BLUE TONGUE SKINKS

I've been reading the BTS caresheet but there are still some things I am confused about. I am mainly confused about UV lighting and supplementation. I will be getting supplies for my BTS next week and I was wondering will I need UV lighting?

My other question is about feeding. The breeder said he makes a "bluey smoothies" for his blue tongues that has everything they need to keep them healthy. My mom, however, says she will not let me use the blender to make one and that I will just have the feed my bluey the normal way. Will it be fine without the smoothies as long it is getting the correct foods? Also, how often should I dust my blueys food with multivitamins?

Here's my BTS Shopping List. If I am missing anything, let me know.

Enclosure
Digital Thermometer
Ceramic Heat Emitter
Dimmable Clamp Lamp
Carefresh bedding
Water Bowl
Hides
Basking Rock
Calcium with D3
Multivitamins
BTS food

you need uv light for them if you cannot keep them outdoors. this is however a bit controversial as some go entirely without but...you know....better safe than sorry maybe?

its totally fine without smoothies, i give mine aragula leafs and carefully chosen catfood ( just a little )

Lightchii wrote:you need uv light for them if you cannot keep them outdoors.

its totally fine without smoothies, i give mine aragula leafs and carefully chosen catfood ( just a little )

I have to disagree. Many people on this forum don't use uv lights and their animals thrive. If you don't use uv you use calcium powder with d3. I have never heard of these smoothies you are talking about but I guess the food might look like it if you blend it too much. You could always buy your own blender, but the point isn't to make a drink it is to chop the food so that it is small enough for the animal to swallow. Everything on your list seems fine other than that.

Like MonitorLizard said, you can suppliment with D3. I've found the easiest way to do this is to buy two calcium suppliments, one with D3 and one without. I use the one with D3 every 2 to 3 feedings so they don't overdose on D3.

As for the smoothies, when Coomassie was a little baby, I chopped his food fairly small in a little food processor (you can find them for between $10 and $20) which prevented him from picking around his greens. I still chop his food but not as fine. I could probably accomplish the same thing with a knife but I've got the food processor so I figure I might as well use it.

I also use a "basking" bulb to give Coomassie a decent light schedule. I have a UTH on the side of his tank for extra heat in the winter. I just leave the basking bulb on 14 hours a day for him to bask and just turn it off at night as long as it is warm enough.

As far as UV (unless your bts is being kept in an outdoor pit) you have 2 options:
1) Provide a UV lamp, the bulb must be changed every 6 months (I think) as they emit less UV as they age. You should still supplement with Calcium and D3.
2) You do not have to provide a UV lamp, and many people don't without any negative effect on their blueys. If you choose not to provide the lamp you definitely need to supplement with Calcium & D3 on a regular basis.

In the wild the bts don't have access to blenders so he will definitely be just fine without smoothies! Some people use a food processor to mix up the greens & protein source because blueys won't eat their veggies unless they're mixed into the meat really well. Just chop up your greens/veggies nice and small, and mix it up real good with some canned dog food.

It depends on the UV light. Fluorescent bulbs are every 6 months, Mercury vapor is every year.