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BLUE TONGUE SKINKS Tiliqua scincoides Overview Blue Tongue Skinks are native to Australia and make great pets! They are docile, tame, and friendly and don’t cause allergies like some house hold pets. They are also easy to maintain and to setup. Description: Blue Tongues are a large terrestrial lizard measuring up to 40 centimetres long and 700 grams in mass. It has a stout body and short legs they can be variable in colour but generally has a banded pattern, they get their name from the cobalt blue tongue they have wic they stick out if threatened. They are diurnal, active during the day. and ovoviviparous, (the eggs hatching inside the female's body);usually having 5 to 25 live young per litter. They can live over 30 years. Enclosure : As Blue tongue Skinks get fairly large when they reach full size. At 60cm when fully grown they need a big enclosure. But since they grow quite slowly they can be kept in smaller enclosures to begin with. Number / Body length / Enclosure length x width x height 1-3 / Juveniles - 0mm-160mm / 600 x 300 x 300 mm 1-3 / Sub Adults - 200-300mm / 800 x 500 x 400 mm 1-2 / Adults - 300mm + / 1000 x 600 x 600 mm Substrate Blue Tongue Skinks can have a wide range of substrate, what you choose depends whether you are going to be feeding your Skink in its enclosure or out of it. Aspen - This substrate is quite good and their burrowing habits are met and is a relatively safe substrate, the only drawback is a bit of dust, use aspen not pine or cedar as this can kill your Blue Tongue Skink. Sand - Is okay but not the best if you want to feed in the enclosure since Skinks can also eat the sand, this isn't good as it can cause impaction. Don't use man made sand, be careful with calcium sand as they can overload on calcium. Bark – Is a good option as it looks natural and they can burrow. Usually they cannot accidentally eat it since it is too big, Artificial grass - I recommend this substrate as it is totally safe and is easy to clean and you can feed in the enclosure, just ensure the edges have no loose fibres they can ingest (I usually use a lighter to melt it). Coir coconut fibre - this is a good substrate as it is digestible and Blue Tongue Skinks can burrow into it, but it is quite moist. Plants Plants make the vivarium more natural for the Blue Tongue Skinks, use fake plants as Blue Tongue Skinks tend to eat real plants and they could be poisonous or dangerous. Decor Rocks and logs look nice in your Blue Tongue Skinks vivarium but make sure they are sterile, this can be done by boiling for a few minutes, don’t use any chemicals. Make sure they are not sharp and can’t fall on your Blue Tongue Skinks. Make sure your blue tongue has a cave, have one on the cool end and the warm end. Lighting Blue Tongue Skinks are active during the day so they must have uvb/uva light! There are special reptile lights that mimic the sun and give out these rays, an ordinary bulb wont do! One of the most commonly used bulbs is the “repti glow” they have a range of U.V ray wave lengths, these range from the weakest to the strongest 2.0, 5.0, 8.0 and 10.0 the higher the number the more U.V rays. Since Blue Tongue Skinks live in the forest the 5.0 is best but it depends what type of Blue Tongue Skinks you are keeping. UV bulbs need to be replaced once a year. Make sure you read the manufacturers guidelines and warnings Heating Eastern Blue Tongue Skinks need a temperature gradient of around 29-24 c and the basking temperature 35 c, make sure there is a cool and warm end so they can regulate their own temperature. For heat sources you can buy special heat lamps from pet stores they get really hot they must have a ceramic fitting since they will melt an ordinary lighting fixture. Heat mats are not necessary as they can get all their heat from their heat lamp and they can cause a serious fire hazard I had one that was sitting on a tile and it still burnt through the plastic, cracked the glass tank bottom, and turned the carpet underneath to ash. Water and Humidity Clean water should always be accessible in an appropriate water dish. Blue-tongued skinks are not good swimmers and must be able to easily exit the water bowl or be able to tip the bowl over. As they are from semi-dry areas and require low humidity with adequate ventilation. Humidity levels ranging between 25 and 40 percent use a hygrometer to monitor humidity levels. Diet- A blue tongues diet should consist of 50% veggies, 40% Protein (meats and insects), and 10% fruit. Veggies: you can use puha(water cress), broccoli, tomatoes, zucchini, peas,mustard greens,grated butternut squash and dandelions (should be mixed with other veggies). Protien: you can use-tinned dog food, dog chow, crickets, snails (no need to take the shell off), mice (don't leave in at night or unsupervised as they are known to bite as a defence or gnaw on lethargic reptiles the same applies for crickets and locust) ,mealworms, earthworms, tiger worms, cockroaches, lean red meat, mince, and raw or boiled egg. Fruits: you can use, apples, strawberries, bananas, pear, figs, melon, plums, kiwifruit and raisins. - Avoid citrus, avocado, eggplant, rhubarb and high-sodium canned meats/foods. - Calcium supplements with vitamin d3 are great for your