Advice on caring for blue tongue please...

[user 30368]

I have desided to get myself a bobtail or blue tongue. I have a few questions on their upkeeping.
1st) Is it true they smell bad? I would like to keep one in the house.
2nd) Are they happy to live alone or do they reqire a mate?
3rd) what is a safe substrate to use? I was hoping 100% clay kitty litter was ok as it works wonders for smelly rodents.
lastly) what is a good cage size for a single adult lizard?

Any advice would be appreciated. The "care sheets" all seem to say different things, or only provide info on lizards in pits.

 

[dihsmaj]

1) Depends on whether you spotclean the tank daily etc.
2) Happy to live alone, in fact it's recommended to house them alone.
3) I use Kritter's Crumble.
Lastly) 4ft long +

 

[GeckoRider]

1. They wont smell if your on top of Its hygiene Just cleans its Enclosure..
2. They are fine alone But some do like company.. (Males will fight males and Females will breed.. so if you dont want Fighting or babies try get two females)
3. i Just use some Sand left over from when i had fishes..
4. Get as large of a surface area as you can they will be fine with 3ft X 2ft X 2ft

 

[HonestPirate]

Also- they grow faster if you lick them.

 

[GeckoRider]

Also- they grow faster if you lick them.

Hmm i thought that only worked for cane toads...

 

[user 30368]

Also- they grow faster if you lick them.

well duh! What doesn't!

 

[ajandj]

Blueys are great. Better off only having 1 and l had a 4 foot tank. I use Dr Harry's cat litter and it's great. Spot clean everyday. I found the only time mine got really smelly is when l fed raw egg.. oh my gosh.. but other than that as long as you spot clean they are fine.

 

[user 30368]

Awesome. Thanks for the advice everyone I have a heat cord, can i put that in its substrate at the hot end under the UV light?

 

[GeckoRider]

Awesome. Thanks for the advice everyone I have a heat cord, can i put that in its substrate at the hot end under the UV light?

As long as it dosnt get too hot sure why not

 

[HonestPirate]

Also- they grow faster if you lick them.

See now THATS sig worthy. Such a safe comment that could not possibly be misconstrued or taken out of context, right ?

I'm hoping Saximus gets banned so people don't read his sig and think I'm some kind of perverted nipple lover.

well duh! What doesn't!

BAHAHAHA thats what she said.

But to answer the question truthfully; I only have one answer for you:


Midgets.

 

[lizardman59]

yeh there only stinky if you fed the eggs if you clean every day should be fine can be housed in a 3x2x2 enclosure i have a 100 watt basking lamp for winter and 75 60 watt for summer i feed mine mxed vegies evry day and meaty food once a week i also use reptile bark for substrate a bit pricey but favourite substrate i have ever used.

 

[HonestPirate]

...back on topic though be careful with the heat cord they get pretty hot and if thelitter you use is paper-based you might end up with a fire-breathing dragon.

I find I get sweet temps with the heat cord UNDERNEATH my glass enclosures instead of inside them. Just use some tape to secure it underneath in a wiggly kinda pattern so it covers a third of the floor area and BAM: your lizard will be warm.

Blueys will eat anything though; be careful with stuff like cat and dog food though (they love it), but man does it stink ! That's why I stopped feeding it to my wife man her workmates kept complaining.

Also- for substrate- you can get 20kg bags of Cypress mulch (bark kinda stuff) from Bunnings for like $13 bucks a pop and that stuff hides odours like a BOSS. And lasts ages. It might not have a lizard on the packaging, but Im fairly sure that expensive lizard bark doesnt come from a special magical place where the trees are grown to be lizard-friendly.

 

[user 30368]

so a heat cord under the glass tank wont require a thermostat? I have been given bad advice in the past with my snake and axolotls. So really wanna know what i am doing so i dont hurt the little critter. Not 2 months ago i was advised to use a heat rock. Cut a long story short - i burnt my stimi's stomach. I dont want to do the same to a lizard. What are their personalities like? Are they friendly?

 

[ajandj]

my bluey was just the best.. he would curl up on my lap or climb up and snuggle round my kneck.. bit of a bitch when you have long hair cause he would angle himself into it. Mine showed no aggression, i have been bitten and it hurts like a ... but twas my own fault, l had been cooking and hadn't washed my hands when l went to handle him. Personally, l use a thermostat, l don't use heat cords because l have a wooden tank. Not able to attach to the bottom and as mentioned, with a paper based substrate l was very concerned. I did buy a heat rock off ebay real cheap but when l got it l did research and l have NEVER used it. I've heard too many storys of blueys and beardie being burnt. I have also learnt that you have to be carefully what you put under the basking light. I bought a fibreglass hide and thought it would make a real cool basking spot. It got real hot.. l couldn't hold my hand on it. It's fine down the cool end.

 

[dihsmaj]

Guys, 4ft long.

 

[user 30368]

I did buy a heat rock off ebay real cheap but when l got it l did research and l have NEVER used it. I've heard too many storys of blueys and beardie being burnt. .

yes - heat rocks are EVIL!!! I burnt my poor stimson on one of those. I use it as decoration in her cage now, and will never plug it in again.

I'm thinking i will use a glass fish tank. I know it wont melt, i can see the lizard with glass, and it'll be easy to keep clean.

Guys, 4ft long.

thats what i was thinking. they grow quite large, dont they? They need room to romp, skip and bound Are the girls bigger than boys? Or are they much of a muchness?