How to Care for Blue Tongue Lizards - Birdsville Bird Shop, Sydney

Caring for a pet blue tongue lizard in Sydney is genuinely straightforward, they’re one of Australia’s most hardy and low-stress reptiles once their heating, UVB and diet basics are sorted. The Common Blue-Tongue Lizard (Tiliqua scincoides) is prized for its calm temperament and unmistakable blue tongue display, and with proper care it makes a rewarding companion for first-time and experienced keepers alike.

Quick Facts

Scientific name: Tiliqua scincoides
Adult size: 45 to 60cm
Lifespan: 20 years or more
Diet: Omnivore, insects, vegetables and prepared reptile food
Enclosure minimum (adult): 120 x 60 x 60cm
Enclosure minimum (juvenile, up to 18 months): 60 x 60 x 60cm
Temperature: 35 to 40°C basking area, 22 to 26°C cool end
Licence required: Yes, a NSW Native Animal Keeper Licence
Experience level: Beginner-friendly

Basic Blue Tongue Lizard Information

Found across eastern and northern Australia, blue tongues inhabit open woodlands, grasslands and suburban backyards, which is part of why so many Sydneysiders already recognise them. They’re diurnal and ground-dwelling, spending their days foraging and basking rather than climbing, and their sturdy build and slow, deliberate movements make them one of the more relaxed reptiles to keep and observe.

Essential Supplies for Pet Blue Tongue Lizards

Carry enclosure, secure front-opening enclosure, a substrate sheet or paper-based bedding (our top recommendation) or desert sand if you prefer a natural look, live insects/fruits/vegetables/pellets, furnishings and two hides, basking lamp and heat mat on a thermostat, thermometers and hygrometer, UVB 10.0+, food and water dishes, calcium/D3/multivitamin supplements and feeding tongs, reptile-safe disinfectant. Everything on this list, and more, is available in-store, and our team can help you put together the right setup.

Housing

Floor space matters more than height for a blue tongue, so prioritise a wide base over a tall enclosure. Fill it out with hides, logs, rocks and open areas for basking and movement, and keep it dry, secure and well-ventilated at all times. Blue tongues are solitary and need to be housed individually, they can be genuinely aggressive toward their own kind, so never house two together regardless of size or sex.

A substrate sheet or paper-based bedding is the safest choice and the option we’d recommend. If you’d rather go with sand for a more natural look, always feed from a dish rather than off the enclosure floor, loose sand carries a genuine risk of impaction if it’s accidentally swallowed during feeding.

Environment

Keep a clear gradient running through the enclosure. The basking area should reach 35 to 40°C, with the cool end sitting at 22 to 26°C, and overnight temperatures can drop to around 18 to 20°C. Humidity should stay moderate, roughly 30 to 50%, rising slightly during shedding. Run UVB lighting for 10 to 12 hours daily and replace it on the manufacturer’s schedule rather than waiting for it to visibly dim.

Diet and Feeding

As omnivores, bearded dragons flip both their diet ratio and feeding frequency significantly as they grow. Babies, up to around 3 months old, need roughly 80% live insects to 20% plant matter, with insects offered 2 to 3 times a day, just as many appropriately sized feeders as your dragon will clear in a few minutes each sitting, alongside a small serve of finely chopped greens offered daily. Juveniles, roughly 3 to 12 months, sit closer to an even 50:50 split, insects offered once or twice daily while the vegetable portion is gradually increased every few weeks. By adulthood, around 18 months and beyond, that ratio has reversed to around 20% insects and 80% plant matter, fresh vegetables offered daily but insects cut back to roughly 8 to 10 appropriately sized feeders once a day at most, some adults do perfectly well on feeder insects just 2 to 3 times a week instead. Gut-load feeder insects for 12 to 48 hours before offering them, and dust with calcium, vitamin D3 or a multivitamin on alternating feeds rather than every time. At every age, keep insects no larger than the gap between your dragon’s eyes, and clear away anything left uneaten.

