be eliminated because of the the effort required in catching them. In fact I view this as an enrichment for them. It forces some real attentive activity for a Blue Tongue skink to catch a hopping cricket! Another food that I have fed successfully now for almost ten years is a low fat, and low protein dog food. They love it! But, of course the real criteria here is that it be healthy for the animal. The "Mighty Dog" brand of their "Senior" food has the lowest protein, and fat of any dog, or cat food currently on the market that I have been able to find. These reptiles, as with many others ( we will cover this again when talking about the tortoises ), do not do well with high levels of protein. A little goes a long way for these lizards. They will reach their maximum length in about one year, but will continue to increase their girth for another year. Managing the dog food as a supplemental diet to no more frequently than once a week should be safe, and keep the animal from getting too fat. I change this routine after the first year to no more than every other week, or about twice a month.
They like to hide and borrow, so that the size of you enclosure needs to be appropriate for this natural behavior. I recommend a minimum of a twenty gallon long aquarium size enclosure for a single animal. The substrate needs to be soft enough to allow them to borrow. A mixture of soil ( be sure it is free from any and all additives. Your local building supply will have such a quality type of soil in fifty pound bags), mulch, and/or bark chips ( no cedar as the oil in cedar is an irritant to their skin, and can be harmful). A layer of three to four inches will be ideal, and should be changed out as needed. I'll add a personal note here about the cleaning out of the habitat. If droppings are picked out regularly, you will not need to change out the substrate more than every month. I pick up regularly from the enclosure any visible droppings, while weekly adding a little more premixed substrate. Once each quarter ( every three months ) I empty the entire contents and refill.
My point to you here is that you will constantly read about changing out vivariums on a weekly basis. Keep in mind these statements, as guidelines, are written knowing that many people will inevitably attempt to keep one of these animals as a "pet". Responsible Herpetologists make every attempt to warn the novice, and provide a formula of care that will hopefully keep that animal healthy. I whole heartily support their position, and attempts. For the more experienced, and serious hobbyist, careful attention to regular maintenance of your animals enclosure will lead you to your own formula for proper husbandry practices.
Prehensile - Tailed Skink - The scientific name for this lizard is Corucia Zebrata. The publications that are readily available are limited on this amazing lizard. Because of this I will provide a more in depth synopsis of this animal. There are only two comprehensive publications out on this animal currently and both are excellent and referenced below. With the recent listings update by CITIES under appendix III these animals will now face more stringent management by the New Guinea government as an endangered species.
I have been actively breeding this lizard for several years now. The original pair were imported at less than a year old for the express purpose of breeding. While this was more expensive, I did not want to support the import practices of that time. This animal is indigenous to the Solomon islands, ranging from Papua New Guinea, through Bougainville, Buka, to Guadalcanal at the eastern end of the Solomon islands. While there are various hues of green, brown, golden yellow and black forming different patterns, it is still believed that this is a single species ( monotypic genus ) animal. They are herbivores, and totally arboreal as well! A very unique combination to say the least. This is only the beginning of a list of physical, and behavioral characteristics that set them apart from all the other Reptiles. Now, if I sound a little prejudice, I'm not. I'm very prejudice!! I am truly captivated by this animal. It remains the only animal that I continue to breed on a regular basis. I am hoping that "ARU" (the original adult female) is pregnant and about to have her second baby. I have also acquired another seven long time captive (originally wild caught) adults to also add to this group (and hopefully will act as one big family). This addition will alone will be a challenge in it self. They act passive enough until sometime during the night when they get the "itch" to go exploring. While they won't "jump" out of their enclosure, they continue to show a unique ability to be very creative escape artist's.
While the largest of the skinks, they have the unique attribute of a prehensile- tail. In fact many have nick-named them "monkey tailed skinks". If you are into Reptiles this one will grab you. I have taken the liberty to add a direct quote from Philippe de Vosjolis' book, referenced below. I would preface this quote with the fact this animal has only been available since the mid 1980'S. In fact at that time you would have been hard pressed to even find many Zoo's in this country with any of these animals. Unfortunately their charm has become their demise even with their listing by CITES under appendix II in 1992. This means that the species is threatened and CITES export documents became required for transporting these animals between countries. It had only been recently that the local government had introduced licensing requirements, and quotas on their capture for export. Now with the listing by CITIES, appendix III, as an endangered species, their capture and exportation will be managed properly by the government of New Guinea.
