BLUE TONGUE SKINKS

Hello My name is Holly and I'm a 28 year old wife, mother and reptile enthusiast! I'm the proud mama of a two year old beared dragon named "Myah"
(and a well known member of bearded dragon.org )


(I'll keep the photo's at a minimum as she sure doesn't look like a BTS! )

It seems reptiles are like chips and you can never have just one, so I'm here to try and research the blue tongue. I've always loved them and feel like they would be a less fragil lizard. Myah was an adoped adult and I spent the whole last year putting weight on her tiny body, clearing her of coccidia, and building trust. Just when all was right with the world, Bam! Brumation! *Sigh* I'll have to wait for the warmer months to enjoy her now. Oh, how I miss my computer/laundry buddy!

So, as a true newbie, I'll be asking alot of questions that have been asked before but I promise, only after I try to find the answer myself.

Thank you!

Welcome!
A lot of your questions can be answered here:
viewforum.php?f=24

Welcome, and that picture is so cute!

xxmonitorlizardxx wrote:Welcome!
A lot of your questions can be answered here:
viewforum.php?f=24

Thank you. That's very helpful.

bella3 wrote:Welcome, and that picture is so cute!

Thank you! I'm very proud of my "My-my" poor little thing was in quite the state when I adopted her. It took many vet visits a alot of patience and a full year to get her to where she should be. Just love her to death! Still, I can't help but wonder what life would have been like with a bluey. Do BTS's brumate (hibernate) Myah has been sleeping for over a month now

*Edit* I see that they do

Ok then, my next question would be, can you potty train a BTS? It took me a full year, but I've trained my BD to mess in her bath, and her bath only. This is in part to her strict feeding schedule.
I know that shredded aspen shavings seem to be preferred, but I want to see the mess and clean it ASAP. I'd be worried that my BTS would be running around in their own mess because the aspen would hide it. Not sure though.

Holly- I don't know about what others have experienced, but my Northerns both mess in the same spot every time. My Male on his basking rock (where it becomes a smeared on poop pancake) and my female almost always does it on the edge of her water bowl. I don't have a problem spotting messes with aspen shavings, but then again I only have a few inches of the stuff. BTS will usually only defecate once a day, and you can time it almost perfectly if you get them on a feeding schedule. Once that poo is out of the way, you can spend the rest of the day knowing it won't happen again (if you don't feed eggs or bananas lol).

Potty training a BTS is right up there in ease with herding cats and kangaroos. Mostly they wont defecate or urinate near to where they eat or their preferred sleeping area, everywhere else is fair game. One of my girls has the bad habit of defecating on her basking slate and then curling around it to continue basking.

The faeces and urate are solids and remain on the surface for easy spot cleaning. The watery portion of the urine passes through the substrate but is almost pure water so should not have and lingering smell issues.

El Lobo wrote:Potty training a BTS is right up there in ease with herding cats and kangaroos

I see! LOL! This is where it gets tricky for me. I clean my BD's viv as a ''courtesy" I'm a fussy type person and if anyone her saw how "Baby-ish" Myah's viv was, I'm sure eyes would role! LOL! I just love BTS's so darn much! Sweet little cuddle bugs fighting to snuggle under my sweaters. This is so hard. I believe in forever and not for now. I just want to make sure this is the right choice.

Welcome! Others have pretty much summed up what I would have said.

