Both blue tongue skinks are bearded dragons make amazing pet lizards, but they still have differences. Bearded dragon vs. blue tongue skinks – which is a better pet for you? We will cover bearded dragon vs. blue tongue skink differences – and have a head to head comparison, so you can decide which makes a better pet for you.
Bearded dragon vs blue tongue skink characteristics
- Lifespan
- Size
- Diet
- Cage size
- Looks
- Friendliness and personality
- Brumation
- Health
- Breeding
- Activity time
- Lighting, heating and humidity needs
- Living in groups
- Suitability for beginners
- Cleanliness
- Biting
- Costs
- Tail dropping
1: Lifespan
Blue tongue skink: Blue tongue skinks live for up to 15-20 years. Some can live for up to 25 years, but that is not common.
Bearded dragon: On average, bearded dragons live for up to 7-12 years. Some bearded dragons can live up to 15 years, but that is not very common.
Verdict: While it will mainly depend on care and life quality, blue tongue skinks live longer than most bearded dragons.
2: Size
Blue tongue skink: Adult blue tongue skinks reach 18-23.6 inches long (45-60cm). Your blue tongue skink will reach its adult size at around 12-24 months old (some will take even longer).
Bearded dragon: Adult bearded dragons reach 17-24 inches (43-61cm). Apart from classic bearded dragons, there are also dwarf and giant species. German giant bearded dragons reach 22-24 inches (56-61cm), while Dwarf ones – 10-14 inches (25-35.6cm). Bearded dragons reach their adult size at around 18-24 months old.
Verdict: Bearded dragons and blue tongue skinks reach the similar size. Adult bearded dragons and blue tongue skinks also reach similar weight – they weigh around 300-600 grams, sometimes up to 800 grams.
3: Diet
Blue tongue skink: Blue tongue skinks don’t need to eat much at all and are also omnivorous (eat both protein foods and vegetation). Young blue tongues under 5 months old will need to be fed 6 times a week, 5-10 months old – up to 3 times a week. But adult will eat only 1-2 times a week.
Portion sizes will also be small (few tablespoons). Younger blue tongue will need to eat more protein, while adults – 60% veggies, greens, fruit and 40% protein.
Blue tongues can eat various form of protein – lean meat, premium dog food (cat food allowed for younger skinks due to high protein), snails, live bugs and rarely mice or some cooked eggs.
You can read a complete guide to blue tongue skink diet in this post.
Bearded dragon: Bearded dragons are also omnivorous, and need to eat both insects and vegetables, greens and some fruit. Also, bearded dragons will need to eat every day, and babies will eat 2-4 times a day (less with age).
Bearded dragons will need to eat mainly feeder bugs, but after reaching 12 months old, it will have to be primarily veggies and greens (5x/week with greens vs 2x/week with bugs. Portion sizes will differ – but young bearded dragons will need to eat a lot of small bugs (around 100 crickets a week, for example).
You can read a full guide on bearded dragon diet in this post.
Verdict: Blue tongue skinks can eat a bigger variety of foods – with smaller portions. Bearded dragons will need to eat mainly insects when young (a lot of them), but after reaching adulthood will mainly consume vegetation, which becomes much easier.
4: Cage size
Blue tongue skink: Adult blue tongue skinks require 55 or more gallons tank to be happy (at least 36″ long, 18″ wide and 18″ tall). A bare minimum is 40 gallons, but that is not recommended at all. Blue tongues have short legs and will need primarily floor space.
In a small tank, you won’t be able to add enough enrichment accessories and your blue tongue will get bored and unhappy.
You can read a full guide about choosing a tank for your blue tongue here.
Bearded dragon: Adult bearded dragons need a 55 or more gallons tank to thrive and be happy. A bare minimum is also 40 gallons, but not recommended. The tank has to be at least 36″ long, 18″ wide and 18-24″ tall like this). Tank has to be wide and have some height for moderate climbing.
You can find a complete guide on choosing a tank for your bearded dragon in this post.
Verdict: Blue tongue skinks and bearded dragons require very similarly sized tanks. While babies and juveniles will need a smaller tank, adults will thrive in a 55+ gallon tank.
5: Looks
Blue tongue skink: Blue tongue skinks have similarities with monitors and even snakes, and a grayish body with caramel or brown stripes. They also have cute short legs, so they cannot properly climb, only clamber. And of course – blue tongues have a signature blue tongue that they use to scare off predators.
Bearded dragon: Classic bearded dragons are brown/yellowish in color, with small spots and scales around the body. The signature feature of bearded dragons is a throat, that they can puff up when scared. Breeders have cross-bred bearded dragons, leading to creation of various beautiful color morphs.
