Blue-tongue skink: content, care, feeding. Blue-tongue skink at home

Giant blue-tongued skink is a large lizard with a smooth body. These terrific animals are called terrarium owners "domestic cats", as they are affectionate, friendly and not aggressive, although in some cases you need to be careful with them. But if you think about it, the cat can also scratch and bite painfully if something annoys it. In nature there are about eight kinds of skinks. The name of these amazing creatures was due to the bright blue language. Each species was named according to the territory on which it lives. The blue-tongued skink lives and develops at home perfectly, the contents and care are quite simple. To maintain the number of artificial populations of lizards, selection work is widespread. You can buy this miracle of nature with blue language in any nursery, but you can read about it in this article about how to take care of it and what it is.

Lizard blue tongue skink: description

The description of this lizard is worth starting with her unusual blue tongue. To date, scientists have not been able to pinpoint the cause of this color. According to one version, it is believed that the contrast of the pink mouth and the blue color of the tongue helps to deter enemies. According to another version - during the nuptial period, males, showing each other their language, as if measured by their dignity, proving their superiority.

The adult giant blue-tongued skink grows to a length of 50 cm, some individuals are especially large in size, their length reaches 70 cm. The paws are short with small thin fingers, each with 5 fingers. The tail is not too large, thickened, its length is about 60% of the length of the trunk.

The head is wide triangular in shape, it stands out even against the background of the large body of the lizard. Jaws are powerful, but teeth are not sharp at all, they can be called dull, they rather crush food than chew. Still at skink there is a secondary sky.

Color lizards - gray or gray-brown, on the back of the body can be seen dark brown stripes.

Concluding the description of the appearance of the blue-tongued skink, let us recall the ancient legend, which speaks about how the language of the lizard has acquired a blue color and why it has such short legs. According to legend long ago, to heal his sick master, his faithful skink carried him healing ink in his mouth. He ran very fast, the ink splashed, his paws crashed against sharp stones. Since then, all the skins have a bright blue tongue and short paws. That's such a faithful animal!

Where does the skink live in the wild?

The blue-tongue skink dwells on the Admiral Islands, the Bismarck Archipelago, Indonesia, New Btiren, and New Guinea. Lizards prefer semi-moist and moderately warm areas. Occurs in semi-deserts and wooded areas.

Lifestyle

Most of the life of the blue-tongue skink is on the ground, though able to climb trees. So this lizard can rightfully be called terrestrial. Due to the flat form of the body, animals creep skillfully in vegetation under the lowest branches. Skinks actively behave during the day, but in a hot climate they have to tight, because they do not like the heat and prefer to hide from the heat in cool shelters. For this, both a crack in the soil and a foreign hole can be used, unless, of course, the owner has larger dimensions and does not pose a danger.

By their nature, skinks are individual farmers, in pairs they converge only in the mating season. Sensing the danger, the animal immediately rises into an awesome pose. To scare the enemy, skink sizzles, inflates the body, opening his mouth wide, shows a blue tongue. The contrast of the tongue and the pink mouth, as mentioned earlier, should frighten the opponent. It turns out, of course, not always.

Because of the short paws, the blue-tongued creatures move slowly, as if swaying from side to side. Watching their gait, you might think that they are clumsy, but it's not at all - when necessary, the lizards become quite agile.

Like all representatives of this genus, skinks periodically moult. In order to rip off dead old skin, they rub against tree trunks or stones. So if you are keeping at home, you need to make sure that there are some solid objects in the terrarium for this purpose.

Blue-tongue skink: content

Lizards of this species can safely live up to 20-25 years with proper care. Blue-tongue skink in the home conditions of special hassle and difficulties in the maintenance of its owner will not deliver. But some rules must be adhered to necessarily.

The very first thing is to take care that the animal is kept in a suitable "house" for it. The terrarium for the blue-tongued skink should be at least 140 liters. It is recommended to use newsprint or artificial peat for the substrate. It is forbidden to use cedar, shavings of pine and aspen for such purposes.

In order for the lizard to hide, it is necessary to place several boxes in the terrarium. Plants are desirable, but not in large quantities. Above, a cover with holes for ventilation is necessary. To maintain a low level of humidity, one can put wet moss in one of the boxes. Fresh fresh water is also needed , it must be changed every day, thoroughly washing with a saucer.

Reproduction

The lascivious period of the lizards comes in the autumn, and before the pairing, the ritual of courtship always takes place. The female demonstratively paced before the chosen one, showing him all her beauty. Ready for sexual intercourse, the male grabs the female by the neck, only so the fertilization will be normal.

Pregnancy lasts about four months, the number of newborn babies can be from 5 to 20. The blue-tongue skink is a viviparous lizard. During the gestation, the female forms the yolk placenta, when the embryos reach maturity, they appear on the light together with the placenta, which is immediately eaten.

Skinks are born large and become independent almost from the first minutes of life. After just a couple of days they first molt, then feed themselves, without the help of my mother. Within six months, young lizards change their teeth, they become completely adults.

How and what to feed the blue-tongue skink?

Blue-tongue skink is considered an omnivorous lizard, it eats both vegetable food and animal. 40% of the ration consists of vegetables and some fruits, and 60% are small mice, insects, varana feeds or canned canned food.

At home, you need to make sure that the skink, which is completely illegible in food, does not eat anything harmful to its body. It is also necessary to maintain the vitamin balance by adding special additives for reptiles to feed. They are sold in any veterinary pharmacy.

If you take good care of your pet, then he will live next to you for many years, pleasing his beautiful and healthy appearance.