After you bring your new companion home, you will need to tame your blue tongue skink and bond with it. Sometimes it happens that your blue tongue skink is not new in your home and still needs taming. In this post, you will learn tips and tricks on taming your blue tongue skink and how to bond with your blue tongue skink. Tips apply for both new and existing pets.
How to tame your blue tongue skink?
Step 1: Give it time to acclimatize and settle down
The first step after you bring your blue tongue skink home is to let it get used to its new surroundings and you. For this, it’s very important to have a fully setup tank.
Very important are hides – please have at least 2 hides in your tank. Your blue tongue skink is very likely to spend most of its first days or even weeks in hides. For hides, you can get something like this big cave, or even make your own out of pipes, boxes etc. If you would like some help choosing or making hides, see this post.
To let your blue tongue settle, don’t handle or disturb it for around 10-14 days. For wild caught blue tongues – allow up to 2-3 weeks without handling. Only approach the tank slowly to give food and clean, don’t let anyone bang on the glass. If you have other pets, don’t let them come near the tank. Otherwise, everything will cause stress to your blue tongue.
If your blue tongue doesn’t seem to be settling at all, you can cover the sides of the tank with dark clothes for few days, and slowly take a cloth from each side after few days. While it’s good to give privacy in the first days, don’t keep your blue tongue fully isolated for more than a week.
Another thing to note is that if you have another skink or lizard, never house them together straight away. While you must not house blue tongue skink together anyway, introducing them to each other straight away poses a risk of contamination.
You must quarantine your blue tongue skink for around 2 months alone, and take its poop to a vet for a parasitic check. If you notice anything wrong, take your blue tongue to a vet.
Step 2: Approach the tank, ‘talk’ to your skink, and offer treats
After a 5-7 days or so, start approaching and sitting near the tank more often. This way, your blue tongue sink will know that you are not a threat. Even if your blue tongue skink hides, it will still feel your presence.
You can even ‘talk’ to your blue tongue skink – sit near the tank and read a book, or speak to it calmly. Make sure not to be too loud. Your blue tongue will start getting used tour voice.
After your blue tongue stops running away from you and hiding, you can start offering it treats. Even if your blue tongue hides, you can use tweezers with soft tips like this, to hand feed your blue tongue. Few of the favorites are snails and fruits.
If it doesn’t come out, you can drop the treats in a food bowl and move further away. With time, your blue tongue will calm down and will come out to take a treat.
Step 3: Start handling your blue tongue skink
After your blue tongue skink becomes more comfortable with you and doesn’t run away or hide from you, you can start handling sessions. Start with short handling sessions and slowly build it up.
During the first few days of handling, handle your blue tongue for 1-3 minutes, and by then end of the week, work your way up to 5 minutes. During the second week, build up to 10 minutes. And during the third week – up to 15 minutes.
Bites are possible in the beginning. Your blue tongue can bite when confusing your hands for food, or because it’s scared. To protect your hands, get a pair of MIG welding gloves like this. They will protect your hands from bites, give you more confidence. Gloves will also help your blue tongue grip better.
To show your blue tongue skink that you are not a threat, behave calmly and confidently around it. Don’t give your blue tongue skink to someone who is not confident, because this will stress your blue tongue skink as well.
Make sure you are calm throughout handling, don’t make any jerky movements. Offering treats before you start handling can help with bonding, too.
For the first few days, handle in quiet room, but then, handle somewhere you will spend more time in. Choose a room where your blue tongue will see few people and hear more noises (such as TV). This way, it will become familiar with a normal busier environment.
Otherwise, your blue tongue will only get used to quiet spaces, and will stress out when sees other people, pets or hears various noises.
If you have children or friends, make sure that your blue tongue is fully tamed before you let them handle it. You can instead let them watch you. This will make sure that taming is going smoothly.
When you start handling your blue tongue skink, make sure that you don’t grab it by the tail or even rub their head. Rubbing its head before it’s fully tame will most probably provoke defensive behavior.
Instead, lift from the chest, while supporting both front and hind legs. Let the tail rest on your arm. Don’t let your blue tongue hang, or it will get scared and pee/poop on you.
Make sure you are also handling correctly. Please read this full post on how to handle your blue tongue skink.
More tips and warnings for taming a blue tongue skink
- Don’t pet its head or nose before your blue tongue is fully comfortable.
- Have the substrate that your blue tongue skink can burrow in. This will make it feel safe. The best substrates for digging are aspen shavings, coconut chips and more. See this post on best substrates (will depend on blue tongue skink’s species, hence humidity needs).
