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Blue tongue skinks are unique reptiles that make great pets for intermediate and experienced reptile owners. However, some species like the Indonesian (Tiliqua gigas gigas), Merauke (Tiliqua gigas evanescens), Kei Island (Tiliqua gigas keyensis), and Irian Jaya (Tiliqua sp.) blue tongues require high humidity levels of 70-80% to thrive. Humidity is crucial for proper shedding and preventing respiratory infections in these tropical skinks. While there are many ways to maintain humidity in a blue tongue skink terrarium, adding a humid hide is an easy DIY project that gives your skink a moist microclimate to help during sheds. Here is a step-by-step guide on how to make a humid hide at home for your blue tongue skink’s enclosure.
What You’ll Need
Making a DIY humid hide requires just a few basic supplies:
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Plastic container with lid – Should be a few inches wider and longer than your skink to allow free range of movement Look for opaque containers versus clear for added security
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Sphagnum moss – Retains moisture well and resists mold/bacteria Avoid regular craft moss,
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Tape
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Scissors or box cutter
Step 1: Cut Entry Hole
The first step is to cut an entry hole in one side of the container, making it wide and tall enough for your blue tongue skink to easily enter and exit. Cut the hole about 1/2 inch wider and taller than your skink’s widest measurements. Check that the cut edges are smooth to prevent injuries.
An easy way to customize the entry size is to trace your skink’s silhouette on the container and cut slightly outside the lines. You want your skink to move freely without the hole being overly large.
Step 2: Add Sphagnum Moss
Sphagnum moss is the best moisture-retaining substrate for humid hides. It resists mold and bacteria better than other options.
Add a 2-3 inch layer of sphagnum moss to the bottom of the container. Pour or spray enough water over the moss until it is completely saturated but not overly dripping wet. The moss should release water when squeezed but not be fully saturated.
Press down on the moss to help distribute moisture evenly. Allow any excess water to drain out before continuing.
Step 3: Tape Lid
Blue tongue skinks are smart and strong enough to attempt lifting the lid off a humid hide. To prevent this, tightly tape down the container’s lid on all sides. This ensures the hid retains the target humidity level.
Use a heavy duty tape like duct tape or packing tape that your skink cannot easily peel off. Tape over any clasps or locks as well.
Step 4: Add to Enclosure
Now simply add your DIY humid hide to your blue tongue skink’s terrarium, preferably on the warm side near the heat source. This allows the moisture to evaporate and boost humidity levels.
Monitor that your skink is utilizing the humid hide, especially during shedding cycles. Make adjustments to the container size or hole orientation if your skink does not seem interested or comfortable entering.
Ongoing Humid Hide Maintenance
Maintaining proper humidity levels inside a DIY humid hide takes some routine maintenance. Follow these care tips:
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Check moisture levels daily – Add water as needed to keep the sphagnum moss loosely damp but not overly wet
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Change moss monthly – Swap out old moss for fresh to prevent bacteria or mold buildup
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Fully replace hide contents every 4-6 months – Discard all old moss and wipe down container
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Monitor temperatures – Ensure hide does not overheat from heat source proximity
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Clean waste daily – Remove urates, feces, or regurgitated food immediately
With occasional maintenance, a DIY humid hide is easy to integrate into any blue tongue skink habitat to promote proper shedding and respiratory health. Adjust humidity as needed based on your particular skink’s needs and watch them thrive!
Blue Tongue Skink Humidity Requirements
Maintaining the right humidity is important for helping your skink shed easily, as well as prevent illnesses like respiratory infections. As a general rule, Australian species thrive around 40% humidity, and Indonesian species require 60-80% humidity. However, this still varies depending on what species you have:
- T. gigas evanescens (Merauke) — 60-80%
- T. gigas gigas (Classic Indonesian) — 60-80%
- T. gigas gigas (Halmahera) — 70-100%
- T. gigas keyensis (Kei Island) — 60-80%
- T. nigrolutea (Blotched) — 40-50%
- T. multifasciata (Centralian) — 20-40%
- T. occipitalis (Western) — 20-40%
- T. scincoides chimaera (Tanimbar) — 60-80%
- T. scincoides intermedia (Northern) — 40-60%
- T. scincoides scincoides (Eastern) — 40-60%
- T. rugosa (Shingleback) — 20-40%
- T. sp. (Irian Jaya) — 60-80%
The best way to keep track of ambient humidity (and air temperature) is with a digital hygrometer like Zoo Med’s Digital Thermometer and Humidity Gauge Combo. Put the probe on the cool end of the enclosure and target the higher end of the animal’s humidity range. Enclosures tend to have humidity gradients just like they have temperature gradients, and trying to get the whole thing to have uniform humidity is an exercise in futility. Fortunately, that’s not how nature works, and reptiles know how to seek out places of higher/lower humidity as needed, so it works out.
A good rule of thumb for making sure your enclosure is humid enough is by checking your skink’s belly scales. If they’re rough, you need more moisture. If there’s nice and silky smooth and the skink is shedding well, you’re doing okay.
Lighting & UVB for Blue Tongue Skinks
UVB is a type of ultraviolet radiation naturally emitted by the sun. It’s critical to helping animals’ bodies make vitamin D3. Vitamin D3 is very important for building and maintaining strong bones, especially in diurnal reptiles. Vitamin D3 deficiency leads to Metabolic Bone Disease, discussed in the Health chapter of this guide.
Blue tongue skinks and UVB is a frequent topic of debate in the hobbyist community. It has been shown that BTS can be raised, bred, and maintained for decades without UVB, so technically it is not required for their survival. However, studies and veterinarians agree that dietary vitamin D3 and synthesized D3 (from UVB) are metabolized differently, and reptiles exposed to appropriate amounts of UVB have higher (read: healthier) levels of vitamin D in their blood as compared to those that are supplemented only.
Furthermore, UVB offers more benefits than just vitamin D, and the reptile community is increasingly coming to the conclusion that UVB should be provided to all reptiles as part of helping them thrive (not just survive) in captivity. Best practice in blue tongue skink care is to provide appropriate UVB lighting.
Next Level Humid Hides for Blue Tongue Skinks
FAQ
Do blue tongue skinks need a humid hide?
Blueys also need two hides, one on the warm side, and one on the cool side, so they don’t have to choose between security and thermoregulation. One of the hides can also have moist moss added to create a humid microclimate that the lizard can enter at will.
How to tell if blue tongue skink is stressed?
A happy skink walks casually, flicking its tongue and occasionally looking at you. A nervous skink will move in short, quick bursts, with periods of extreme stillness.
What is the best bedding for a blue tongue skink?
Blue-tongue skinks are burrowers, so they need four to six inches of deep, soft substrate. It needs to retain moisture well, which helps maintain healthy humidity levels. Popular options include coconut husk, cypress mulch, reptile soil or bioactive bedding.
How to tell if your blue tongue skink has a respiratory infection?
Symptoms of a respiratory infection can include gasping, wheezing, coughing, heaving (very heavy breathing), and mucus leaking from the eyes, nose, or mouth. Remember, sneezing is normal unless it’s suspiciously excessive (don’t be paranoid, they will sneeze more when burrowing in their substrate).