Fruits

Blueberries, strawberries, mango, apple (without seeds) and papaya, offered once a week at most as an occasional treat rather than a regular staple.

Vegetables

Rotate through bok choy, watercress, rocket, mustard greens, collard greens, green beans, capsicum, squash, butternut pumpkin, with carrot offered now and then.

Protein and Treats

Live insects and occasional small amounts of cooked lean meat, alongside a high-quality prepared reptile diet.

Avoid Entirely

Steer clear of onion, garlic, avocado, rhubarb, anything processed for human consumption, and insects that haven’t come from a proper feeder source.

Providing Water to Your Blue Tongue Lizard

Keep a shallow, sturdy water dish available at all times, cleaned and refreshed daily. Make it roomy enough for a soak, since blue tongues will sometimes use it that way, particularly around shedding. Check it every day rather than assuming it’s still full, since a dry dish can go unnoticed longer than you’d think in a busy household.

Mineral Supplements and Vitamins

Dust fresh food with calcium and vitamin supplements regularly rather than occasionally, blue tongues rely on consistent supplementation alongside UVB to stay on top of their calcium needs. If you’re not sure how often to dust for your particular feeding routine, our team can talk you through it in-store.

Behaviour and Handling

Blue tongues are generally calm and tolerate gentle handling well once settled. Hissing or flashing that signature blue tongue when startled is defensive rather than aggressive, so there’s rarely a real bite risk behind it. Handle slowly and confidently, always supporting the full body, and hold off on handling sessions during shedding or straight after a meal.

Common Health Issues

Metabolic Bone Disease

Caused by insufficient calcium intake or a lack of proper UVB exposure. Signs include soft or swollen jaws, tremors, weakness, difficulty moving or limb deformities. Reliable UVB lighting and regular calcium supplementation prevent it.

Obesity

Blue tongues put on weight easily if overfed or given foods too rich for regular feeding. It shows up as lethargy, reduced mobility and, over time, added strain on the organs. A balanced diet and an appropriate feeding schedule keep this in check.

Respiratory Infections

Usually linked to incorrect temperatures, poor ventilation or excess humidity. Watch for wheezing, bubbling from the nose or mouth, open-mouth breathing and lethargy, and get a vet involved promptly if you see any of these.

Parasites

Internal or external parasites can cause weight loss, diarrhoea, reduced appetite or dull skin. Regular enclosure cleaning and sourcing food from reputable suppliers cuts the risk, and a vet should handle diagnosis and treatment.

Shedding Problems

Incomplete or retained shed usually points to low humidity or inadequate hydration, often left behind around the toes, tail tip or eyes. A shallow water dish and appropriate humidity during shedding periods generally prevents it.

Mouth Rot

A bacterial infection of the mouth and gums, often linked to poor hygiene or an untreated injury. Look for swelling, redness, discharge or reluctance to eat, all worth a vet visit rather than waiting it out.

Impaction

Most often caused by swallowing loose substrate such as sand during feeding, particularly when food isn’t offered in a dish. Signs include lethargy, reduced appetite, a visibly swollen abdomen or straining without producing droppings. A substrate sheet or paper-based bedding avoids the risk entirely, and always feeding from a dish if you do use sand goes a long way toward preventing it.

Parasite Control

Quarantine a newly acquired blue tongue away from other reptiles for four to six weeks before introducing it to an existing collection, monitoring closely for illness throughout, even if it looks perfectly healthy on arrival.

Health, Hygiene and Safety

Wash your hands before and after handling your blue tongue or working in its enclosure, since reptiles can carry bacteria that don’t bother them but can affect people. Spot-clean waste daily, run a full enclosure clean with reptile-safe disinfectant regularly, and wash food and water bowls frequently. Keep heating equipment secured and out of reach to prevent burns.

