So i have a blue tongue lizard female(i think) and shes been acting little weird since this morning, i have only had her for a week and im not sure if shes eating yet (though i cant find the cricket i put in her cage) im guessing shes a adult though im not sure the pet shop i got her from dident know her age or gender.
The things im confused/worried about are
-climbing the glass till she falls over
-digging at the sand
-when i tried to dig up some sand in her cage today as it looked compacted she hissed at me for the first time and looked like she wanted to bite me
-trying to burrow into me, so for the week i had her she usually sat on my sholder or tried to climb on my head, but today she was going everywhere tongue flicking out whole time and then she tried to burrow under my chin and arms
Hi Dark Goddess,
As Herpetology has mentioned it would be good to see the set up of the enclosure to be able to assist with your query however, the best thing you can do for your lizard is to access "care sheets" for Blue Tongue Lizards via the net or even join a Blue Tongue Lizard forum or FB group. In the meantime here's a couple of pointers that may help.
What your lizard is doing is quite normal. They dig and they will endeavour to escape the enclosure. As pets they are not like domesticated dogs and cats etc and don't form bonds with their keeper. They tolerate being handled and will get use to it in time but it does take time and patients on your behalf. From your description of it's behaviour in the enclosure when you were digging in the sand there's a good chance that it saw you as a threat and because of this it appears to have attempt to defend itself. So it may pay to give it some space and time to get use to the fact that you are no threat. It will also pay to make sure the enclosure is escape proof.
They also require a thermal gradient to thermoregulate (control their body temperature) and to accomplish this you will need a hot end and cool end within the enclosure. A basking light is preferable to floor heating and the wattage of the light will be determined by the size of the enclosure. UV lighting will also assist your lizard in maintaining good health. You also need to provide a hide for it to find refuge and feel safe as well as access to fresh water. Sand is not really a suitable substrate as it can be digested with food and contaminated with urine and faeces which can lead health problems. Other suitable alternatives are compressed paper pellets or leaf litter if you want to achieve a more natural look.
They are around 10cm when they are born and grow very quickly when provided with the correct diet. Maturity is determined more by size than age and varies between species however they should be fully mature at around 30cm in length. Maturity generally takes between 2 to 3 years but dependent upon the species Blue Tongues are capable of reaching maturity in around 12 months when provided with a nutritious diet on a regular basis.
Young Blue Tongues need a high protein diet to grow and this can be achieved by feeding it a diet which includes canned puppy food mixed with a small amount of vegetable matter such as chopped zucchini, broccoli, boc choy or other leafy vegetables 3 times a week. Natural food items can include crickets however they don't provide a great deal of nutrition and snails (from a pesticide free garden/yard), fuzzie mice or rats, wood roaches (if they take them) and even small pieces of fresh (or cooked for that matter) chicken are far more suitable. This sort of diet will provide them with all the nutrition they need to grow and maintain good health. This diet is suitable even for adult Blue Tongues long after they have reached maturity.
Hope this helps and whack up a pic of the enclosure if you get the chance.
Regards,
George.
