In this article, we are going to learn what vegetables can blue tongue skinks eat. Being omnivorous, blue tongue skink can eat fruits and vegetables mixed diet. 40% of their diet should have vegetables and leaves in it. However, 10% of animal-based protein contents should also be fed to support their growth, wellbeing, and health.
What vegetables can blue tongue skinks eat? Blue Tongue Skinks can safely eat bell pepper, carrots, spinach, tomato, pumpkin, sweet potato, cucumber, turnips, and cauliflower. These vegetables are safe to eat. Adult Skinks benefit their health from vegetables and fruits, whereas baby skins need more animal-based protein content for faster body growth.
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Do Blue Tongue Lizards Eat Vegetables?
Blue tongue lizards can eat vegetables and fruit mix in captivity. They also love to eat a mix of mealworms, crickets, super worms, dubia roaches, and waxworms. It will be best to give them a mixed assortment of chopped-up fruits, vegetables, and a few insects. Vegetables like peas, collard, mustard, and beans are their favorite. You can occasionally feed them dandelion greens as well.
Apart from vegetables, blue tongue lizards can also eat plant matter and leaves. Besides that, there are some certain fruits and vegetables that can be toxic to skinks. Vegetables like spinach, cabbage, romaine lettuce, kale, and broccoli are harmful to lizard’s tummies. These vegetables also prevent your lizards and reptiles from absorbing calcium properly. They love preying on insects like worms, flies, grasshoppers, ants, spiders, cØckroaches, and crickets in the wild. Although they are omnivorous, you can keep them on a vegetarian diet only as well, once they are adult and mature.
What Vegetables Can Blue Tongue Skinks Eat?
Do Blue Tongue Lizards Eat Tomatoes?
Yes. Blue Tongue lizards and skinks can eat tomatoes safely. Although tomatoes are pretty low in sugar, it supports your lizard heart health. It is also a good source of vitamin A to strengthen your skink immune system reproduction, vision, and growth.
However, tomatoes should be fed occasionally with another vegetable mix. It is packed with vitamins and antioxidants, delicious addition to any lizard’s diet as a salad or taco. Avoid feeding tomatoes every day as it tends to be very acidic. Feeding tomatoes daily to your blue tongue skinks can dehydrate them and cause immune system problems like diarrhea.
In reality, tomato juice contains beta carotene, which converts to Vitamin A inside their & our bodies. Plus, you should add a good source of calcium with tomato mix because tomatoes are a poor source of calcium. Apart from the wrong side, there are also good sides to feeding tomatoes. Tomatoes help in reducing inflammation, preventing cancer while promoting their heart and healthy skin.
Can Blue Tongue Skinks Eat Spinach?
Yes, blue tongue skinks can safely eat spinach and other dark leafy vegetables. It is essential to feed dark green vegetables like kale and lettuce. Although spinach is an excellent source of protein, beta carotene, and calcium, providing too much spinach can cause adverse effects in their body.
Spinach contains oxalate, which also can disturb the absorption and utilization of calcium in your lizard body.
All in all, spinach is suitable for your blue tongue skink when fed occasionally or mixed with other veggies and fruits. You should provide green leafy vegetables like spinach in moderation and small service at the time. Avoid feeding spinach to your baby skinks as they need more protein and avoid any content that prevents them from absorbing calcium, protein, and nutrients. Mature skinks are free to eat. Feeding spinach to your blue tongue lizard every day will cause calcium deficiency, leading to metabolic bone disease and other physical ailments.
Can Blue Tongue Skinks Eat Carrots?
Yes, blue tongue skinks are free to eat carrots. It contains a considerable amount of Vitamin A. Vitamin A present in carrots helps your lizard have healthy skin, maintain a sound immune system, and have good vision.
Before feeding carrots, make sure you have not added any other content that currently has vitamin A or beta carotene. They can eat carrots once a week but in small quantities.
Avoid feeding carrots every day because it’s not on the menu in their natural habitat. Feeding too many carrots can lead to too much Phosphorus, which binds with calcium preventing it from entering your lizard bloodstream. Providing too much carrot can also develop MBD and poor bone structure.
Can Blue Tongue Skinks Eat Asparagus?
Yes. Blue Tongue Skinks and similar lizards can safely eat asparagus as it helps muscles function and strengthen their kidneys. Don’t be surprised if I say asparagus is high in potassium and contains surprising 92% water content.
Although your skink’s kidney cannot produce hypertonic urine, feeding asparagus always helps its function. Suppose you want to improve your lizard’s kidney function, consider feeding asparagus in moderation once in a week will help.
It not only helps in proper digestion and kidney function but also builds up damaged cells. The vitamin k present inside it regulates blood clotting, and folate facilitates tissue growth. Other than that, a tiny amount of protein present in asparagus will also improve your lizard strength and grow stronger. Being too much in Phosphorus and too little in calcium, avoid making asparagus as their staple diet or part of the diet. The Ration Between Phosphorus and calcium present inside asparagus is 1:2.7.
Can Blue Tongue Skinks Eat Arugula?
Yes. Bluetongue skink can eat Arugula safely as it is considered as super vegetable bagged with nutrients. It helps in supplying essential minerals like Phosphorus, potassium, magnesium, and calcium to your skin. It is consists of 92% water content and has good nutrient composition. Feeding arugula to your skink/lizard will have many health benefits and prevent countless diseases.
Arugula is an excellent source of calcium and Phosphorus, which is of most interest to blue tongue skink. To supply calcium, feeding arugula could be the best option. However, you should avoid mixing any veggies with Arugula high in oxalates. Otherwise, it can interfere with the absorption of arugula calcium in your lizard body. Apart from calcium, it also contains a decent amount of fiber which helps indigestion.
As your blue tongue skink is omnivorous and preys on insects, a decent amount of fiber will aid in the proper digestion of those insects to release nutrients inside their body. If you know it or not but fiber helps in the digestion of chitinous exoskeleton from insects.
Other safe vegetables for blue tongue skinks
- Collard greens
- Dandelion greens
- Cabbage
- Mustard greens
- Beet greens
- Basil
- Watercress
- Red leaf lettuce
- Escarole
Final Thoughts
Watercress, turnip greens, dandelion greens, endive, escarole, and beet greens can be fed frequently in a week to your blue tongue skinks. However, vegetables like green cabbage, kale, red leaf lettuce, and red cabbage-like vegetables should be fed occasionally, like once in 1-2 weeks. Other than that, vegetables like bok choy and chicory greens should be provided in moderation, like in small quantities.
I hope I have given you all the information needed on what vegetables can blue tongue skinks eat. If you find this article helpful, then consider sharing it with others as well. If you have any questions regarding your skink’s diet, please ask me in the comment section. Make sure to check out our other article on blue tongue skink as well.
I have shared a valuable resource on how to care for blue tongue skinks for you to check. I hope I will get to see you in another article as well, till then take care and goodbye.
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