BLUE TONGUE SKINKS

Hello I have been doing some research on blue tongues and I am thinking seriously about getting a young one if I can find one. Unfortunately my knowledge is limited on them so any advice or help about them would be greatly appreciated. I understand a pet like this will require special needs and care, but I believe I can be a good caretaker and friend to a blue tongue skink.

Welcome to the Site!

it's great to have you here. As everyone will say - you couldn't choose a better reptile than a bluey.

Have you read the caresheet? it has Everything you need to know to get started. There is a downloadable file there too - so you don't have to keep logging on to have a read.

Where abouts are you situated? If you're in the states - baby time is coming, and there are plenty of people on here that are breeding their blueys.

Zach (site owner) is breeding his lot, Andrew Seike always breeds his lot, and Ray Gurgui is also always breeding. There are lots of other people on here that are breeding too, so just keep watching the threads, and the classifieds on the site - and you should find a great bluey.

I would suggest you buy a bluey from someone on here rather than getting one from a pet store if you are in the states as alot of them are wild caught blueys and well apart from parisites and things of that nature - it's just wrong for these stores to be sellign wild caught ones when you can get a great captive bred one from a breeder.

So don't forget to check out the caresheet (top menu) and keep an eye out for babies on here!

Oh also, I guarantee that once you get one bluey - you'll want a heap more!

Luke

WELCOME!

You will enjoy Blue Tongue Skinks very much if you do chose to take one into your family!

The caresheet on the main page of this site is EXCELLENT and there are many owners/keepers/breeders on this site that will be able to help you out and just chat with as well. There are many points of view and levels of expertise and care, as well as many from ALL OVER the world. I hope that you will obtain all the help and information you need and decide on a great new addition to your family and life in a Bluey!


Good luck with your decision and feel free to ask many questions and share your thoughts on here!

and again...

Thanks guys, I will DEFINITELY observe the caresheet thuroughly. Thanks for the advice, I see breeders are the best bet for a good blue tongue. Yes, I am located in the states. California to be exact. I will be checking the forums quite frequently to find out all the info that is needed. I want to the be the best possible caretaker I can be for one and to show it all the love and care it needs to be healthy and happy. Thanks again guys.

Since you are in California, I would look up Andrew Seike at www.seikereptiles.com for a WONDERFUL baby blue tongue. You can also get them from the other breeders that would be more then willing to ship in the states:

Ray Gurgui:
http://community-2.webtv.net/rgurgui/ThunderBayHerp/

and also ON this site, Zach has some great babies...you can just PM him or go to the main page and look around for the babies being advertised!

I also found another good breeder in Nevada:

www.captivebred.com

All of these would be good choices to obtain a great baby from in my opinion, depending on the type of bluey you want (Northern, Eastern, Irian Jaya, Indonesian, Tanimbar, etc.).

ok, for sales on this site, you can click on the "Sales" link on the top right of the main page...just thought I would better state that. Those will be Zach's babies and he is already taking reservations it seems!

keep an eye on the classifieds in the forum index too. There are always posts in there.

What type of blue tongues are good for first timers? Or are they all good first timers?

ZereX wrote:What type of blue tongues are good for first timers? Or are they all good first timers?

It really depends on your wants/desires...

Most say that Northerns are probably the best "beginner" blueys, but Irian Jaya take a close second with Easterns right up there (if you can find them)...Tanimbars and Indonesians can be harder to deal with OR they can be wonderful animals...if you like a little "spunk" then Tannies or Indos are great! In my opinion Shinglebacks are the best...but they are hard to find outside of Australia and a pretty penny...

Then you have Blotchies, another wonderful (though sometimes spunky) choice, Centralians (I hear they are shy....), and Westerns (haven't heard much about)...all of those are very hard to find and expensive outside of Australia...

In the end, my thought is that Northerns would probably be your best choice...or Irian Jaya if you prefer the coloration of those?

out of all of them - I reckon blotchies are the coolest "pets".

Aussie northerns are meant to be nasty - don't know how much faith i put in that though. Shingles are probably the best for adults and kids due to their easy going attitude, but they fetch a massive price tag where you are.

Which reminds me - I saw a HUGE shingle at the pet store today. there were 2 of them for $100 each. MASSIVE they were.

Hmm I see. Very helpful thank you. I will look more into it.

i love shingles hoping to get one soon...but my mum is nervous about me getting one, she is nervous that if it bit me i would probly break several fingers

Welcome to the the forum! As a first timer I got a Northern and was thrilled. They are incredibly laid back ... even on a bad day my boy is a cream puff. Here's a picture for your viewing pleasure ...


Good luck with your search.

I would put my vote in for the Northern. They are super mellow and the price is not bad.

I have heard from everyone on here that Northerns are great, I keep Easterns and they are both great handlers and extremely mellow.
Either of these would probably make a great 'pet' for you!

im really considering a northern too especially the kimberley phase there awsome

they are cool - but they do need more heat than easterns or blotchies.

alot more heat??

well I went and got another bulb for my guy and I've had it come on and off over night and it's been on since 9am this morning til 8pm - off now til 9pm, On from 9pm - 10pm, off from 10pm - 11pm, on from 11pm - 12am, off from 12am - 5am, on from 5am - 6am, off from 6am - 7am, on from 7am - 8am, off from 8am - 9am, then from 9am til 8pm and repeat that cycle.

He's been out and about more - I dont have a digital thermometer but i do have an analogue thermometer and it seems to be ok in there. I'll get a reading when the light comes back on.

Welcome! Have fun and good luck finding a baby...