Nowadays, Blue Tongue Skinks are becoming trendy pets all over the world. Hence, many owners are now preferring having a bunch of skinks. At that moment, one may ask – Can Blue Tongue Skinks be kept together? In this article, I am going to tell you can blue tongue skinks live together as well as if this is a good idea or not.
Keeping two or more skinks together has been commonly mentioned in some articles but highly debated by owners & experts on forums. To explain, there is no set answer to the question if they can live together or not. It may work in some situations, but sometimes, individual skinks need to be kept separately. Let’s first learn can blue tongue skinks live together.
Can Blue Tongue Skinks Live Together?
It depends. For mating, you can keep male and female skinks together, but they shouldn’t live together all lifelong. Blue tongue skinks are solitary and territorial lizards. Housing more than one skink in a single tank can cause many issues like fight for dominance, food, territory, stress, and more.
After knowing the quick answer to the question, let’s read on to take a look at why skinks shouldn’t live together and when it might be ok for them. As you know, it’s a tricky question to answer; keeping skinks together depends on the individual’s personality and the setup.
However, there are certain things that you can do to increase the chances of this working which will be discussed later in this article. After knowing can blue tongue skinks be kept together, let’s see why they are better off on their own in a single tank.
Why Are Blue Tongue Skinks Better Off On Their Own?
First, you need to reinforce that skinks are very happy to be alone as territorial. Blue Tongue Skinks appreciate their own space and are ready to find it when necessary. Let’s learn some reasons why skinks are better off on their own in an enclosure at a time.
- If you keep 2 blue tongue skinks together in the same tank, it is almost sure they will fight.
- Keeping a big size blue tongue skink with a small size skink will always result in a smaller one getting injured or even starved to death.
- Keeping a female skink with the male skink can result in reproduction which is a big issue if you don’t want to breed them. Suppose you plan to breed skinks, then read our guide – how to breed a blue tongue skink.
The Dangers Of Multiple Blue Tongue Skinks Living Together
After knowing why skink is better off on their own in an enclosure at a time, let’s learn whether they should have a roommate or not. Here I am going to tell you the dangers of multiple blue tongue skink living together.
Can A Male And Female Blue Tongue Skink Live Together?
If you plan to have a male skink and a female stay together, you must thoroughly understand the definite possibility of mating and reproduction. There is a high chance that your male skink ends up injuring the female skin, as it is not uncommon in the wild. Plus, Male blue tongue skink tends to be very aggressive when looking to mate in the mating season.
When mating, male blue tongue skinks tend to bite the neck or the mouth of the female skink to hold her back in place & keep her from running away. These kinds of bites from the male skink can leave wounds on the female skink. Just because of male skink’s aggressiveness, when it comes to living with others, it is not recommended to be kept in the same enclosure with females unless you plan to breed them.
What If My Male And Female Dragons Need To Live Together For Mating?
If you plan to breed your skinks and keep the male and female together for mating, it must not be a long time arrangement, as touched on before. After knowing how males exhibit their aggressiveness during mating on females, there are some preparations involved that you should make before placing your female and male blue tongue skink together in the same tank. Here are the following to check before keeping them together for mating.
- Make sure your skinks have undergone brumation before mating.
- Ensure that the tank size is more than 85 gallons to climb and hide from each other when needed. During the mating period, the enclosure should have enough room for both to move around and exercise.
- Make sure that the female blue tongue skink is healthy for breeding. Females should be supplemented with calcium and Vitamin D if their skin is deemed fit.
- Ensure your female has no nutrient deficiency as calcium and Vitamin D are essential nutrients to ensure her eggs’ strength and prevent calcium deficiency after giving birth.
- Only mate when both the skinks, male and female, have reached their sexual maturity.
- Female blue tongue skink should be at least 280 g before mating or placed for breeding.
- Both the male and female blue tongue skinks should be at least 15 inches for breeding.
Can Two Male Blue Tongue Skinks Live Together?
No. Keeping two male blue tongue skinks together can create a very intense and vital territorial battle. It may also result in one or both of the skinks getting seriously injured. Male skinks are very aggressive when it comes to their territory.
They can also fight over food and end up with an injury. Keeping two male skinks is never recommended, not even for a day. Many have debated and shared their experience on keeping two male blue tongue skink together in the same tank on forums I checked.
Can Two Female Blue Tongue Skinks Live Together?
Yes. Two female blue tongue skink can live together as long as the cage is big enough and their food bowls are separate. Make sure to feed them individually; otherwise, it can lead to fights over food. Female skinms are not as aggressive territorial as their male counterparts. The fight over territory between two female skinks in a single tank is unlikely to happen unless the tank is tiny to house more than one lizard.
