Caring for Pink tongue skinks

Aussie Pythons & Snakes Forum

Help Support Aussie Pythons & Snakes Forum:

This site may earn a commission from merchant affiliate links, including eBay, Amazon, and others.
Status
Not open for further replies.

Jlaw0786

Not so new Member
Joined
Dec 1, 2008
Messages
16
Reaction score
0
Location
NSW
Hi all, today I was lucky enough to get my hands on a beautiful pink tongue skink off a person that couldn't keep it anymore, I've researched a bit about the basics of caring for them but have found that there's not a heap of info out there and that the few sites I have seen have had some pretty different care advice compared to each other so it has been a little confusing, so if I could get some advice from anyone with experience with pink tongues it would be greatly appreciated. Also I am curious to know if they are capable of being housed with other species such as small dragons or skinks?? Cheers...
 
Hi,
I've had a pink tongue since just before Christmas so I'm definitely not an expert, just keep that in mind.
What I've learnt so far is that its very similar to blue tongue care, which you'll be able to find lot of information about. The main differences I've noticed (not having kept blue tongues) is that they are excellent climbers and that you will need to source snails or slugs for their diet. This makes up something like 70% of their diet in the wild so they need quite a lot, although mine seems to be doing ok on a bit less than what I should probably be giving him. When I first got him I picked up a can of exoterra snails and fed him those. It took a little while for him to try them becuase he had previously been eating live snails but he seemed to thrive ok on those for a couple of months. I also have a large garden with lots of snails in it. Since we don't use any pesticides ect I grabbed some of those, purged them (fed them carrots till their excrement was orange and then straved them), froze them for a month and then cut them up for him to eat over the next couple of weeks. I'm hoping these will have a little more nutrients then the canned ones.
As well as snails and slugs they eat a lot of different types of veg, I suggest you get a frozen pack of mized diced veg and keep that handy. Mine likes peas and corn especially and will eat (softened) carrot, and a few other things I chuck in now and then. He also likes cut of grapes, plum and nectarine. You have to be careful with some fruit and vege like lettuce and tomato as they are mainly water and don't have that many nutrients (apparently). Mine will also eat mealworms now and then which is a good addition, but I've heard a lot of people saying theirs wouldnt touch them. Mine ignored crickets completely. I don't know if you have other lizards but you will need a calcium supplement for its scales to grow properly after each time it sheds.
Apart from that its pretty standard lizard care. You just have to be careful with their climbing as mine has travelled all the way up my curtains and had fun in the curtain rings like a snake. They can be very surprising, especially if you are used to blue tongues. :)
Let me know if you have anymore questions as I know I had trouble getting information too when I was looking at getting mine.
 
Cheers squidlinc, thx for the helpful reply. I do keep many other lizards and have been for a long time now but ive never had a pink tongue before, I fed him some veg today and he ate a little bit but i think his still concerned about the new surroundings atm, I don't seem to get many snails around my house so I might have to go searching for them. What temps did u keep him at? And the only other thing I'm wondering is if there ok to live with same size bearded dragons or angle headed dragons???
 
Can't help with the other lizard prob sorry, I only have him and my spotted. I just keep him at the temp recommended for blue tongues.
 
Do not house with any other species, Pinkies require some humidity as well, I mist my enclosure morning at arvo. I keep mine at ambiant temps in summer, give him a 50w moonlight bulb and add a small 7 watt heat mat under a large slate paver for winter. Some people will say it isnt neccessary but in summer I have a 5.0 uvb globe which he sits under in the later part of the day. We have had our pinky for 5-6 years now and he is just a dream to look after, very simple.
 
Status
Not open for further replies.

Latest posts

Back
Top