The Blue Tongue Skink is a type of slow-moving Australian and New Guinean lizard who are known for their blue tongues and long lifespans. This lizard is friendly, laid-back, and, because of the long blue tongue skink lifespan, is a great companion for any reptile lover who wants a true friend until the end.
Blue-tongued skinks can live anywhere from 10-20 years depending on the species you get and the care they receive! The main reason blue tongue skinks die is because of improper diet like a lack of Vitamin D and poor cage conditions which is why it is so important to take care of your blue buddy and give them the proper care and nutritional supplements to live a healthy life.
If you provide a supportive environment and nutrients they need to build strong bones, the blue tongue skink lifespan can be extended for longer than thirty years! While some species are recognized to live on an average of thirty years, others that average only 15 years old have been raised well past thirty only because they were given the proper care and attention!
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How Long Does a Blue Tongue Skink Live?
The Blue Tongued Skink typically lives for fifteen to twenty years depending on diet and care. Some blue tongues skink species also live longer than others like the Kei Island blue-tongue skink which can live past the age of thirty!
Keeping Blue Tongue Skinks in Cool Temperatures
Cool temperatures can be very dangerous to your blue tongue skink. If you do not maintain the proper, warm temperatures of 75°F-85°F, then your lizard becomes prone to sickness and if left untreated this severely reduces their life expectancy.
Feeding Blue Tongue Skinks Poisoned Foods
Never feed your reptile anything you have caught yourself unless you have gotten approval from your veterinarian. Feeding your blue tongue skink poisoned bugs can be life-threatening!
Feeding Blue Tongue Skinks Processed Foods
That also means you should never share any processed foods with your lizard. The chemicals are indigestible and will most likely be fatal. (TIP: If you are dying to share a treat with your blue bud, try cutting up a fruit and veggie plate instead!)
Blue Tongue Skinks Contracting Disease/Illness
One of the most common threats to your blue tongue skink’s lifespan is disease and illness. These happen naturally and are no fault of your own! But, if your reptile friend is suffering from some sort of health issue, you should treat it immediately.
How Long Do Blue Tongue Skinks Live In The Wild?
Non-domesticated blue tongue skinks typically live roughly 15-18 years in the wild! The diet and environmental conditions you provide them will be a major contributing factor to lengthening their lifespan in captivity!
What is the blue-tongued skink’s main predator?
Believe it or not, domesticated cats and dogs tend to be the main predators of the Blue-Tongued skink! This is because the blue-tongued, Australian lizard is often found living in captivity as pets. Our blue buddies, blue tongue skinks move very slow which makes them vulnerable to predators of all sizes! In our homes, untamed lapdogs can terrorize these reptiles for fun and end up swallowing them for dinner!
In the wild, they are threatened by the hundreds of Australia’s native feral cats who view the blue-tongue skink as easy prey because of its small size. Similarly, the colorful, blue-tongued lizard becomes prey to other dominating animals like wide varieties of both snake and bird species. Unfortunately for the small, short-legged skink escaping from their predator is not an option and neither is fighting back. So, keeping them safe and out of harm’s way is essential.
How To Make Your Blue Tongue Skink Live Longer?
Every pet owner wants to spend as much time with their best friend as much as possible whether that means going places and doing things or staying at home and relaxing. That is why learning how to prolong the life of your blue tongue bestie is so important. Doing that guarantees the two of you will have a long life together full of happy, healthy fun!
Proper Blue Tongued Skink Environment
Remember, blue tongue lizards are cold-blooded which means the temperature of their environment is crucial to their health. To recreate their warm, native habitat of Australia, you need to keep your reptile buddy in a controlled habitat where you can monitor the temperature of their cage. Their environment should be kept between 75°F-85°F with an additional basking light at 95°F where they can go to soak artificial “sun”.
They will also need a large water dish –no bigger than 3 inches x 9 inches- where your blue tongues skink can go to rehydrate and soak themselves. Since your lizard regularly uses their water dish as a bath, you should change their water dish frequently (never going any longer than every other day) and sterilize it each time!
Practice Daily Vitamin and Dietary Supplements Routine
Practicing a daily vitamin and dietary supplement routine is critical in the health of your blue tongue bestie! Since your skink has a vitamin A deficiency, taking daily vitamins and nutritional supplements can be the difference between being healthy or not.