reptile but DO NOT OVER DOSE AS IT COULD BE FATAL! Handling and Temperament While many reptiles do not like to be handled at all, and some merely tolerate it, blue-tongued skinks are very personable and often seem to enjoy being scratched on the head or chin. They seem to enjoy the attention. Habits Blue Tongue Skinks are active during the day but tend to sit in their caves a lot. You can encourage them out by removing their caves for an hour or so each day. They each have their own personalities and their own tastes and what they like and dislike. Unless you ave a really large enclosure Blue Tongue Skinks should not be kept with other reptiles, feeding habits and enclosure requirements make them incompatible. Some like to be handled but some don't also always wash your hands before and after handling as all reptiles have the posibility to carry salmonella. Keeping blue tongues together can be good or bad. Blue tongues in groups to me,tend to be more active alert and entertaining but there is a downside. Blue tongues skinks are solitary by nature usually only coming together to breed, thus they aren't friendly to each other two males put together can create territorial problems and they will fight. Also having mixed sized blue tongue skinks meaning the heavier,fatter and larger ones may crush small innocent blue tongues. It is really up to you but if you see any aggression i advise you separate them

.This article is compiled from a care sheet on Water Dragons by Reuben Anderson on the Aquarium World forums. Australian or Eastern water dragons Intellagama lesueurii, formerly Physignathus lesueurii And Intellagama lesueurii howittii Gippsland Water Dragon subspecies .This article is compiled from a care sheet on Water Dragons by Reuben Anderson on the Aquarium World forums. https://aquariumworld.nz/forums/topic/41043-australianeastern-water-dragon-care-sheet/ Eastern water dragons are stunning, prehistoric looking lizards that make great pets that are native to eastern Australia from Victoria northwards to Queensland, the ones we have in NZ are mostly leseurii .but some have genes from the subspecies howitii in them. They are the longest reptile available on the market with some males close to 1 metre long and a kg in weight, they have lots of personality and are very active lizards. They don't take much effort to care for, are easy to set up. With a lifespan between 15 and 28 years. Males generally have a much thicker and shorter head, a more dominant crest to and a red underside with the black/grey bar behind their eyes Housing Water dragons can be kept outside all year round in most places in New Zealand. An outdoor enclosure provides many advantages and you will probably get to see more of their natural behaviour. You are also usually able to build a much larger enclosure which makes a happier lizard. The size of an outdoor enclosure should ideally be a minimum of a 2m by 2m by 2m. This could happily house a small group and gives you lots of room to build ponds, plant shrubs etc. An outdoor enclosure enables you to build or purchase a much larger pond or similar. Just like the indoor enclosures you want to keep the water clean. Investing in a pond filter will save a lot of time cleaning. For substrate there are the indoor options or you could do a mixture of substrates to mimic their natural habitat. In an outdoor set up I would use bark or mulch as you don’t need to worry so much about the mess and it looks very natural. You want to still have many branches and hollow logs etc. You can create waterfalls and place large rocks here and there to help mimic their natural environment. Remember water dragons are an arboreal reptile and like to rest on high branches and bask so they will spend a fair bit of time perched up on branches and logs, a branch over hanging the water is also good. It is usually advised that you keep your dragon indoors for the first and maybe second winter depending on size. Many experienced keepers keep them outside from the beginning as this can help with fertility and makes a much hardier lizard however it is good practice to leave your dragon inside for the first year or so. If you don’t, you may find he will freeze during the winter and not come back out of hibernation and die. - Hatchlings (pair) an enclosure measuring 900mm by 450mm by 450mm (L,W,H) - Yearlings from 1-2 years (pair) an enclosure measuring 1200mm by 600mm by 600mm (L,W,H) - Adults 3 years plus (pair) an enclosure measuring 1800mm by 600mm by 800mm (L,W,H) Water dragons being active lizards need lots of room to run around so these dimensions should ideally be the minimum. As they say, the bigger, the better. Water Water dragons weren't given their names for nothing! They require a large pool of water to swim and soak in - the water should be deep enough for them to fully submerge themselves in as they retreat to the water if they feel threatened or scared. They may stay under the water for several minutes and adults even sometimes over an hour! Make sure they can get out of the water with ease if they need to, a piece of wood or a rock emerging from the water is perfect - its also somewhere they can cool off without actually entering the water. Make sure to either provide a filter for the water or regularly change the water as