BLUE TONGUE SKINKS

Does anyone know if certain kinds of rocks for basking may give off toxins or otherwise be harmful to bluey's?

I found a nice landscaping rock under the dirt in my garden but am unsure as to what kind of rock it is. Just don't want to subject Sammy to something harmful...

I have used slate, tiles from Lowes, and sedona red rock, all of them I put in the oven for an hour at 450 degrees, then let them cool overnight. I have heard others that scrub them down with a bleach/water mixture but i dont like using bleach. Most rocks are ok.

Just give it a good ol bake and it should be fine.

Well, here's a pic of the rock I was talking about. It's more orange/red than the photo is showing.



I think I'm taking it out anyway because it doesn't seem to be heating up enough on the surface. It doesn't feel warm to the touch even after being under the basking light for hours. But when I take a temp with my laser pointer, it says 93 degrees. Is it okay that the surface isn't hot to the touch?

It won't feel warm unless it is more than 98.6 degrees, your body temperature. Its big, so it won't heat up quickly, but, it will cool down slowly.

Dont panic mate unless its kryptonite and your little superman starts melting looks like it'd be perfect for the nails and a great shed scratching post

Yeah, the large natural rocks will take quite a while to heat up opposed to thin basking tiles. Like nomad said though, they will retain heat a lot longer. Is it like a pomace or lava rock? I've found those don't hold heat well at all.

My little super skink doesn't have to worry about Krytonite. I think I can identify that one! lol

Sammy seems to be spending more time on this rock than she did on her previous basking tile. I wonder if she didn't like the heat from the hotter basking surface under her feet or belly before. As long as they get the heat on them from above, do they absolutely HAVE to have a warm surface under them to digest food? I figure in the wild, they may sit in the sun on grass or dirt that hasn't been heated up that much...

How long's it been in your set up? if food has been consumed and sun bathing done, then as long as the process ends with a turn out, its got to be fine.

Because it stays cooler, he needs more time to warm up on it.

Basically, lizards want to bask as quickly as possible, so they can forage for food. Then, as they cool down, they need to bask again, so again, they try to do it as quickly as possible. Time spent basking means time out in the open, in view of predators.

However, in captivity, a cooler basking spot means more time spent to be viewed by us.

However, in captivity, a cooler basking spot means more time spent to be viewed by us.

Yay for me!

I'm still deciding whether I'm keeping this rock or not. I may keep it until the colder months and then replace it with slate or a flat tile again so she'll feel the warmth when she lays on it.

Thanks for the advice and info. guys!

Good luck! The neat thing is you can always swap anything out any time.

If she brumates the rock will be unused {mostly}anyway