I will be preparing to purchase a northern blue tongue skink soon but there’s one part about blue tongue husbandry that I am confused about. Do I provide UVB lighting or not? I have heard that they can go without it, but is that really true? Even if they can, does it have any adverse effects? Is it truly possible for a blue tongue to thrive without UVB? If anyone has answers to these questions, please help me.
2 Likes
I personally would provide it for them as they are lizards. @thebeardedherper would probably have some soils advice on this.
3 Likes
All the BTS breeders I know of except Ron St. Pierre keep their BTS in racks. Ron is an exception because he keeps them outside in FL. The majority of the BTS in hobby are descended from animals that have never received it as part of their caging setup.
4 Likes
It has been proven many times that it is not necessary with proper diet, but that is not the same as saying it is not beneficial. I believe it is beneficial in small amounts and maybe even mid level amounts depending on the exact species. I tend to take my ques from TC houston at reptilemountaintv on youtube. Just because we can get them to reproduce without it doesn’t mean they wouldn’t do even better with it.
4 Likes
Ok, thank you. That is definitely something that I did not know.
2 Likes