Verdict: Blue tongue skinks have a grey body with smooth skin and scales, while bearded dragons – a brown body with spikes (which are not sharp).
6: Friendliness and personality
Blue tongue skink: Most blue tongue skinks can become very tame and friendly. While there are various species of blue tongue skinks, in general the friendliest tend to be Northerns, Blotched, Irian Jaya, Merauke and Shinglebacks. Tanimbars are known to stay feisty and hissy throughout their lifetime, but it’s not always true.
Blue tongues are indeed intelligent and can bond with their owners very well. Most can be shy but curious once tame, and love coming out of the tank to explore and sitting on your lap. If you don’t interact with your blue tongue skink too much, it will spend most of its day burrowing and hiding.
Bearded dragon: Bearded dragons are also friendly and great for handling. Most bearded dragons are friendly and don’t mind handling at all. Bearded dragons also love coming out of the tank (some will ask for it by scratching on glass) and exploring. They love climbing, sitting on shoulders and spending time with their owners.
Verdict: Both blue tongue skink and bearded dragon are friendly pet lizards. Blue tongue skinks tend to be more intelligent and even recognize the owner, while bearded dragons tend to be friendly even with strangers. Also, blue tongues tend to be more laid back, while bearded dragons – more active. But it depends on each lizard’s personality.
7: Brumation
Blue tongue skink: Blue tongue skinks can brumate during colder months of the year. Brumation in blue tongue skinks often lasts for around a month, but can be as long as 2-3 months. Not all blue tongue skinks will brumate (not common with Indonesian species).
Bearded dragon: Bearded dragons can also brumate during colder months of the year. Brumation will last to up to 2-3 months. Not all bearded dragons will brumate.
Verdict: Both blue tongue skinks and bearded dragons can brumate through the winter.
8: Health
Blue tongue skink: Blue tongue skinks are quite hardy. The most common issues can be mouth rot or respiratory infection (make sure to keep humidity levels optimal), toe issues, scale rotting, mites. Other illnesses are same that bearded dragons can suffer from, including MBD, vitamin/mineral deficiencies, injuries, infections (skin or internal) etc.
Bearded dragon: Bearded dragons are also hardy, but can suffer from issues such as MBD, vitamin/mineral deficiencies, gout, infections, injuries and much more. With good care, the chances of a serious illness are greatly reduced.
Verdict: Both blue tongue skinks and bearded dragons are rather hardy, can suffer from illnesses (mainly due to poor care or husbandry mistakes).
9: Breeding
Blue tongue skink: Male blue tongue skinks reach sexual maturity at around 12 months old, while females – at around 24 months old. Blue tongue skinks also give birth to live young! Blue tongue skinks are harder to breed, as female might reject the male and you would need to wait until the next year. Also, females will produce only 4-15 babies at a time.
Bearded dragon: Male bearded dragons reach sexual maturity by the age of 8-10 months, but breeding shouldn’t be attempted before they reach around 18-24 months old.
Female bearded dragons can also lay infertile eggs without breeding with a male. Bearded dragons are quite easy to breed. A female bearded dragon will lay around 2-5 clutches per year, each consisting of 20-40 eggs!
Verdict: Blue tongue skinks are much harder to breed than bearded dragons. Sexual maturity is reached around the same age, but blue tongues produce less babies in one breeding season.
10: Activity time
Blue tongue skink: Blue tongue skinks are diurnal – they are active during the day and sleep at night.
Bearded dragon: Bearded dragons are also diurnal – they are active during the day and sleep at night.
Verdict: Both blue tongue skinks and bearded dragons are active during the day.
11: Lighting, heating and humidity needs
Blue tongue skink: Blue tongue skinks require a high temperature basking spot that can reach 95-105 degrees Fahrenheit (35-40.5 Celsius). You will also need to get a high output UVB tube light (10-12%) and bright light during the day for heat.
Humidity requirements differ for various species. Most species require up to 30-40% humidity, but most Indonesian species and Irian Jaya require very high humidity level spikes, up to 100% for Halmahera.
Bearded dragon: Bearded dragons also require a high temperature basking spot that reaches 92-110 degrees F (33-43 Celsius). They also need high output UVB tube light (10-12%) and bright light during the day. Humidity for bearded dragons should be rather low – at around 30-40%.
Verdict: Blue tongue skinks and bearded dragons require high basking spots and high output UVB tube lights. Some blue tongue skink species will require higher humidity levels than bearded dragons.
