Blue Tounge Skinks

[tweets_4611]

I have been vaguely looking into lizards, and have started looking closers at BTS. They seem to be pretty docile and a neat first lizard that isn't too jumpy. It will be at least two years (when I'll graduate school) before I get anything other than another ball, but I was interested in seeing if any other forum members had experiances/pictures with these cool lizards.

Also, does anyone know if there is any personality/activity difference in the different localities?

[Ophiuchus]

I had one many moons ago and this January, my girlfriend and I got a baby. The little piglet is huge now! I'm more of a snake guy myself, but I'll say that BTS are easily one of my favorite pet lizards. They'll eat pretty much anything and have great personalities, while being decent-sized, but not gigantic lizards.

I'm not sure about the different localities. I've been told that the Indonesian BTS (T. gigas) are a little snappy compared to the rest, but my first BTS was an Indo, and she was a doll. (shrugs) If they truly are, its not by much, IMO.

Here's our baby!

[waltah!]

BTS's are awesome! They like a good mixture of foods as seen in the pic below. They tend to hiss when you first touch them in the tank, then they are sweethearts. They get big enough that you don't feel like you're gonna break them, but not huge.

[Argentra]

BTS!! BTS!! My ultimate dream reptile... They are the greatest lizard out there.

Big (and slow) enough to handle regularly, most actually seem to enjoy being held, they don't ONLY eat smelly crickets, they're beautiful... I could go on forever.
The only big drawback is that they need a BIG enclosure with lots of floor space. That, and the price, is why I don't have one yet.

If you can provide the space, varied diet, warmth and money to get one, then Go For It!! I've loved them ever since I bonded with the two at the zoo I worked at. The female loved to wrap around the back of my neck like a stole and gave regular skink kisses.

[tweets_4611]

Thanks so much for the replys! ^_^ I know it will be quite a while before I can get one. This is actually one of many post I have made looking for more information on animals I can't get any time soon. Every few months it seems like I find a new reptile that I would *love* to have, but don't have the time or money for yet. I figure it can't hurt to start early, and this way I can figure out what I really want, instead of just "oh! that's cool". Also, I really like hearing what people have to say about them, and I love the pictures!!

One more quick question I haven't seen an answer to yet (it may be due to lazyness....) About what is the life span for a BTS?

[Patrick Long]

Best Lizard in the world!!!!

Here is Orloff, my girlfriend has had him for over 6 years, and he was an adult then.

[SilverWolf]

BTS are great. The boyfriend and I have two. A really good site to check out would be http://www.bluetongueskinks.net/blue.htm. The average life span is about 20 years with reports of them living up to 30 years in captivity.

Here are our two BTS.

The little one:


The big one:


Great that you are doing lots of research before hand.