After you setup your skink’s tank, you will need to think about blue tongue skink accessories, decor and enrichment for the tank. In this post, we will cover essential and optional blue tongue skink tank accessories, decor and enrichment accessories, such as hides, water dish, basking platform etc.
Blue tongue skink accessories list
- Water dish
- Food bowl
- Basking rock or a platform
- Branches, logs or other accessories to clamber on
- Plants and foliage
- Hides
- Tank background
1. Blue tongue skink water dish
Blue tongue skinks do drink water from a bowl. But also, blue tongues mostly love laying in a bowl for a good soak. So, to accommodate this need, you will need to get a large water dish for your skink (even an extra large one).
Because blue tongue skinks are bad swimmers, you must make sure that the water dish is not too deep, so that there’s no chance of inhaling water or drowning. For this, make sure that the dish is not more than 2-3 inches deep (5cm-7.7cm).
You also must make sure that the dish is sturdy and won’t turn over. Choose a big, sturdy dish, and you can even push it in a substrate to help hold it properly. To help your blue tongue get out from a water dish, you can place a rock or a similar addition on the side.
To start with, especially if your blue tongue skink is not too big, you can get an extra large water dish like this. If your blue tongue is a full grown adult and loves soaking, you might get something bigger – such as a large glass or ceramic dish like this.
2. Food bowl
For a food bowl, you can get a medium or large sized dish. If you wish, you can get separate bowls for veggies/greens and slow moving bugs, and one bowl with taller sides to prevent escapes of faster moving worms or other bugs.
For a general food bowl, you can choose a medium to large food dish like this. And for the faster moving bugs, you can get an escape-proof ceramic dish like this.
Make sure to wash food dishes with soap after feeding, and remove any uneaten food to prevent rotting and bacteria. Once a month, you can disinfect water dishes more thoroughly.
3. A basking rock or a platform
Blue tongue skinks require high temperatures and a spot to bask. To encourage and accommodate your blue tongues skink’s need to bask, you will need to place a basking rock or a platform under a heat bulb.
A basking rock will help lift your skink from the ground, relax on it while basking and get closer to a heat lamp.
Depending on your blue tongue skink’s size, you can get something like this basking rock or similar. Always check the width and length so that your blue tongue can lay on it comfortably.
4. Branches, logs or other accessories to clamber on
Blue tongue skink are bad climbers because they have short legs. They enjoy burrowing under substrate rather than climbing up. However, blue tongue skinks still enjoy going on top of short structures and laying on them.
For this purpose, you can get a large branch, log or platform, so that your blue tongue can clamber on it and exercise a little. One of the great examples is this extra large log that can serve as a hide and something to climb on.
5. Foliage and plants for a blue tongue skink
Blue tongue skinks need plants in their tank, to add enrichment and to provide hiding spots.
However, having live plants in a blue tongue skink’s tank is not the best option, because blue tongues love to dig and will damage roots easily. They ruin live plants quickly and cause a big mess in the tank. Also, balancing correct humidity for your skink and plants and cleaning them will be too hard.
Your blue tongue skink doesn’t need many tall branches, because it won’t climb, but just clamber. However, if a branch is wide and short, then you can use it. Make sure that the branch is not of a pine, cedar, fir or any other coniferous tree. However, short branches are ideal for clambering (some exercise) and hiding.
The best types of plants for a blue tongue skink would be artificial vines, foliage and other plants. And for a branch – Mopani wood, grapewood or driftwood. Examples are:
- Fake Boston Fern, cacti plants, boxwood and others like this.
- Long vines like this
- Short and sturdy Mopani wood branch like this
6. Hides for a blue tongue skink
Hides are a must for your blue tongue skink. They will help your blue tongue skink hide when it’s feeling anxious, threatened, or even too hot.
You will need to place at least 2 hides in your blue tongue skin’s tank, or better 3. Place one hide on a warm side, on a cool side, and one in the middle. This will make your blue tongue comfortable.
For hides, you can both buy large rocks, caves or logs, or make your own if you wish to save money and don’t worry too much about aesthetics. Few types of hides are:
- This Extra Large cave
- Large hollow half log like this – wooden, so don’t get for high humidity requiring blue tongues (Indonesian, Tanimbar, Irian Jaya)
- Cork round like this
- DIY hide – made of ceramic or plastic plant pots with a cut hole, a dish or a wide pipe, shoe box etc. Make sure material is non-toxic.
7. Tank background
Tank background is another piece of decoration that you can add to your blue tongue’s tank. Tank background is a large realistic sticker that goes on the back of the tank.
There are various designs such as this desert view background cover. If you decide to get one, make sure to choose the correct size.
Bringing any accessories from outdoors
If you decide to bring a rock or a branch from outside, you must wash and disinfect it before putting in the tank. You will need to get rid of any possible parasites, dirt and mites before introducing in the habitat.
If you are bringing a branch, make sure it’s not a coniferous tree. What is more, you will need to scrape the branch or wash it first, to get rid of dirt and sharp edges. After that, bake it in oven at 250 degrees F (121 C) for 1-1.5 hours to disinfect fully. Dry properly before putting in the tank.
Instead of baking, you can also soak in a bleach solution (1 part bleach, 9 parts water) for 1 hour. Then, you need to wash it thoroughly to make sure it’s not leaking any chemicals.
If you have not already read this lighting and heating guide, please take time to read the article, to learn about bulb positioning and distances from the basking platform.