"There is something about prehensile-tailed skinks that moves the person who appreciates reptiles.
They're like creatures out of a fantasy or science fiction book: Small aliens, gnome like creatures who
live in their own special reality, yet demonstrate just enough responsiveness for us to get the sense
that they have some awareness of humans. It is the large eyes, large rounded head and alertness that
capture our attention. For humans who are affected by such things, the little kid in us who is still
amazed by the world we live in, is thinking, 'Neat! Fantastic! Wonderful!' Something in us also
yearns to learn something from these nonhuman life forms. Secrets of the reptilian mind, revelations
about the world we live in and the many forms of consciousness that inhabit it. These creatures
present us with opportunities to become just a little more conscious and knowledgeable than we
were prior to our encounters and involvement with them."
Before we get into the husbandry of these animals, I need to share with you my experience with breeding these amazing lizards. Their unique adaptation to life by living in the tress, and being herbivores, may have something to do with their nature. They are very territorial, and readily display defensive behavior of their habit. Once out of "their home", they tend to be docile, and even seem to enjoy the interaction with humans. Not all specimens, mind you, but, many do. The young ones will be very defensive for six months to a year after birth. They also show strong social behaviors. They will live in fairly large groups, in the wild. Usually dictated by the tree, or trees that are immediately accessible. Outsiders to the group may be welcomed, or ceremoniously removed, and at times quite violently. Yet, newborns are accepted by the group, and even protected by adults, other than the parents. This is where my challenge begins with the introduction recently of a young captive bred that must be added into the existing group. I begin by leaving the young baby in a separate container, in the tree, for several weeks. I also change out, or, as in this case, add another hollow cork round to the tree. These animals scent their territory with a waxy substance. This is deposited by each animal in the group to such an extent that after awhile you can actually feel the substance on limbs. They mark the space that they hide out in more readily. In this way I hope to add an area for the young one to add it's scent to a fresh area. In this way it will not be intimidated by the scent of the others, and hopefully the established adults are more willing to accept the added animal with out conflict. This second stage is conducted over a period of time. Being carefully to pick times when the others are away from the new cork log that has been added. The tendency that I have observed is the established animals are reluctant to go into the new area, and scent it. They seem to feel more comfortable in their established, and marked areas instead. This is what gives the added animal the opportunity to scent some of it's own area. This stage will continue for another couple of months. Complicating the process at this time is the pregnant female, her attitude, and the addition of her baby when born. Lots to watch out for, and some serious monitoring to be maintained.
By contrast the addition of the seven adults is somewhat less problematic in that much confusion over all the additional animals (and their scent) in of it self will create enough confusion that the chances are good that a merging of the current inhabitants with the new arrivals will be nothing more than some territory sharing rather than territory challenging.
The female will typically have one, live born young each year. Occasionally twins will be born. The newborn, will be about one-third the mothers' body weight, and be ready to fend for itself soon after birth. I have notice very strong parental instincts in my breeding adults, and marvel at their sense of caring, and togetherness. Remember we are talking about a species of lizard here, and not a social primate! While predominately nocturnal, they will be happy to go exploring outside their immediate enclosure at dusk. This seems to be a favorite time to see just what else might be out there. They just seem to be having fun. Using that prehensile-tail for security, and their long, scalpel like claws to grasp, step after step as they move about. I have taken the lower arm sections of an old sweat shirt, cut them off, and put one inside of the other to make a double thick sleeve. I slip this over my hand and forearm to offer to the animal to climb out of it's display. Once out and situated the grip of those sharp talons lessens as the animal relaxes. They are climbers, however, so sooner or later they will be making for the high ground, which in this case would be your head! Careful guiding and coaxing will usually settle them back down. This is the time you will cherish as you commune with these marvelous creatures.
