The Blue-Tongue Skinks are among the best-known skinks and indeed lizards, having justifiably acquired a reputation for making excellent pets. Although Australia has banned export of its fauna, enough Tiliqua species are in captivity to make a viable breeding pool, and the two species from outside Australia (T. gigas and T. s. chimaera) are unaffected by the ban. Nevertheless every effort should still be made to breed those currently held by keepers, especially of the Australian species. A certain amount of smuggling may unfortunately be carried on - see Walls. (Please note that despite our criticism of Australia's harsh wildlife laws, we do not condone breaking the law, still less the smuggling of animals).
The genus Tiliqua is part of the subfamily Tiliquinae (not recognised by all authorities) that also includes the Egernia skinks, the Pine-Cone Skink Trachydosus, the Pink-Tongue Skink Hemisphaeridon and the now probably extinct Macroscincus from the Cape Verde Islands. All of these are livebearers.
Tiliqua species, as stated above, have the reputation for making good "pet" lizards (a characteristic rare among lizards). However, they are not cheap, and it should be remembered that for the time being their numbers cannot be replaced easily from the wild, unlike some other species. In captivity they do require a fairly large amount of room, although less so than large lizards such as monitors or tegus. Keepers should also keep their eyes open for fighting among captives and place them in separate enclosures if necessary.
Further notes will be added to this page in the near future.
| QUICK INDEX | ||
| T. adelaidensis, Adelaide Pygmy Bluetongue | T. gigas, Giant Bluetongue | T. multifasciata, Centralian Bluetongue |
| T. nigrolutea, Blotched Bluetongue | T. occipitalis,Western Bluetongue | T. scincoides, Common Bluetongue |
| Scientific Name | Common Name | Distribution | Size | Notes |
| Tiliqua | ||||
| T. adelaidensis | Adelaide Pygmy Bluetongue | Australia (South Australia and Tasmania) | Up to 7" | This species was discovered in the 19th century but then not seen for so many years that it was believed extinct until several small populations were discovered in 1992. Understandably this very rare species is unlikely to come into private hands for the foreseeable future, but several zoos are working with it to increase its numbers. Oddly, Cogger mentions only that it may be possibly extinct, which is at odds with information given elsewhere (eg Walls, EMBL database). Little is known however of its ecology, but Ehmann (cited in Cogger) claims it is an ambush predator that lives mostly on invertebrates with some plant matter. Scalation: nasals in contact or narrowly separated; prefrontals in contact; 3 supraoculars; 1-2 rows of enlarged hexagonal scales between parietals and nuchals; ear opening has single anterior lobe. Scales smooth, in 36-42 rows at midbody. Coloration: dorsal grey or grey-brown, with paler flanks. Scattered darker spots and blotches on dorsum, limbs and tail that sometimes align to form irregular narrow transverse bars. Ventral scales cream or white, edged with pale brown. Reproduction: young are born in the female's burrow in February-March. B I |
| T. gigas | Giant Bluetongue Skink | Indonesia (inc. D'Entrecasteaux group, Moluccas, Sumatra), Papua New Guinea, Bismarck Archipelago, Admiralty Islands | 20" | Because of its range outside Australia, this is probably the most commonly seen Blue-Tongue. Walls suggests that humidity should actually be lower than might be expected for its subtropical range. Scalation: anterior temporals are elongated in comparison with other temporals. Coloration: golden- to grey-brown overall, with 5-9 dark crossbands (usually 7), plus more on the tail. Flanks are dark brown, sometimes with vague areas of the overall golden brown colour intruding. Ventral scales are pale and edged with dark spots. A dark temporal streak may be present behind the eye. Eyes may be reddish or brown, alternating with various factors such as mood. Reproduction: gestation lasts 4-5 months. Females give birth to a litter of 10-15 young. Sexual maturity takes two years in captivity [Walls]. B I |
| T. g. gigas | ||||
| T. g. evanescens | ||||
| T. g. keiensis | ||||
| T. multifasciata | Centralian Blue-Tongue | Australia (Northern Territories, Queensland, South Australia, West Australia) | 16-18" | This species occupies a variety of arid and semi-arid habitats, including stony hills covered in Triodia, and sandy deserts. Scalation: nasals narrowly separated; prefrontals usually in contact, sometimes separated; 2-3 supraoculars; 3 or more rows of enlarged hexagonal scales between parietals and nuchals; post-narial groove present; several blunt anterior lobules on ear opening. Scales smooth in 38-46 rows. Coloration: dorsally pale grey to grey-brown. 9 or more irregular broad, pale orange-brown bands on body, much wider than the interspaces and narrowest at mid-body. Wedge-shaped black temporal streak from eye to above ear. The hindlimbs are black on the upper and hind surfaces and have obscure orange-brown bands on the rest. Ventrally cream or white. B I |
