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Atlas / Library / Scincidae / Northern Blue-tongued Skink
BeginnerDiurnal · active nowCITES IIIIUCN LC
Scincidae

Northern Blue-tongued Skink

Tiliqua scincoides intermediaจิ้งเหลนลิ้นฟ้า

Part of this is not on the page we cite. We opened it on 10 Aug 2026 and some of the degrees above are not stated there. The values above may still be right, but we cannot show you where they came from, and nobody here has checked them against a second source. Anything about a sick animal goes to a qualified exotic vet, not to a page. zenhabitats.com

Photograph: Bidgee · CC BY

Photographed by an observer on iNaturalist and published under a Creative Commons licence; the photographer and the licence are named under the image. It is not an animal of ours, and no animal was handled by us to produce it.

14:00
Day

Drag the sun. Northern Blue-tongued Skink is diurnal, so what it is doing changes with the light. The sheet states a night temperature, and the rail follows it.

Burrowing · temperate · middlingFrom the sheet: 24–27°C, humidity 40–60%

The way of life is written in this sheet, word for word. The climate words summarise the two figures above them, they do not add to them.

CITES III is a global listing and holds in every country. National law is not global, and we hold no national wildlife law for any country, Thailand included. Check your own authority before buying or selling.

Back to the globe My keep

https://keepr.pet/husbandry/en/tiliqua-scincoides-intermedia

‹ All husbandry guides
Temperature24–27 °C
Humidity40–60 %
Enclosure120×60×45
Diet2–4 days

The numbers

Temperature

152025303540 °C
24–27°Cool side
18–22°Night
Warm side: not in our data

The cool side, 24–27°C, dropping to 18–22°C at night. This sheet states the cool side only. It gives no warm side or basking figure, so the hot end is not in our data. Same scale on every sheet here, so two species compare by eye.

The sheet statescool 24-27 °C (75-80 °F) / night 18-22 °C

Humidity

40–60%Target RH

The sheet states40-60% (higher at night)

UVB

T5 10–12%required

The sheet statesT5 HO 10–12%; replace ~12 mo

Identity

Adult size

1.75 m45–60 cm
1520100400 cm
45–60 cmNose to tail, adult

The size the sheet states for a grown animal.

Why

Two drawings, because they answer two questions. The silhouette is at true scale against a 1.75 m person: it says how big this animal actually is, which no number does for someone who has never seen one. The bar under it is logarithmic and shared by every sheet here, so a 2 cm isopod and a 4 m python both stay readable on the same axis and two species can be compared at a glance.

Family / Order
Scincidae / Squamata
Adult size
45–60 cm
Lifespan (captivity)
15–20 yrs (up to 30)
Activity
Diurnal; terrestrial
Temperament
Docile, curious, dog-like; heavy-bodied

Enclosure and conditions

Enclosure

substratewater40–60 % RHUVB tube120 cm45 cm
watersubstrateUVB tube
50100150200 cm
120 × 60 × 45 cmWidth × depth × height
72dm² of floor
Warm side: not in our dataHides: not in our data

Drawn from the stated numbers. Only what the sheet states is drawn inside.

Why

The rectangle carries the exact width-to-height ratio of the figures above it, and the ruler under it places that width on the 0–250 cm scale every sheet here shares, so two species still compare at a glance. Nothing is added that the sheet does not name: a lamp drawn on a sheet that never mentions one would be invented equipment. What the sheet leaves out is listed rather than left blank, because an empty tank reads as « none needed ».

The sheet states120 × 60 × 45 cm (8 sq ft floor)

Basking
38–40 °C (100–105 °F) surface
Cool side
24–27 °C (75–80 °F)
Night
18–22 °C
Humidity
40–60% (higher at night)
UVB (required)
T5 HO 10–12%; replace ~12 mo
Min. size
120 × 60 × 45 cm (8 sq ft floor)
Substrate
Deep, holds humidity (they burrow)
Water
Bowl to drink & soak

What your climate adds

This sheet states a range to hold. Your local climate decides how much work holding it is. Pick the nearest city: nothing is sent anywhere, the choice stays in this browser.

Diet

Feeding rhythm

Juvenile
every 1 d
Adult
every 2.3–3.5 d
12Meals in 28 days · adult

Twenty-eight days, one row. Each band is a meal window. This sheet states a figure for each age, so each age has its row.

