Terrestrial reptile · Omnivorous skink

Know whether your blue-tongue skink's care is actually on track.

Your bluey can't tell you the basking spot has drifted cool or that it's quietly putting on too much weight. baskr watches the pattern across your logs, temperature, humidity, weight, feeding and shedding, and shows you what needs attention before it becomes a problem.

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Blue-tongue Skink

Weight trending up

Up 9% over three weigh-ins on a protein-heavy diet. Ease back toward greens.

Basking spot

35–38°C · 95–100°F

Cool side

24–26°C · 75–79°F

Humidity

40–60%

Ideal ranges for Tiliqua scincoides, the same targets baskr scores your logs against.

Basking and warm figures are surface temperatures at the spot; cool and ambient are air. Measure with a probe or infrared thermometer at the animal's height.

Blue-tongue Skink: a few things worth knowing

That bright blue tongue is a bluff, flashed wide to startle predators into thinking twice.
They're one of the few lizards keepers describe as genuinely omnivorous, eating plants and protein in roughly equal measure.
Blue-tongues give birth to live young rather than laying eggs, sometimes a dozen or more at once.
They're big, ground-dwelling and slow-moving, so floor space matters far more than height.
With good husbandry a blue-tongue skink commonly lives 15–20+ years, a long-term commitment.

When is your blue-tongue skink active?

Diurnal

Active by day

Where blue-tongue skinks come from

Across Australia (plus New Guinea and Indonesia)

Wild climate. Mostly warm; open woodland, scrub and grassland.

Why the care is what it is. This is why it wants a 35 to 40°C basking spot, floor space to roam, and a varied omnivore diet.

What baskr watches for your blue-tongue skink

Logging is the input. The product is spotting when a single off reading becomes a pattern worth acting on.

Basking temperature

35–38°C (95–100°F) over the basking spot

A few degrees cool for a week and digestion, appetite and activity quietly drop.

Thermal gradient

A cool side of 24–26°C (75–79°F)

No real gradient across the floor leaves a bluey unable to regulate its temperature.

Humidity

40–60% depending on the species

Too dry brings bad sheds; persistently damp is a respiratory-infection risk worth catching early.

Weight trend

Steady in adults, gradual gain in growing animals

Blue-tongues obese easily, a steady climb from too much rich protein is an early red flag.

Feeding balance

A rotating mix of greens, veg and lean protein

A protein-heavy run without enough plant matter shows up as weight gain over a few weeks.

Shed quality

Clean sheds in a piece or two

Patchy or stuck shed usually points to humidity that's drifted too low.

How to set up a blue-tongue skink terrarium

Minimum size
120×60×45 cm (4×2×1.5 ft) for an adult, a large, ground-dwelling lizard needs floor space, so bigger is always better.
Temperatures
Basking 35–38°C (95–100°F), cool side 24–26°C (75–79°F), night drop to ~20–22°C.
Substrate
A deep, dig-friendly base like a topsoil/coir mix or bioactive soil, several inches deep so they can burrow. Avoid loose calci-sand and walnut shell, both are impaction risks.
Hides & décor
At least two hides (one warm, one cool) large enough to cover the whole body, plus a solid basking spot directly under the lamp.
Layout
Run a strong hot-to-cool gradient across the floor: basking platform under heat + UVB at one end, a shaded cool retreat at the other, with room to roam between.

Plants for a blue-tongue skink terrarium

Safe to include

  • Snake plant (Sansevieria)
  • Pothos
  • Hibiscus
  • Dandelion
  • Spider plant
  • Bromeliads

Avoid

  • Ivy
  • Oleander
  • Elephant ear
  • Most bulb plants (daffodil, tulip)

Blue-tongues are heavy-bodied and will flatten delicate plants, so hardy species or sturdy pots work best. Rinse anything they might nibble, and skip anything you can't confirm is non-toxic.