Toxic and Dangerous Hazards

Beyond the foods under Avoid Entirely above, watch for non-food risks too. Secure heat lamps and cords so they can’t be knocked loose or cause burns, make sure décor and furnishings are stable enough that nothing can shift or collapse, and check any houseplants nearby for toxicity before letting your lizard explore outside the enclosure. Keep cats, dogs and other pets away to avoid stress or injury.

Sexing

Blue tongues are notoriously difficult to sex visually, even experienced keepers often can’t tell with confidence just by looking. Reliable sexing generally requires a vet using probing or an ultrasound, so treat any sex given at the time of sale as a best estimate rather than a certainty.

Record Keeping

A weight log is probably the single most useful thing you can keep, blue tongues hide illness well, and a slow unexplained drop in weight is often the first real sign something’s wrong. Alongside that, note feeding dates, shedding cycles and any enclosure cleaning, so you’ve got a clear picture to hand a vet if you ever need one.

Holiday Care

Reptile-sitting isn’t something to hand off casually, whoever’s covering for you needs to actually know what they’re doing with heating, lighting and feeding schedules, not just be willing to check in. Write it all down clearly rather than relying on a verbal handover, and run through every piece of equipment yourself before you leave to make sure nothing’s about to fail while you’re away.

Transportation

Transport your blue tongue in a secure, ventilated container lined with paper towel, avoiding excessive heat or cold and keeping the trip as short as possible. Never expose your lizard to direct sunlight during transport, and make sure the whole process lines up with NSW Code of Practice requirements.

Compatibility with Other Animals

Blue tongues shouldn’t be housed with other reptile species, and despite occasionally being kept in pairs elsewhere, it’s not something we’d recommend given how territorial they are with their own kind too. Keep the enclosure out of reach of cats, dogs and other household pets to avoid stress or injury.

Licensing

A Native Animal Keeper Licence is required to own a Blue Tongue Lizard in NSW, obtained through Service NSW prior to purchase. All reptiles must be captive-bred and sourced from licensed breeders or registered pet stores, wild collection or release of captive reptiles is illegal. Keepers must comply with the NSW Code of Practice for the Private Keeping of Reptiles, covering housing, welfare and record-keeping requirements.

Frequently Asked Questions

How big does a Blue Tongue Lizard enclosure need to be?

Adults need a minimum of 120 x 60 x 60cm, while juveniles up to 18 months old can start smaller, around 60 x 60 x 60cm. Floor space matters more than height, so a wide, low enclosure suits them better than a tall one.

Can I keep two Blue Tongue Lizards together?

It’s best not to. They’re solitary by nature and can be genuinely aggressive toward their own kind, so pairing two up in one enclosure risks real injury rather than just mild stress, even between a male and female. Each lizard needs its own fully set up space with its own heating, lighting and hides.

Do Blue Tongue Lizards need a special licence in NSW?

Yes, a Native Animal Keeper Licence through Service NSW is required before you can legally own one, and it needs to be sorted before purchase rather than after. Every blue tongue sold also has to be captive-bred and sourced from a licensed breeder or a registered pet store, since wild collection is illegal.

How often should I feed my Blue Tongue Lizard?

Juveniles need feeding more often than adults, who typically only need feeding two to three times a week once fully grown. Whatever the age, diet should stay genuinely varied across leafy greens, vegetables, insects and a prepared reptile diet rather than repeating the same few foods, since variety is what keeps their nutrition balanced.

Can you tell if a Blue Tongue Lizard is male or female just by looking?

Not reliably. Unlike some reptiles, blue tongues don’t show clear external differences between sexes, so even experienced keepers usually can’t say for certain just by looking. A vet using probing or an ultrasound is really the only genuinely reliable method, which is why any sex given at purchase should be treated as a best guess.

Do Blue Tongue Lizards need UVB lighting?

Yes, UVB is essential rather than a nice extra. It’s what allows your lizard to produce vitamin D3 and properly absorb calcium from its diet, and without it even good food can still lead to metabolic bone disease. Run a 10.0 or higher UVB tube for 10 to 12 hours a day and replace it on schedule.