Blue-Tongues

Blue-tongues (Tiliqua sp.) are omnivorous. In captivity, they can be maintained on a varied diet of soft fruits such as tomatoes, strawberries, apple, lettuce, banana or kiwifruit and snails & slugs. They are partial to strawberries, as many home gardeners will have discovered. Blue-tongues can even be encouraged to come regularly for food left out. Their presence in a garden ensures the demise of many garden pests such as slugs and snails.

Blue-tongues have an unusual body shape for a skink, with a stout body, relatively small limbs and a thick, short tail. Blue-tongues rarely lose their tails , unlike smaller skinks, in which tail loss is an anti-predator device. Blue-tongues use their characteristic threat display as a warning device. The animal expands its ribcage and turns side on in order to appear larger. At the same time it opens its mouth wide to hiss and display its startling blue tongue and pink mouth.

Contrary to folk belief, these lizards are not poisonous, although an animal carelessly handled can give a nasty nip. Teeth are very small, but jaws are extremely strong. It is also untrue that marks reappear on the anniversary of a bite!

They are, like most reptiles, difficult to sex from external appearances. The males tend to be smaller (300-350g) than females (350-450g), which can grow as heavy as 650-700g in late pregnancy. The males also have proportionally broader heads and their tails tend to be thicker at the base. This is due to the musculature of the two hemipenes. With practice, it is possible to evert the hemipenes to confirm the sex of the animal. Adult males have a head and body measuring about 25-27cm, while mature females are likely to grow to 27-30cm. Some blue-tongues have been known to live as long as 20 years.

These lizards are viviparous, giving birth to an average of six live young in autumn. Some books suggest a clutch size of up to 25 young; from current studies, this seems highly unlikely. Additionally, producing a clutch of young represents a substantial drain on the mother's energy reserves. Based on our observations, it is likely that females only reproduce every second year, even though males mature sperm on an annual basis.

Although there is a simple placenta, most of the nutrition for the developing young is supplied by the large, yolky egg. Young are independent at birth, receiving little or no parental care, but will not be sexually mature themselves for four or five years.

SPECIES:

Tiliqua occipitalis - Western Blue Tongued Skink Likes dry habitats, compact animal with short tail-growing to 50 cm./ 19.5 in. Compact with short tail; reddish brown with light crossbanding. Likes berries and spiders. Produces 5-10 live young.

Tiliqua scincoides - Common/Eastern Blue-Tongued Skink Likes semi-desert to agricultural areas. Grows to 60 cm./23.5 in. (average 45 cm./17.5 in.). May be different subspecies since external differences are noted. Feeds on small animals, plant material. Often found in suburban gardens. Hardy in captivity. Averages 6-12 live young.

T. s. intermedia - Northern Blue Tongued Skink Likes tropical/savannah woodlands -growing to 60 cm./23.5 in. Produces 5-20 live young. The best choice for handlable pets.

T. nigrolutea - Blotched Blue Tongued Skink Also known as Black and Yellow Blue-tongued. Southern Australia and Tasmania. Brown/black with yellowish, irregularly spotted and striped pattern. Grows to 60 cm./23.5 in. Omnivorous. Produces 4-10 live young. Often crosses with T. scincoides, offspring are not sterile.

T. s. mustifaciata - Central Blue-Tongued Skink Found in desert and tropical environments. Grows to 40-45 cm./15.5-17.5 in., feeds on wildflowers, small vertebrates, and insects. Produces 2-5 live young.

T. s. gigas - New Guinea Blue Tongue Skink - This skink is gray or gray brown with irregular narrow bands of dark brown across the back.

T. gerrandii - Australian PINK tongued skink Found in New South Wales, Eastern Australia. Grows to 40-45 cm./ 15.5-17.5 in. This skink lives in a wetter forest habitat than the other Australian Skinks, is nocturnal in warm weather and diurnal in cold and feeds almost exclusively on snails and slugs. Produces 12-25 live young in summer.

Feeding Blue-tongues | Blue-tongues | Blue-tongue Caresheet

Monaro Amphibian & Reptile Keepers (MARK)
Meeting Venue: BURNS CLUB
8 Kett St., Kambah ACT
2nd Wednesday of each month at 7:30pm

Herps Info |  Next Meeting |  Information Sheets |  Links |  Care Sheets