New to BTS.net and BTS

[mckelish]

Hello,
I am brand new to blue tongue skinks although I have loved them for ages. On Sunday I am getting my first blue tongue skinks. I am getting a pair in trade which was sort of a surprise but I am excited about it. I have been doing lots of research on skinks and the past few days been cramming for Sunday. I'm a bit nervous but excited to have the opportunity to own a BTS after admiring them from afar for so long. I am hoping this site will help lay to rest some of the conflicting information I have been reading about them.

To introduce myself, my name is Meg. I am not new to reptiles at all lol I currently have five Columbian boas, four ball pythons, three corn snakes, Hog Island boa, Nicaraguan boa, Hognose, Centralian Carpet python, crested gecko, bearded dragon, and an iguana. My first reptile was a rescued iguana at 16 and I have been hooked ever since.

The thing I am most concerned about is the feeding. I have seen so much conflicting information on if they can/should eat dog food or not. Owning an iguana and a bearded dragon I have the greens already in the house. It's not a big deal to make two extra dishes. I also have the crickets and dubias for the bearded dragon and pinkie mice for the snakes. Would it be good to mix in the dog food for an occasional snack? Or should I stick to what I already have for the other animals? I'm sure this is a highly debated topic and I am not trying to create waves, but this is my most concerning issue. Thanks in advance for any and all information!

[donkeybuff]

Yes, use dog food. Crickets pretty much have no nutritional value, and pinkies are too fatty to be fed to BTS regularly. Dubias are great, but a diet of only dubias and greens is not. I would recommend dog food and greens as the main food item with a few dubias and the occasional pinky.

[Richard.C]

Yes dog food is often mentioned as bad,but plenty of folk have used it for decades with zero issues,some mostly just using dog food

U can add veg to it and feed other things to though,more important is supplementing there diet with calcium and multi vitamins

Welcome to the forum,donr stress to much,if u have done well with the other species you have,you should do well with blueys