| T. nigrolutea | Blotched Bluetongue, Southern Bluetongue | Australia (New South Wales, South Australia, Tasmania, Victoria) | 14-16" | T. nigrolutea occupies a wide range of habitats and is fairly adaptable to a range of temperatures and humidities. It is active at much lower temperatures than its congenerics, and Mattison recommends a greater drop in winter cooling temperature (to about 10-13 deg F). Scalation: nasals separated; prefrontals separated or in narrow contact; 4 supraoculars; 2 or more rows of enlarged hexagonal scales between parietals and nuchals; post-narial groove present; 1-2 small anterior lobules on ear opening. Scales smooth in 28-32 rows. Coloration: dorsally "rich chocolate brown" [Cogger] to black. Series of paler blotches (pink to cream) which may be irregular, or arranged to form longitudinal rows or transverse bands, especially on the tail. Reticulated or variegated pattern on flanks, chest and abdomen, that fades with age. Sometimes a vague dark-brown to black streak may run from above the eye to above the ear opening. Head usually paler than dorsum, usually finely sprinkled with black. Lips pale grey, sometimes also sprinkled with black. Thoat white, may have some darker flecks. Reproduction: gestation period of 4-5 months, after which a litter of 8-10 young is born, each about 6" in length. B I |
| T. occipitalis | Western Bluetongue | Australia (all states except Tasmania) | 18" | Closely related to T. multifasciatus and occupies similar habitats. Scalation: nasals narrowly separated; prefrontals usually in contact or sometimes narrowly separated; 2-3 supraoculars; 3 or more rows of enlarged hexagonal scales between parietals and nuchals; post-narial groove present; several large, blunt anterior lobules on ear opening. Scales smooth in 38-42 rows. Coloration: overall yellowish-tan with 4-6 broad dark transverse bands, about twice as wide as the interspaces, and 3-5 on the tail. Blackish temporal streak behind the eye. Flanks are somewhat paler than dorsum. Top of head is brown. The hindlimbs are sometimes black. Ventral surfaces are white, with the darker transverse bands running into them and completely joining on the underneath of the tail. Reproduction: no data yet available. B I |
| T. scincoides | Common Bluetongue | Australia (all states except Tasmania); Indonesia | 20-30" | Widely distributed and occuping a variety of habitats which are however less arisd than some of the other species. However it does still require fairly high temperatures (Walls notes a minimum of 90 deg F for proper digestion, going up to 105 deg F). Scalation: nasals separated; prefrontals in contact; 4 supraoculars; anterior temporal scales larger and longer than the other temporal scales; 2 or more rows of enlarged hexagonal scales between parietals and nuchals; post-narial groove present; 2-3 large anterior lobules on ear opening. Scales smooth in 34-40 rows. Coloration: variable: see subspecies below. Reproduction: gives birth to up to 25 live young (see also subspecies below). B I |
| T. s. scincoides | Eastern Bluetongue | SE Australia | 20-22" | Coloration: dorsally pale silver-grey to brown. Usually 7-9 irregular dark brown bands on the body and 7-10 on the tail. Scales on the paler interspaces usually have dark lateral edges, creating the impression of longitudinal dark brown lines. Dark brown to black temporal streak from eye to above ear, sometimes continuous with a short dark bar on the neck. |
| T. s. chimaerea | Irian Jayan Bluetongue | Indonesia (Irian Jaya) | 20-22" | Coloration: Walls reckons this looks like a cross between the two other subspecies, with the dark temporal streak missing but the dark transverse bands extending down onto the ventrum. Reproduction: 5-15 large-headed young [Walls]. |
| T. s. intermedia | Northern Bluetongue | N Australia | 25-30" | Coloration: dorsally "rich brown" [Cogger], with usually some obscure pale transverse markings on the dorsum and a series of large lateral blotches, cream to orange. The head is pale brown: a dark temporal streak found in T. s. scincoides may be pale or absent Usually 7-9 irregular dark brown bands on the body and 7-10 on the tail. Dark brown to black temporal streak from eye to above ear, sometimes continuous with a short dark bar on the neck. |
Reptiles and Amphibians of Australia, Harold Cogger, 6th edition.
Keeping and Breeding Lizards, Chris Mattison, Blandford Press. Has a good section on keeping and breeding the large Australian skinks (Tiliqua, Trachydosus, Hemisphaeridon and Egernia cunninghami).
Blue-Tongued Skinks: Keeping and Breeding Them in Captivity, Jerry G Walls, TFH 1996. Walls writes well on most herpetological and invertebrate subjects, and this brief book is no exception, covering the taxonomy and requirements not only of the Tiliqua species but also of Cyclodomorphus (Oak Skinks), Hemisphaeriodon (Pink-Tongued Skink) and Trachydosaurus (Pine Cone Skink).
Bluetongueskinks.net is a very nicely laid out and informative site set up by Zach and Holly.
Back to Skinks | Lizards | Reptiles | Amphibians | Back to Herpetology | Back to Home Page