12: Living in groups
Blue tongue skink: Blue tongue skinks should not be housed together as they can become aggressive towards each other. However, Shingleback blue tongue skinks (often male and female) can often live together, but it will require a big setup.
Sometimes, Blotched and Eastern blue tongue skinks can also live together but it will depend on their personality. Housing two blue tongue skinks will require a lot of space (minimum 40 gallons for each times 2!).
Bearded dragon: Bearded dragons over few weeks old must not be housed together, they are very competitive and can injure each other for life.
Verdict: Blue tongue skink species should live alone, but some species such as Shinglebacks can live together, while bearded dragons should strictly live alone.
13: Suitability for beginners
Blue tongue skink: Blue tongue skinks have moderate care requirements, and a beginner can definitely take care of one, because most are very friendly and hardy. You will mainly need to think about heat + UVB, humidity and diet. Blue tongue skinks also don’t eat that much.
Bearded dragon: Bearded dragons have moderate care requirements, and a great for beginners. They are also friendly and hardy. Main aspects to get experience and knowledge in – heating and diet.
Taking care of babies under 3-5 months old can be harder, because you will need to feed few times a day, mainly with live bugs. But with time, it will get easier, as it will eat less and mainly vegetation.
Verdict: Both blue tongue skinks and bearded dragons are suitable for beginners because of their care requirements and disposition.
14: Cleanliness
Blue tongue skink: Blue tongue skinks poop around the tank or in water, on the substrate or in water. You will need to clean blue tongue skink’s tank daily (lightly) for poop, uneaten food and water. Also, you will need to perform weekly and monthly deeper cleaning.
Bearded dragon: Bearded dragons also will poop on the substrate, or in water. You can create your own poop routine by letting your bearded dragon poop in a bath, because they get relaxed when in water. This is because bearded dragon poop can be extremely smelly. Light daily cleaning for uneaten food, poop and water is important. As well as deeper weekly and monthly cleaning.
Verdict: Both blue tongue skinks and bearded dragons will need light daily cleaning, plus weekly and monthly deeper cleaning.
15: Biting
Blue tongue skink: Do blue tongue skinks bite? In general, rarely. Blue tongue skinks are very docile and rarely bite their owners. If you notice that your blue tongue is scared or agitated (hissing, open mouth display), then you need to leave it alone to prevent bites.
Bites can also happen by mistake when your blue tongue smells food on your fingers. Blue tongue skink bites can hurt though, and draw some blood.
Bearded dragon: Bearded dragons are also docile and rarely bite their owners. They can bite by mistake or when extremely agitated, but this is uncommon. Bearded dragon bites can hurt and draw some blood.
Verdict: Both are unlikely to bite, and generally ask you to leave them alone by puffing up, making noises and flicking the tail.
16: Costs
Blue tongue skink: Electricity bills (for heating and lighting) can cost $5-10 a month. Food costs will depend on what you are feeding. If you are feeding mainly greens and bugs – it can cost around $20 a month. You can also buy some premium dog food, but that will last for months. Blue tongues eat very little. UVB lights will need replacing once in 6 months.
Bearded dragon: Bearded dragon costs will mainly include electricity costs (for lighting and heating) and food. Electricity bills can be up to $5-10 a month and food costs will vary. UVB lights will need replacing once in 6 months.
As babies mainly eat bugs, it can cost up to $20-40 a week, while for adults – it will be $20-40 a month. Plus, small portions of vegetables, greens and fruits.
Verdict: Costs for owning a blue tongue skink and bearded dragon are very similar. Apart from the initial setup, the costs can be around $20 a month. Young bearded dragons will eat more bugs, but that is only the first 5-7 months of their life. Blue tongues can be a bit cheaper to keep, but the difference is small once they reach adulthood.
Upfront costs are similar (for a setup). But blue tongue skinks cost few times more than bearded dragons (if it’s a classic and not an expensive morph).
17: Tail dropping
Blue tongue skink: While blue tongue skinks do have the ability to drop their tail, it’s very rare that they do in captivity. If stressed, blue tongue skinks mainly puff up, hiss and hide.
Bearded dragon: Bearded dragons don’t drop their tail, which is good news, especially for beginners.
Verdict: Bearded dragons don’t drop their tail, and while blue tongues do have this ability, it’s very rare that they drop their tail in captivity.
Summary
Bearded dragons and blue tongue skinks make amazing pet lizards! If you are ready to think about getting your new companion, you will benefit from choosing the posts to help you pick a healthy pet lizard and things you must know when getting one.
Choosing and getting a bearded dragon pet
A checklist for setting up a bearded dragon tank before bringing it home
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