Thank you all for the welcomes

Well, I've done ALOT of research and sadly, the BTS is not for me I'm really quite upset about it as they really are top of my amazing lizard list. I need a lizard I can potty train. Still, I'd like to hang around and learn more, if everyone here will have me. If anyone here is interested in BD's, or has a friend that needs help with them please feel free to drop me a line. I'm pretty darn good with them
*Edit*
Also, my set-up for Myah is different from others on my BD forum and could be used for skinks as well. zoomed slider hoods rock! I've converted a few people who say they'll never go back to what they had. I can post pics in another section in case anyone would like to see. I have 100's of pics of Myah and her viv

You need an egernia skink,some species are communal poopers,they generally all pick a spot down the end of cage and only poop there,usually a spiney tailed egernia thing,but major skinks have been the best at it for me

Also, leopard geckos poop in one spot. Just to let you know

Regardless of what species you decide, I have yet seen a truly "potty trained" reptile. One that will not go to the bathroom when out of the cage. Yes as others mentioned, some species tend to go to the bathroom in particular spots of the enclosure, but I have yet to see a reptile hold it in and refuse to go to the bathroom until you put it in the "potty spot". It sounds like a dog or cat would be a better choice for you than a reptile.

Leopard geckos ALWAYS poop in the same spot.

Thank you all for your input A BTS may be an option in the future and I will research the egernia skink. Though, we don't have many different kinds of any reptile here in Canada I really do believe in forever and not for now so I take my time on deciding on my non-person family members. I have thought about a "giant" leopard gecko as a night time "cuddle buddy" it's so hard to pick a favorite reptile! I may even do more research on the Hermanns Tortoise as many people I've spoken to have good luck with "potty training"

ReptileKing wrote:It sounds like a dog or cat would be a better choice for you than a reptile.

I'm going to have to take offense to your comment. I understand that type can come across differently to different people but I've made it quite obvious that I am infact the very proud owner of a bearded dragon. It takes about a year to train them but they can be "truely potty trained" We laugh alot about how they'll mess in the viv (before trained) then run away from it in what looks like disgust. You need a feeding schedule ofcourse, as well as placing them in a bath, but many will actually and honestly paw at the viv to come out and mess.

I won't compare the two. One is not better then the other. It's just about the right reptile for the right person. If you feel that I have mislead you in any way, then please feel free to visit "bearded dragon.org" my user name there is "morphmom" and I'd be happy to help you find non bias info to support my claim.

Thank you all again. You never know what the future holds and I will continue to admire these wonderful animals and pop by to say hi and learn something new

LeaBilby wrote:I have to agree with reptileking and please, don't take offense! It's a good thing to point out, very bluntly, that its near impossible to train a reptile. You might be able to condition them somewhat, so they are less likely to poop on you, but mostly they are in the mindset that if they want to poop, they just will, no matter the consequences.

Again, I'm sorry, but will disagree adamantly on this issue. Dogs and cats will mess when and where they want as well. We see this with kittens and puppies. Training takes alot of effort for every animal. BTS's may not have the ability to be trained in water. I honestly wouldn't know. For bearded dragons however, water training (how we potty them) is more common place then not training them. It is viewed as "lazy" when people don't atleast try. I do not take offense to your comments or your opinions. I take offense to the implication that I have provided false information on the bearded dragon.

ReptileKing wrote:Regardless of what species you decide, I have yet seen a truly "potty trained" reptile. One that will not go to the bathroom when out of the cage. Yes as others mentioned, some species tend to go to the bathroom in particular spots of the enclosure, but I have yet to see a reptile hold it in and refuse to go to the bathroom until you put it in the "potty spot". It sounds like a dog or cat would be a better choice for you than a reptile.

I find this entire comment extremely Ignorant.
1: Just because you have yet to have seen a truely potty trained reptile, doesn't mean that there aren't any.
2: Just because you have yet to have seen a reptile hold it and refuse to go to the bathroom until it is placed in it's potty spot, doesn't mean that it doesn't happen everyday.
3: Just because you assume I don't own a reptlie, doesn't mean I don't have one. (Please view 1st post for photo)
4:I have a dog. This is a true insult as every animal has different qualities. A BTS is not for me. I stated that honestly giving full credit to the animal. That doesn't mean that there isn't another reptile that works for my family.

This is not constructive criticism. I have received constructive criticism from many of the members here and I appreciate it.

All and all this is a good site filled with great information. BTS's really are a lovely lizard. I'll "lurk" about and continue to learn about them.