A bright blue tongue
When threatened it opens its pink mouth wide and sticks out a vivid blue tongue. The shock is often enough to send a bird away.
Lizards · Time every day
Blue-tongued skink
Lizard · from Australia and New Guinea
A heavy, smooth, sausage-shaped lizard with short legs, dark bands across its back and a bright blue tongue.
- Size
- 45 to 60cm long
- Lives for
- 15 to 20 years
- Suits
- Owners with space for a large floor tank
Shuffles after you, tongue flicking. Move your pointer and see.
Good to know
Six things about the blue-tongued skink
No eggs
It gives birth to live young, not eggs.
Tiny legs
Its legs are so short that its belly slides along the ground.
It eats nearly anything
Snails, insects, fruit, flowers and leaves are all on the menu.
A garden visitor
In Australia it lives in back gardens, where people welcome it because it eats slugs and snails.
Easily tamed
It is slow, sturdy and usually calm about being held.
The real thing
Photos of the blue-tongued skink
Photos are from Wikimedia Commons, used under the free licences shown. They have been resized, and cropped where they appear in link previews.
Looking after one
It needs a floor tank at least 120cm long with a basking spot, an ultraviolet lamp and deep bedding to burrow in. Feed a mix of vegetables, fruit and insects or lean meat.
Before you get one
Blue-tongues are hardy and good-natured, but they are large lizards that need a large tank for twenty years.
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