they defecate in it. It is important to not heat the water as if the water is too warm, you may find your dragon will spend too much time in there and may not hop out to bask. If they stay in the water too long they run the risk of fungal infections. It needs to be kept cool as the water is their main way to thermo regulate, ie to cool off. The water area should be at least 1/4 of the enclosure floor. Adding an air stone or pump to the water may encourage them to enter the water if you find they don't like to go into the water. Substrates- There are many substrates you can use in your vivarium. Outdoor turf - This is a very common substrate used by many hobbyists. It is easy to clean, many different colours available, safe for your lizard, and it’s also quite appealing to the eye Tip: purchase two pieces that cover the entire floor so you can wash one while you use the other one. Paper towels can also be used but are a bit of an eye sore. Sand - This is okay but can be very messy. You also run the risk of impaction if you feed on the substrate. If you use sand I would highly recommend you feed in either a large dish or separate feeding enclosure. Bark/mulch/aspen - This looks quite effective and is cheap but can also be quite messy. Avoid products made of pine or cedar as it has a very strong smell which is not liked by the dragons at all! Stones/pebbles - I would stay away from these as small pebbles can be ingested and can cause impaction. They are also very cold and hard. Sterile potting soil - This can look really nice and you can grow live plants in it but is also very messy, you will be constantly changing the water dish and wiping the front glass etc. These are the most popular substrates but there are more being used. My favourite is outdoor turf because of the above reasons. Plants You have the option of live or fake plants, fake plants can be easily cleaned and now look very realistic, they can be pricey though however once you have them they can be used for years. Live plants are more aesthetically pleasing but quite a few are toxic to reptiles and it can be hard to know which ones are and which aren't, of the ones to use a few examples are; bromeliads, types of ferns, grass, small shrubs and palms. These can be planted straight into the ground. It’s also beneficial to grow edible plants in the enclosure. You can grow strawberries, blue berries, dandelion etc., all parts of the dandelion and they are easy to grow. Lighting and heating This is a fairly simple aspect to the care of EWDs but many people are often confused about this topic. Water dragons are diurnal lizards so they need UVB/UVA light. A 10.0 UVB bulb is recommended but a 5.0 will do if there are branches close to the light. Tubes are usually preferred over compact bulbs but both do the job - make sure you follow the manufacturers directions as there is a fine line between too much UV and not enough! REMEMBER TO REPLACE THE UVB BULB EACH YEAR! A basking spot is also required to keep the enclosure at a stable temperature and to create hot and cold ends withing the enclosure. There are many types of lighting to create basking spots. For example; basic spot lights, ceramic heat emitters, infrared bulbs, metal halide bulbs and many more. I prefer just basic spot lights as they are cheap and do the job while still providing light. Stay away from bulbs which claim to provide both heat and UVB as usually this is not the case. Using these bulbs by themselves can lead to lack in calcium absorption which can cause MBD or metabolic bone disease which can permanently damage your lizard and can leave it with major back problems and weak bones. Always purchase a safety cage to cover the bulbs as water dragons are excellent jumpers and can get burned if they touch the bulb. Heat mats are not needed as water dragons in the wild get all their heat from above. Don't use heat rocks as these have been known to cause serious burns to your reptiles. Temperatures in the enclosure should be: cool end - 20-25C, hot end 25-30C and basking spot 35-40C. Lighting and heating is not needed in an outdoor set up. A basking bulb can be used but not necessary. You may want to fix a UVB tube to the roof of the enclosure as if you have used clearlite or something that will reduce the amount of UVB rays that get in. Diet Water dragons should be offered a wide variety of foods for a healthy diet. Some good foods are; - Mealworms, Crickets, Wax moths, Locusts, Low fat cat food - the casserole type, not pellets or jelly meat, avoid types with fish. - Ox heart with fat and sinew removed. - Shredded greens like dandelion - the whole plant can be used, not just the flowers, rocket and clover - Fruits like strawberries, grated apple, raspberry, banana, and grated squash - a good and healthy way to bulk up salads It is important to offer a mixture of fruit/vege and meat/insects at each meal time. A juveniles diet should be 60% meat/insects to 40% fruit/vege. An adults diet should be 60% fruit/vege to 40% meat/insects. It's a good idea to add vitamins and calcium to their food. You can purchase vitamin and calcium powder from pet stores. This helps them get all the vitamins and minerals they need to stay healthy. Make sure you follow the manufacturer’s directions. Too much can be harmful!