What to feed a blue-tongue skink, and what to avoid

Staples

  • Leafy greens: collard, mustard, dandelion, endive
  • Mixed veg: squash, green beans, bell pepper
  • Protein: dubia roaches, snails, appropriately-sized rodents

Occasional / treats

  • A little berry or melon as a treat
  • High-quality, low-fat wet dog food (debated, use sparingly if at all)
  • Boiled egg
  • Pinky mice (rarely, for adults)

Never feed

  • Avocado
  • Rhubarb
  • Excess spinach
  • Fatty or seasoned meats
  • Wild-caught insects (pesticides/parasites)

Supplements. Dust protein and veg with calcium (with D3 a few times weekly if UVB is marginal) and a reptile multivitamin about once a week.

Good to know. Aim for a rough balance of plant matter to protein, many keepers target around 50/50 to 60/40 greens-to-protein for adults. Gut-load any feeder insects before offering them.

The gear that matters for a blue-tongue skink

The right kind of kit, pick brands you trust.

UVB lighting

A high-output T5 HO UVB tube (~6–10%, Ferguson zone 2–3) spanning about two-thirds of the enclosure, mounted at the manufacturer's recommended distance above the basking spot. Replace every 12 months even if it still lights.

Basking heat

A white basking (halogen) lamp on a dimming thermostat to hold 35–38°C at the basking spot.

Thermostat

Non-negotiable, it controls the heat source so the enclosure can't overheat.

Thermometer + hygrometer

Digital, with a probe read at basking height, not stick-on dials. Check both ends of the gradient.

Enclosure

A 4×2 ft (or larger) front-opening vivarium with a solid floor and good ventilation.

The kind of thing baskr will tell you

Grounded in your own logs and the ideal ranges above, plain language, never a diagnosis.

Basking spot read 31°C for 5 days, below the 35–38°C your bluey needs to digest. Check the bulb height or thermostat.

Bluey's weight is up 9% over three weigh-ins on a mostly-protein diet, ease back toward greens and veg.

Humidity has averaged 32% this week and the last shed came off patchy, raise it before the next cycle.

Is your blue-tongue skink's setup on track?

Enter your own readings for an instant care score, the same check baskr runs for you every day.

Do you have a UVB light?

Enter a reading or two above to see Blue-tongue Skink's care score.

A quick guide, not a diagnosis. Ideal ranges vary with age, morph and setup, and individual animals differ, so confirm anything critical with an experienced keeper or a reptile vet.

Blue-tongue Skink vs other pets

More lizards

All lizards

Blue-tongue Skink care questions

What temperature should a blue-tongue skink's basking spot be?+

Aim for roughly 35–38°C (95–100°F) at the basking spot, with a cooler side around 24–26°C (75–79°F) so it can thermoregulate across the floor. baskr checks the temperatures you log against this range and flags a sustained drift, but always verify with a good thermometer at basking height.

What do blue-tongue skinks eat?+

They're true omnivores: a rotating mix of leafy greens and vegetables plus lean protein like insects, snails or cooked egg, with occasional fruit. Balance matters, too much rich protein leads to obesity. Check a current care sheet for the exact ratio your species prefers, and baskr tracks the pattern of what you log so a protein-heavy run stands out.

Why is my blue-tongue skink getting fat?+

Blue-tongues gain weight easily when protein or fatty foods dominate the diet. Shift toward greens and veg, keep protein lean and occasional, and watch the trend rather than any single weigh-in. baskr charts the trajectory so a slow climb stands out early; if you're worried, an exotics vet can advise, baskr is a husbandry assistant, not a diagnosis.

What can blue-tongue skinks not eat?+

Avoid avocado, rhubarb, large amounts of spinach, and fatty or seasoned meats, and never feed wild-caught insects. Stick to gut-loaded feeders, safe greens and lean protein, and dust with calcium.

Free tools for your blue-tongue skink

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Log your blue-tongue skink's care in seconds and baskr does the watching. Free for your first 3 animals.

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Last reviewed August 2026. General husbandry guidance, not veterinary advice, and ranges vary with age, morph, subspecies and setup. Confirm anything critical with an experienced keeper or an exotics vet.