Blue Tongue Burrow

Blue-tongued skinks are native across Australia with different species occupying different areas. Blue-tongued skinks are primarily active during the daytime although some nocturnal activity may take place during the summer months.

Skinks living in areas with warm year round temperatures will tend to remain active throughout the year, but those living in the southern regions of Australia may become dormant for a short period of time during the winter. When threatened, their first line of defence is stealth by simply hiding and relying on their cryptic body colouration to keep them invisible.

If these strategies fail, the skinks will use their blue tongue in an attempt to frighten the predator. They do so by adopting an aggressive body posture, open their mouth, and wiggle their tongue in a menacing fashion. If their tongues fail to dissuade the predator, the skinks may resort to biting.

While their teeth aren’t very sharp, they can inflict a painful bite thanks to their strong jaws. Organic cane mulch is the substrate of choice amongst blue-tongued skink keepers.

Cane mulch is attractive, soft, reptile safe, heat treated and mite free and perfect for burrowing or tunnelling which reduces animal stress and anxiety and reinforces the blue-tongues natural instincts.

For use as a simple bedding spread evenly approximately 2–3cm deep. For burrowing, a depth of 10cm minimum is required. Cane mulch is easy to spot clean several times per week, and it also retains moisture well, which makes it helpful for maintaining species hailing from high humidity environments.