Blue Tongue Lizard As Pets

The Blue Tongue Lizard makes a great first reptile pet They will eat almost anything and are quiet slow moving so are easy to handle. Blue Tongues are very hardy and can live up to 20 years. Blue Tongues can take a bit of time to get used to you and will give of a harmless hiss when you go near them but are completly harmless and most will eventally become settled with regular handling. When handing lie them flat on your arm cradled agaist your chest so all thier legs feel like they are on the ground. The Blue Tongue Lizard is native to Australia and can be found in most states. They are commonly seen in the suburbs basking in the sun to absorb the heat and at night or colder months shelter under leaves, logs and rocks..

An adult Blue Tongue Lizard requires no less than 4x 2ftx 2ft high reptile enclosure. Blue tongue Lizards are not really climbers so more ground space is required over height. You will require reptile lighting and heating. The best BTL substrate is an approved reptile bark and you will need some reptile furniture (Reptile hide logs, water bowls etc).

Lighting

Blue Tongue Lizards love and need to absorb UVA / UVB rays. Natural Ultra Violet light can be substituted by using a compact .5 UV light. You should run on a timer for at least 8 to 10 hours a day. You can not beat Natural sunlight and if possible you should give your Bluey a few hours of natural sunlight each day. This can be done using an outdoor reptile enclosure or reptile cage.

Reptile Heating

Blue Tongue Lizards like all reptiles do not produce body heat and therefore need heat from the sun or thier surroundings. You can do this in your blue tongue lizard enclosure by using a Reptile Heat mat and/or a Reptile Heatlight. Heat lights or heat globes simply just produce heat these should be used on a thermostat they are generally not required at night in areas that blue tongues are commonly found as it gets cooler at night natrually. Temperature should be between 28o and 35oC. Remember you are not trying to heat the whole reptile enclosure just a spot in the enclosure (Basking Spot). Heat mats can be used to form a warmer basking point on the ground.

What to Feed your Blue Tongue Lizard

The Blue Tongue Lizard will eat almost every kind of fruit and vegetables. Live insects Woodies, Snails, and Beetles. They will eat most raw meats and it is not uncommon for them to eat your cat or dogs food. As any lizard mix up the diet a bit to keep them healthy and happy. Feed as much as they will comsume in 5 minutes.

Water

Blue Tongue Lizards love to lap up water so a shallow water bowl should be used and regularly cleaned and changed. The Blue tongue should be able to get in and out of the water bowl