- Apart from substrate, place a small blanket or a piece of clothing that smells like you. Your blue tongue will hide in it, and get used to your smell.
- Don’t freak out if your blue tongue pees or poop on you, tries to bite or is hissing/huffing. If this happens, handle your blue tongue for another few minutes and put it back in the tank calmly. But don’t handle if it’s doing it from the beginning.
- When approaching, do it slowly and from the front. Don’t put your hand on the skink from the back or top, as it will stress your blue tongue. Also, don’t put your hand in front of its snout. Let it come to you, instead of lifting up.
- If your blue tongue is very aggressive and you must handle it at that point, putting a cloth over its head can help it calm down. Remove the cloth as soon as you took your blue tongue out of the tank.
Taming a wild blue tongue skink
Wild blue tongue skinks tend to be more skittish and feisty than captive-bred lizards. This is because they are not really used to people and handling. Do not worry, and your blue tongue will calm down with time and interaction.
Your blue tongue’s personality will also depend on species. For example, Tanimbar blue tongue skinks tend to be feistier, hiss and bite more often. But even with Tanimbars, you can somehow tame them, even if not fully.
If you get a wild-caught blue tongue skink, leave it alone in a fully setup tank for the first 2-3 weeks. Follow all the steps outlined above, but take more time and be patient.
How to bond with your blue tongue skink?
Tip 1: Spend time together
One of the best ways to bond with your blue tongue skink is spending time together. Let your blue tongue skink sit with you, and handle it frequently after the first 2-3 weeks of acclimatization.
By spending more time together, it will get used to you quicker. Interaction in any form is key to bonding. Blue tongue skinks are very curious and interactive, but it can take time for them to start showing those traits.
Tip 2: Give it a bath
Most blue tongue skinks enjoy good soaks. For a good bonding experience, fill the small tub with water and put your skink in it. Not all blue tongues enjoy it though, but you can definitely try.
Make sure that water is warm enough – at about 85 degrees F (29.4 Celsius). Fill the tub to about 1-2 inches deep, so that it just reaches your blue tongue’s knees.
Let your blue tongue soak for 5-10 minutes. You can let it walk around a bit, and can even use a soft toothbrush to get rid of any dry skin if there’s any.
Tip 3: Don’t be afraid
If your blue tongue skink is hissing at you or trying to bite, don’t be afraid. Blue tongue skinks only do that when they are scared and feel threatened. Don’t take it personally.
If it’s huffing or hissing, it must feel threatened or scared. Be patient and help your blue tongue skink feel less threatened.
Make sure to wear gloves when handling your blue tongue skink (if it’s feisty), because bites can be painful.
More you handle and talk to your blue tongue, quicker it will start taming and bonding with you. But don’t attempt handling when it’s scared.
Tip 4: Take your blue tongue skink out
Only take your blue tongue out if it’s used to a louder environment and is fully tame. Otherwise, it will cause too much stress to your blue tongue skink. And possibly ruin all your hard work towards taming your blue tongue. Make sure to watch your skink, as they can run away and hide very quickly. They can also climb.
Most blue tongue skinks enjoy being in a new environment and exploring. Otherwise, your blue tongue skink can become bored. You can take your blue tongue skink out, take it outdoors (if you have a garden) for some sunbathing.
You can even get a playpen like this and let your blue tongue play outside or at home in an enclosed area. Offer treats, and spend time together. Always watch your skink, to prevent escapes. Avoid taking your blue tongue to a park or other public place, as it can escape easily.
Summary on how to tame your blue tongue skink
- Don’t handle your blue tongue for 2 weeks (3-4 weeks for wild caught). Only approach to feed and clean. However, sit near its tank and ‘talk’ to it.
- Provide hides for your blue tongue to hide in.
- After 2-3 weeks (or 3-4 for wild caught), start handling. Wear gloves in the beginning, and work your way up with timing.
- Start handling in a quiet room, but then introduce to various noises, other people and surroundings.
- Interact daily to speed up taming and bonding.
- Don’t give up – some blue tongues can take even months to become more comfortable. Some blue tongues can remain somewhat feisty.
- Only take your blue tongue outdoors if it’s calm and tame. Otherwise, it can run away quickly and be very hard to catch. Bites, escapes, stress – you name it.
- Blue tongue skinks only hiss, puff up and bite if they are feel scared or confuse your fingers with food. Work on eliminating defense mechanisms to get rid of bites.
Thank you for reading this post. Make sure to read this useful post on correct handling techniques and how to hold your blue tongue skink. Handling is a big part of a taming and bonding process.