Diets as outlined in both the publications referenced below are excellent formulas for healthy animals. I will emphasize the ratio of fruit to vegetables, however. It's that old 80 / 20 rule again. Keep that fruit ( and don't forget that tomatoes are a fruit ) at no higher than twenty percent of their total diet. These reptiles will focus on their favorite fruits to the exclusion of the vegetables that they require to remain healthy. By maintaining the volume at the 20% level as a maximum will keep the appetite active enough for them to eat the vegetable portion of their diet too. A special note here on fruits. Stay away from any citrus fruits. Reptiles can not properly digest citrus fruits. Be sure to core any apples you use. The seeds are poisonous! As referred to above, go very light on the cabbage, broccoli, and cauliflower. You shouldn't eliminate these vegetables, as they contain some essential minerals and vitamins, but you must exercise care in not feeding often, and in limited quantities. They love carrots, most other leafy greens, squash, green beans, Bok Choy, and the ever popular corn. I have played with many ways of presenting their food, and find the easiest for me is to use a food processor. It makes it easy to blend various types of vegetables together. You can also use frozen mixed vegetables as a base food to add the other ingredients too as well. The Skinks, however, seen to have great appetites regardless of how the food is prepared. I originally began using the food processor when the first baby was born. I thought this would just be an easier form for the baby to deal with. It work,for the baby, and it worked for me. While I use the frozen vegetables as the base food stock, I continue to use the food processor for the vegetables that are added to this base.
Special consideration for this animal is essential in several ways. We have talked about the diet, but we still have humidity, enclosure design, and configuration, along with temperature to explore. I will refer you at this time to the Vivariums for my prehensile-tailed skinks. This is a multi-species display. It incorporates three hot spots shinning down from the ceiling that are on a timer that provides a photo period of fifteen ( 15 ) hours each day. While that is longer than needed, these lights doubles as a heat source at the top of the tree as well. Four times per day a misting system activates for an interval of one minute each. In addition, I have opted to add a small "green house" fogger the emits as much as six gallons per day of atomized mist into the air aimed at the top of the tree. The tree is real, but the vegetation is not. Food bowls are provided in the tree proper, along with hollow cork rounds. This outline touches on many of the special considerations that I mentioned above. Let's go back over them to emphasize their importance as each relates to the skinks natural environment. Their natural climate never gets to hot, and never gets very cool. So without documenting extremes that these animals are capable of dealing with in small doses, lets outline their normal temperature range of 70 to 90 degrees F. Night time temperatures can dip down as low as 60 egress, on a limited basis. I have found this range to be the healthiest. Humidity ties into the temperature range of their natural habitat. Seldom dropping below 50%, and frequently pushing the 90% level. Humidity seems also to be the trigger for the breeding season. Each spring I have had the most success with dramatically increasing the humidity up to and including virtually flooding their enclosure. With their new Vivarium the misting will be increased to simulate this seasonal increase in humidity. This is done each spring, beginning the first of March through the month of April. The cork rounds provide a duplication of the preferred hollow trees that they like to inhabit in the wild. It is easily seen that the need for a vertical oriented environment is most like their normal habit as tree dwellers. My Vivarium represents not only the culmination of many years of housing, and breeding these animals, it also exceeds some already proven, and acceptable housing accommodations for breeding, and rearing healthy animals. Space, and more space will be required however, if you attempt to keep more than one of these animals. As more captive bred prehensile-tailed skinks become available, it is my opinion that future generations of this animal will be able to adapt to a less lavish habitat. For the here, and now, I need to emphasize that this is an animal that is definitely not for the beginner.
Blue - Tongued Skinks / keeping & breeding them in captivity by Jerry G. Walls. This is a TFH publication, and
readily available, and highly recommended.
The General Care and Maintenance of Prehensile-Tailed Skinks by Philippe de Vosjoli from the Herpetocultural Library
series of Special Additions. This may prove to be a little difficult to find, as it occasionally goes out of print. Find it!! It is a very good
publication by one of the best in the field.
Prehensile-Tailed Skinks by John Coburn. This publication is readily available, and should be on the must have list if you are
going to attempt keeping this animal.
