BLUE TONGUE SKINKS

Well, we've had our boy (or so my son has declared him/her) since Christmas. Had some pinworms that we got taken care of (thanks Brad for accepting my mailed skink poop!) He's been a delight. So, I figured it was time for him to go to show and tell at my daughter's preschool. We did this a while back with our corn snake, and she was a big hit with the kids.

Oh goodness, he was so good! Just his normal, lovable self. Several of the kids held him. He just sat and gave tongue licks like he would in the comfort of his own home. ....he did poop on one little girl, but hey, it was his first trip out of the morning, so these things happen. She handled it great, and was ready to hold him again after I got them both cleaned up, and her mommy laughed when I told her about it, shew!

I'm just so proud of my little reptile ambassador! Some of the kids, however, are convinced that he is a "blue tongue stink" since his name is Stinky. LOL!

I didn't get any pictures with my daughter and him and don't want to post pictures of other people's kids, but trust me there was some super cuteness going on!!!!

Becca

I took my female Irian Jaya to school one time.

We were going over adaptations, and I figured my skink was the perfect example!

That sounds like a great learning experience - it's so good to hear about kids learning not to fear reptiles. Very glad your little bluey was such a good ambassador and that the poop incident was taken in stride.

sounds adorable! It's good to hear that little girls were happy about it and not the classic "Ewww, it's gross" reactions.

Kids + skinks = awesome

My favorite part of any expo is when big, burly men are practically cowering as I show off a skink, only for a little girl to run up and snatch it and give it cuddles Blueys are the best ambassadors <3

It's good to hear that little girls were happy about it and not the classic "Ewww, it's gross" reactions.

I really loathe that this myth is so prevalent that girls would react this way. Children are taught by adults what animals are "cute" and which are "gross", and is also a cultural thing. It is not gender based. I was chasing the local boys around and terrorizing them with a very realistic looking plastic gecko (as well as live snakes) from the time I could walk. It was always the BOYS that were terrified and squeamish.

SapphireTigress wrote:

It's good to hear that little girls were happy about it and not the classic "Ewww, it's gross" reactions.

I really loathe that this myth is so prevalent that girls would react this way. Children are taught by adults what animals are "cute" and which are "gross", and is also a cultural thing. It is not gender based. I was chasing the local boys around and terrorizing them with a very realistic looking plastic gecko (as well as live snakes) from the time I could walk. It was always the BOYS that were terrified and squeamish.

While I love it when girls are brave, it's not exactly something to be proud of that you would use reptiles to scare anyone. I guess as it was during childhood I can't say much (I assume you've learned better now), but it's never good to scare anyone using reptiles. I have to wonder how many of those boys are grown up now and using their shovel to chop up snakes found in the backyard

I never allow anyone to use my animals to scare others, it's always about removing fear, and I try to make sure everyone I speak with understands and embraces that. For example the little girls in my story above will often hold the skink and convince the big, burly men to come meet it and pet it and such. Children, when properly instructed, are amazing at showing the world how safe reptiles can be.