3 Safety Points For Keeping Blue Tongue Skinks Together
- When two or more skinks are in one enclosure, pay close attention to how they are behaving, interacting, and moving. If they fight or scratch each other, get them a separate tank.
- After two weeks of keeping skinks together, immediately separate them if you observe any decline in their health, vitality, or size.
- Avoid keeping pregnant female skink with a male in the same enclosure as there is a risk of stress which prevents her from giving birth. If your female skink is facing this issue, make sure to get her checked with a veterinarian.
Can Adult Blue Tongue Skinks And Baby Blue Tongue Skinks Live Together?
No. Adult blue tongue skink will always win out over the baby skink. There is a high probability of baby blue tongue skinks getting starved. Plus, keeping a baby skink with the adult male blue tongue skink can lead to a territorial fight and severe injury to the smaller one. A baby skink can even become the dinner of its Cagemate. Get 30 gallons or more size tank for baby blue tongue skink.
Adding to that, the blue tongue skink is an opportunistic omnivorous feeder. Your baby blue tongue skink also runs the risk of becoming an adult skink dinner. There are no circumstances where you should keep a baby’s skink housed in an enclosure with an adult housemate. Adult skinks don’t carry natural parental instincts. Even if it is their mother, you should avoid keeping them with an adult.
Can You Bring Two Baby Blue Tongue Skinks Up Together In The Same Tank?
Yes. You can keep two or more blue tongue skink together in the same tank while they are still young. As long as all skinks sizes living together are similar, all of them will be able to eat, exercise and have enough space to mark as their territory. Make sure to keep them in a tank more significant than 50 gallons depending upon the number of babies skinks living together. For 1 baby skink, 35 gallons tank is enough. Increase the tank size by 10-12 gallons per skink.
Adding to that, blue tongue skink who have been kept together from hatchlings/juveniles have better chances of getting along in the long term when compared to strangers. Although they can get along, you should shift them in a separate tank as they get older. Blue Tongue Skinks tend to become more territorial as time goes on and they get older. If you notice any aggressiveness in any of your baby skink, it’s time to get them a separate enclosure of their own.
How To Tell If A Blue Tongue Skink Is Feeling Intimidated
When two blue tongue skinks live together in the same enclosure, there are often telltale signs indicating feeling intimidated. Few characters can help you understand if any of your skinks are feeling intimidated or not. An intimidated blue tongue skink will start showing certain behaviors to let you know how they feel.
Intimidated Blue Tongue Skink Behaviours
- Loss of appetite
- Arm Waving
- Slow Head Bobbing
- Being Lethargic
- Hiding
- Scratching At Glass
- Problems With Shedding
Maybe none of them shows intimidating behavior but still faces issues when sharing the enclosure with mates. To find such occurrences, you should also look at other skink’s behavior and check if anyone is trying to be dominant or aggressive towards the other skink or not.
Dominating Blue Tongue Skink Behaviours
- Standing Tall (Confident & Proud Body Language)
- Fast Head Bobbing
- Lunging
- Aggressive Chasing
- Tail Raising
- Laying On Top Of The Other Skink
- Body Flattening
Can Blue Tongue Skinks Live With Bearded Dragons?
No. Blue tongue skinks cannot live with a bearded dragon as both species are strictly aggressive in their territory. Both of them are highly territorial and can become aggressive in mating season. They can fight over food ir due to stress as well.
Blue tongue species should always live alone and only be kept together with their species or subspecies for mating purposes. Bearded Dragons are strictly prohibited from being kept with a blue tongue skink. Certain lizards like blue tongue skink and reptiles like bearded Dragons are better off housed individually.
- How To Breed Blue Tongue Skinks?
- All You Need To Know About What Can Blue Tongue Skinks Eat?
- Does Petsmart or Petco Sell Blue Tongue Skinks?
Final Thoughts
Wrapping Up: Blue Tongue Skinks species cannot live together even when set up correctly in the same species tank. Skink is very aggressive in mating season and highly territorial. They can not even share space with their species. Talking about bearded Dragons, they should never be kept with a skink or any other lizard. Female skinks can be kept with a male skink only if it’s for mating purposes. However, they should be separated once they are done mating. Keeping them together can lead to injury.
I hope I managed to give you all the information needed on – can blue tongue skinks live together. Please share this article for skinks with other owners to help them out as well. Many individuals are making continuous mistakes when housing two or more skinks. I hope I have helped you and can expect a share at least. Please check our comprehensive guide on how to care for a blue tongue skink. See you in the following article as well, till then, take care, and goodbye.
94% of pet owners say their animal pal makes them smile more than once a day. In 2007, I realized that I was made for saving Animals. My father is a Vet, and I think every pet deserves one. I started this blog, “InPetCare”, in 2019 with my father to enlighten a wider audience.