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Reproduction of Blue-Tongue Skink
If raised properly, captive bred tongued skinks will breed at about 2 old. The animals must be healthy, they have a good fat store in their tail. Females may be kept together in breeding groups, but only one male should be present. Males, generally have wider heads and their bodies when viewed from above has straight sides Females have a less bulky head and more rounded sides This is not often obvious and the only sure way is to wait and see give birth. The breeding season is January early spring to induce breeding they should be cooled to 13-18C for 2 months. Mating will take place within a few weeks of warming. The males often become aggressive during mating and fights may break out. It is usually better to keep the animals separate and bring them together to mate. This will usually occur immediately and the pair can be separated again. It is better to reintroduce the animals on a regular basis as single matings are seldom successful. During mating the male bites the female around the neck, this will result in bite marks and torn skin. The male will twist his tail under the females to enable mating to occur.
Blue tongue skinks are live bearing, the females usually produce about 5-12 babies, the larger the adult the larger the litter size.
The gestation period is generally around 100 days, this is dependent on temperature and some species tend to have a longer period than others, typically the larger types.
The babies are about 15cm at birth and will grow rapidly with proper feeding and vitamin supplements. Care should be taken when raising juveniles together as larger babies will eat all the food and smaller individuals will be victimised.