how to pick a blue tongue skink?

[spooky skinky]

I will be getting a blue tongue skink sometime in December and I had a few questions regarding the choosing of the skink. I'm looking for more of a cuddly skink who will be happy to sit with and play with me for long amounts of time. Would females or males be better for this need or does the sex not matter?

[LittlePetDirt]

Hey there,
I'm my opinion, gender does not make a difference on the friendliness of a skink. I have a northern blue tongue skink that loves attention and playing around! I would go with a baby northern because they are almost always captive bred and used to humans. They also have less chance of being wild caught and having parasites and diseases, which can make an animal unhappy. You also may want to look into a juvenile or baby because they will then grow up being used to you and attention!
Hope this helped!

[starscream3232]

Sex has nothing to do with their behavior. You should learn how to distinguish the difference species. December is prime import season and lots of imported skinks get passed off as captive bred especially at expos and pet shops. The best time to find true captive bred skinks is May-August.

[kingofnobbys]

What I did when I bought George & Mildred as small 3 month old juveniles :

> did loads of research about BTs and how to rear them and care for them BEFORE I felt ready to get one / two of my own (I had kept wild caught BTs and other skinks as kid so I had this to draw on too)
> I visited the breeder and viewed the baby bluetongues that were left and were for sale and sat quietly next to the big "underbed" they were in and watched how they moved and behaved towards each other
> observed how they moved, their condition, activity level, and made inferences about their health
> I asked if I could see the rearing viv and those of the parents (was interested in the husbandry and diet and feeding schedule) - implications for their long term hhelth
> I noted that of the dozen or so very young juveniles there - two were very interested in me and had come over and were showing they were interested in me were climbing out onto my me - they seemed the friendliest and most outgoing of the little BTs so I asked the breeder to set them aside
> I asked to view the parents (gave me an idea of what I might expect them to look like when full grown.

So essentially my two picked me , rather than my picking them .

[kingofnobbys]

I will be getting a blue tongue skink sometime in December and I had a few questions regarding the choosing of the skink. I'm looking for more of a cuddly skink who will be happy to sit with and play with me for long amounts of time.
<<<< this comes from trust building and bonding with the skink , a nurturing relationship with the skink is more likely to create a skink who is like you want .
Would females or males be better for this need or does the sex not matter?[
<<< no , every skink has it's own personality , both my BTs ( a female and a male are very into snuggles and their mommy & daddy)

[BD99]

Hey man. I advise, when choosing your bub, SPEND TIME WITH THEM.
I went and would spend 3/4 hours sitting outside my bub's enclosure on the weekends before I bought her, so I had a concept of what she was like.

Of course, in a shop/breeder vs at your home is a big difference. You can see their personalities REALLY come out of a shell in that time. But spend the time to know the individual skink before you buy.