Getting a Pink tongued skink

[kat2005dodi]

Hi, I have had a Pink Tounge for about 4yrs now, I keep in an enclosure outside over Summer and bring him inside over Winter. He is probably not as calm as my Bluey, but that could just be the individual. I feed mine, a good mix of egg mixed with a little mince, pinkies, bugs, fruit (banana/tomato etc) and veges (peas and corn or sometimes mash that I make for myself) pretty much what ever he eats. I bought mine from a pet shop in Brisbane, Enjoy you llizard.

 

[hornet]

i cant see why not

---------- Post added 03-Jan-11 at 07:27 AM ----------

Hi, I have had a Pink Tounge for about 4yrs now, I keep in an enclosure outside over Summer and bring him inside over Winter. He is probably not as calm as my Bluey, but that could just be the individual. I feed mine, a good mix of egg mixed with a little mince, pinkies, bugs, fruit (banana/tomato etc) and veges (peas and corn or sometimes mash that I make for myself) pretty much what ever he eats. I bought mine from a pet shop in Brisbane, Enjoy you llizard.

so they do eat fruit and veggies? Good to hear, got any pics of you guy ?

 

[Tiliqua]

With all due respect, you guys are making things way too complex for what is possibly the easiest skink to keep.
A 60cm square terrarium is great and will house a pair comfortably. If they naturally occur in your area, you will not need heating, I didn't heat them in Sydney nor have I ever provided UV and have bred them on a number of occassions.
Both juveniles and adults will readliy accept tinned cat food such as whiskas meat varieties. I provided snails when possible and they seemed to put on more condition when provided with snails only for a few feedings in a row.
Juveniles are more difficult to keep than adults, as thye come out the size of garden skinks when born, and snails need to be diced small (I've witnessed one baby choke on a piece of snail and pass away in my hand). So i used tinned food on juveniles.
Humidity is about as important to these guys as it is eastern blue tongues, it really isn't a huge issue.
There's a great caresheet in John Weigel's book 'Care of Australian Reptiles in Captivity', which I used as my starting point 13 years ago and still holds well to todays keeping standards.
Enjoy!

 

[Snakeluvver2]

Thanks Tiliqua

 

[snakeluvver]

Just did an internet search and found good priced outdoor pits. Can pink tongues live in them happily?

 

[Tiliqua]

Yeah mate, outdoor pits and aviaries are fine. However 3 things:
1. They are a much sleeker/slender lizard than the average bluey, so make sure the enclosure has a bottom or the walls are sunk into the ground to prevent squeezing out or climbing
2. If they breed outside the babies are the size of garden skinks, so good luck finding them all in an outdoor pit
3. The head to hind leg length of the average adult is about 40% of the total length, they are a small to medium sized lizard. Smaller lizards are better indoors in my opinion, as you see all their eating, basking, breeding behaviours up close. Also if anything goes wrong with the animal, (etc a physical wound, scale rot etc) it's easier to notice if they are indoors and maintained on their own.

 

[snakeluvver]

My only concern is I've just researched cocopeat / coirpeat and I'm worried about nematodes. Will they be an issue with pink tongues? If so, can I just keep them on reptile bark?

 

[snakeluvver]

Also, I have a fish tank with a glass lid, would it be ok with the glass lid or would I need to fix in a mesh lid?

 

[snakeluvver]

^^^^^ can someone answer those questions please.

 

[Tiliqua]

I'm worried about nematodes. Will they be an issue with pink tongues?

About as much a worry as they are to any other lizard on cocopeat. If it worries you that much worm your animals.

would it be ok with the glass lid or would I need to fix in a mesh lid/QUOTE]
Mesh lid. Allows ventilation, keeps unwanted hands and animals out and if correctly fitting won't allow any escape for them. Nice to see your researching, maybe read the article from a back issue of 'Reptiles Australia Magazine' written by Jason Luke. Don't complicate things.

 

[snakeluvver]

Thanks for the info Tiliqua, where can I get someone to fix a mesh lid onto it?
I bought John Weigel's book, its helped me a bit