Blue Tongue Skinks are popular pet lizards and after you read this blog article detailing the top five things the Backwater Reptiles Team loves about them, you’ll know why!

1. Blue Tongue Skinks are the dachshunds of the lizard world. Blue tongues, or “blueys” as they are more commonly known, grow to be quite long, slender, and low to the ground. Their legs are also rather short and squat in proportion to the rest of their body. Overall, they remind us of weiner dogs…if weiner dogs were lizards, that is!

2. Blueys are generally super friendly. While the young lizards can be a bit squirrelly, once you get them used to being handled and they learn that you are not a threat to them, they become really docile. Due to their leg size, these skinks are not quick animals and as they grow larger, they generally slow down considerably. Many blueys will even sit and watch TV with you on the couch or enjoy a good chin and head rubbing.

3. Blue Tongues are relatively low maintenance animals. The only real “obstacle” to owning a blue tongue is that they usually need to be housed separately in fairly large enclosures. If you can meet the space requirement, they only need a substrate that allows them to burrow, a varied omnivorous diet, and appropriate heat and basking lamps.

4. Like many reptiles that are bred in captivity, blue tongues are available in different color morphs. From albino to melanistic to leucistic to patternless, blue tongue skinks have been captive bred to express genes that make their scales various colors and patterns that vary from the traditional coloring. They are essentially “designer” lizards – if you’re willing to cough up the dinero!

5. Blue Tongue Skinks have blue tongues! This might seen fairly obvious, but it’s true. The first time you see your pet bluey’s tongue, you will fall in love. It’s particularly endearing when they lick something other than food.

We hope you enjoyed reading about why we love these amiable sausage lizards. If you’re interested in a Bluey of your own, we offer captive bred baby blue tongue skinks for sale as well as medium to large blue tongue skinks for sale.