When you hear reptile-enthusiasts talking about how a reptile has a poor digestive system is, they might just be referring to their vitamin A deficiency. Vitamin A helps the body digest food and without enough of this in your blue tongue skink’s system, they will have a difficult time processing certain things like fatty foods (hence the reason they eat so little meats and protein).
To solve this problem, just add some calcium and multivitamin powders to your lizard’s food, as recommended! But be cautious when adding additional supplements should your lizard’s diet because you never want to cause an overdose in your Blue Tongued Skink’s diet. This means always accounting for the food you have fed them throughout the day in addition to the supplements you are giving them.
This is a crucial part of their dietary ritual because it will give your scaled bestie the additional nutrients they need to maintain a balanced diet.
Proper Blue Tongued Skink Diet
Giving your blue-tongued skink a proper diet is critical. The Blue-Tongued Skink is an omnivore and roughly 60% of their diet consists of fruits and vegetables with the other 40% consisting of meat so you should always account for this when feeding them. You never want to overserve your little family member’s meat. Similarly, you always want to give your reptile companion enough fruits and veggies to satisfy their nutritional needs.
Great staple foods of the Blue-Tongued Skinks diet include squash, melons, leafy greens, strawberries, and carrots. For the 40% meat/protein part of their diet, Blue-Tongued Skinks recommended meaty foods are snails, mealworms, pinkie mice, and crickets. Mixing commercial lizard pellets into your feeding ritual is a highly suggested way to get extra proteins in your Blue-Tongued Skink’s diet.
Separate Blue Tongued Skink from other Pets
Your pets do not have to be attacking out of malicious intent. In fact, a lot of the time, domesticated cats and dogs will only “attack” blue-tongued lizards out of curiosity. So, if you have curious cats or dogs, you may want to consider separating other pets from your blue tongue skink so you do not cause any mishaps. Even if your dog is lap-seized, the blue tongue skink’s inability to fight makes them extremely vulnerable against domesticated cats and dogs which is why keeping them separate is a good way to maintain everyone’s safety!
Does a Blue Tongue Skink Diet Have Any Relation To Its Lifespan?
Just one single meal could shorten the blue tongue skink lifespan which is why paying close attention to what you are feeding your blue tongue skink is the only way to guarantee they are living the healthiest life possible!
Blue tongued skinks already have vitamin A deficiency which means once you start carelessly feeding them, you can really begin to wreck their digestive system! You might think there are exceptions to health problems just because they are reptiles too but there are not. Reptiles like the blue tongue skink have just as much vulnerability to becoming obese as humans do, if not more!
A balanced diet of fruits, vegetables, and meats is a crucial way of keeping your skink alive and well. Feeding your skink negligently can instantly shorten their lifespan in the blink of an eye! So, to prolong the lifespan of your Blue-Tongued Skink significantly you should always provide your little lizard friend the healthiest food you can find. Also, consider giving your skink vitamin supplements to give them an extra boost of nutrients.
What Is The Oldest Lifespan of a Blue Tongue Skink?
The oldest recorded blue tongue skink was a Tiliqua Rugosa who lived to be over 35 years old. His name was Stumpy and he was a shingle back skink from England! The high age of Stumpy was quite simply because of human companionship and the great care he received, something that according to scientists themselves could not have happened in the wild!
Although the common blue tongue skink lifespan is 20 years, there are many blue tongue’s whose lives are known to exceed well past that even into their mid to late thirties (that’s right, just like Stumpy!). There are a few types of blue-tongued skinks like the Kei Island blue tongue skink, which is commonly known to exceed well over 30 years old!
Conclusion
Blue tongued Skinks make some of the most unique and beautiful pets. On average, the typical domesticated blue tongue skink lived for roughly twenty years with the exception of some species who live for over thirty years! Their long lives make them a great companion to share life’s adventures with. By raising your lizard on a healthy diet and treating them with proper care, this beautiful and majestic lizard can live the long and healthy life they deserve!
Giving blue tongue lizards the proper environment they need to thrive is one way to guarantee that they will live the best life possible! Giving them a proper environment means the right size terrarium, basking lights, and a comfortable watering hole to stay hydrated. An environment that mimics their native habitat lets them thrive and can increase your blue tongue skink’s lifespan.
Sometimes pets pass away because of old age and that is completely natural. If you are concerned about having a pet that has a short lifespan, blue tongue skinks are not one of those. With the proper care, blue tongue skink lifespan can exceed thirty years old. Generally, the lifespan of your blue tongue skink will depend on how they are raised.
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