BLUE TONGUE SKINKS

Hi, I'm still doing some preliminary research on BTS. I'm wondering how the color changes as a baby matures into an adult. Do they usually hold onto their colors or do colors usually fade as BTS fade or the opposite?

first shed with me.


6 months or so



Pretty much what he looks like now

Wow your skink lightened up a lot!

A skink can look like entirely different animal the day after it sheds. The colors change on some as they age more than others, but I haven't seen any drastic changes in color after they are a few months old. Most look pretty dull and drab when they are born, but brighten up a LOT through their first several sheds. After that changes seem to be pretty subtle. Sometimes it seems like they change a lot because the before and after shed difference is so great, but if you took a picture the day after every shed the change will not be huge over time, after the first 6 months or so.

Thanks for the clarification Jeff

An exception to the rule seems to be Tanimbars. They go through phases of bright or dull colors (not just shedding related) and after a few years their colors start to change again (with silver tannies becoming nearly white in some cases).