Why

The windows widen as they go because the interval is a range: four meals after a 10–14 day cycle land anywhere between day 40 and day 56. A young animal's row is drawn only where the sheet gives one: working it out by dividing the adult interval would be inventing a ration.

The sheet statesInsects, snails, lean meat, occasional quality wet dog food, egg · Juveniles daily; adults 2–3×/week

Diet type
Omnivore ~50/50 plant:animal
Staple animal
Insects, snails, lean meat, occasional quality wet dog food, egg
Staple plant
Leafy greens, veg, some fruit
Frequency
Juveniles daily; adults 2–3×/week
Calcium
Dust + multivitamin weekly

Behaviour and handling

HandlingVery tolerant 'beginner giant'; support body
DefensePuffs up, hisses, flashes blue tongue (bluff)
CohabitationHouse individually
DiggingBurrows: needs deep substrate
ChildrenGood, supervised (heavy)

Reproduction

Life course

Day 0Hatch
2–3 yrSexual maturity
15–20 yrLifespan in care
15 yrMinimum commitment
~12 yrReproductive window

Read from the lifespan and maturity the sheet states, for animals in care and not in the wild.

Why

The minimum commitment is the low end of that lifespan, and the reproductive window is what is left after maturity: both are subtractions on stated figures, not figures of their own. The sheet also reports a record of about 30 years; that is a reported maximum, not the range to plan for.

Sexual maturity
~2–3 yrs
Reproduction
Live-bearing
Litter
5–20 neonates
Gestation
~3–4 months
Sexing
Difficult: behavior / vet

Common health problems

Metabolic bone disease
Signsweak limbs, tremors
Preventadequate UVB + calcium
Obesity
Signsoverfeeding protein / dog food
Preventbalance the diet, more plants
Respiratory infection
Signsclicking, mucus
Preventcorrect temps + ventilation
Mites / parasites
Signstiny dots, itching
Preventquarantine new animals

When to see a vet

This is not veterinary advice. If red flags appear (open-mouth breathing, months of weight loss, 'stargazing', persistent regurgitation) consult a qualified exotic (herp) veterinarian. Quarantine new arrivals 30–90 days.

Good to know

  • Flashes a vivid blue tongue to startle predators: pure bluff.
  • Live-bearing and famously dog-tame: one of the most personable lizards.
  • Often learns to recognise and interact with its keeper.
  • Flashes a vivid blue tongue to startle predators — pure bluff.
  • Live-bearing and famously dog-tame — one of the most personable lizards.

Common questions

Is the blue tongue venomous?

No: pure bluff/defense.

Live food only?

No: balanced omnivore; too much protein is the top mistake.

Good beginner lizard?

Yes, with proper UVB + space.

What it needs

Enclosure at least 120 × 60 × 45 cmbecause enclosure120 × 60 × 45 cm (8 sq ft floor)
A thermometerbecause tempcool 24-27 °C (75-80 °F) / night 18-22 °C
A way to check the night figurebecause tempcool 24-27 °C (75-80 °F) / night 18-22 °C
A hygrometerbecause humidity40–60% (higher at night)
UVB 10-12% (T5), stated as requiredbecause uvbT5 HO 10-12%; replace ~12 mo
Not stated: The heat sourcethis sheet names only the cool side: « cool 24-27 °C (75-80 °F) / night 18-22 °C »

Every line above is deduced from a value this sheet states, and names which one. Nothing here is a general recommendation. What the sheet does not state is listed too, rather than left out: a kit that looks complete is worse than one that names its gap.

  • Enclosure 120×60×45
  • T5 UVB
  • Basking + thermostat
  • Deep coco substrate
  • Hide
  • Food & water dishes
  • Calcium + multivitamin
  • Feeders + greens

Sources

Others in this group

What this sheet states

100%
TemperatureHumidityEnclosure sizeActivityOriginDietSourcesUVB

Every field this product runs on is stated here. That is not a claim that the values are right: it says what the sheet states, not whether it is true. Whether a human has read it is the badge at the top of this page.

UVB is measured but does not count: it is absent from 421 of 678 sheets, and on most of them that is not a gap, since a nocturnal snake's sheet has no reason to state a UV index. Counting it would call the library incomplete without cause.