Learn about the basic information and care needs for reptiles and amphibians. Care Sheets included for Bearded Dragons, Geckos, Skinks, frogs, toads and more.
If you have decided on a Blue Tongue Skink as your new pet reptile, then you will need to gather up all the items you will need to get an enclosure set up, prior to bring home your new friend.
Here, I have put together a shopping list of the basic items you will need to get started:
Vietnamese Mossy Frogs are experts when it comes to camouflage. Due to their coloring and unique skin texture, it can be difficult to see them when they are chilling on a tree or in vegetation on the ground near a stream, because they look like a clump of moss, especially when they have their eyes closed.
These frogs are relatively rare and can be hard to come by. If you do get lucky enough to locate some, you will pay an average of $100 a piece for them. They are actually a protected species in their native land of Vietnam.
Mossy frogs spend a lot of time in one place but at times can be very active as well, especially at feeding time. They sometimes remind me of a cat getting ready to pounce on a mouse. I've seen them jump from the top of one end of the tank, to the bottom at the opposite end of the tank to get a cricket!
As long as you understand their needs, the are not very difficult to care.
Housing Your Mossy Frog
If you want to keep your Mossy Frog happy and healthy, you should try to simulate their natural habitat as closely as possible.
The size tank you choose should be based on how many frogs you intend to have. You should allow 4 gallons of space per frog as their average size is 2 - 2 1/2 inches, and they are rather active at times. This will give the frogs plenty of space without being on top of each other. The videos below show a 20 gallon long tank that houses 5 frogs.
Tank Maintenance Video
Mossy Frog Care Video
Mossy frogs are semi-aquatic and should be supplied with both land and water of equal parts. Your land area should slope down into the shallow water side of the tank in order to make it easy for the frogs to make their way out of the water. The water side of the tank should be no more than a few inches deep. The frogs prefer to sit in water with a moving current, so you will need to have a pump, filter or waterfall that will simulate a running stream.
In my tank, shown above, I chose to split the land area and the water area into equal parts. In the center of the tank I installed a plexi-glass with aquarium sealant to divide water from land. For the land side, I installed a false bottom for drainage purposes and a layer of organic dirt and some moss.
The left side of the tank, the water side, has a filter and waterfall in the back that creates a current that flows around to the front of the tank and a piece of Mopani wood to slow the current before it get to the land area. This gives the frogs the choice of calm water or current.
The tank the videos above is a great setup for juvenile frogs because, the juveniles tend to spend the majority of their time up off the ground when they are not in the water. The adults tend to migrate more to the land and water areas. For this reason, you will need to plan on providing a larger, longer tank for adults.
Water Quality
Be sure to only use distilled water or tap water that has been treated with a water conditioner such as Reptisafe.
These frogs tend to do better when you do partial water changes, rather than draining the tank and refilling. Simple use and aquarium vacuum once a week to remove half the water, then replace.
Temperature and Lighting
Mossy frogs do not have any special requirements as far as temperature and lighting. They are perfectly fine with room temperature. I chose to provide lighting simply for esthetic reasons.
A couple things to keep in mind if you plan on using a light; be care not to use a light that is going to raise the temperature more that a degrees or two, you don't want to overheat your frogs, and only install the light along the back of the tank or over the end of the tank that you will not be feeding the frogs at. If they stare into the light while hunting their prey, it could damage their eyesight.
Filter
In order to keep the water fresh and clean, you will need to install An in the water filter. Mossy frogs prefer to relax in water with a current. Most filters you will find are rather tall, so it's simple to add some rocks in front of the filter so the water flows down and creates a current. The steeper the rocks are, the faster the current. Be care though, you don't want a current that is so strong the frogs can't sit still in it.
Referring back to the photo of my tank, you can see the method I used. I stacked the large flat rocks to create a running waterfall, then I installed a piece of Mopani Wood to obstruct the water flow before it reached the land area. Mopani wood works very well in this type of tank because it is heavy and will just sit on the bottom of the tank, rather than float.
Tank Furnishings
You will want to provide at least one hide for your frogs. Sometimes they just want to have a little privacy. In my tank, there is a climbing log on the land side that is hollow, so it serves two purposes, one as a hide and two, as a climbing log.
Mossy frogs do like to climb and they seem to enjoy pouncing on their prey from above, so you will need to include plants, vines and logs for them to perch on.
Diet
The Mossy frog diet will mainly consist of small crickets. Make sure the crickets you provide are no larger than the space between their eyes. This will prevent a possible choking hazard. Offer 3-4 crickets per frog, three to four times a week. A couple of times a month, you will want to provide a different food source for variety such as, wax worms, earth worms cut into small pieces and black worms. The worms will need to be fed from a shallow dish. Do not drop them into the tank or water.
Supplements
Your frogs are what they eat so be sure to provide them with good nutrition. You can dust their insects with a high quality nutritional supplement or you can gut load the insects with a highly nutritious diet such as Fluker's High-Calcium Cricket Diet which is what I use.
In Conclusion:
Vietnamese Mossy Frogs are a bit complex to set up but, once they are set up, are relatively easy to care for. With the proper maintenance and diet, they will provide you with many years of enjoyment.
Proper cage maintenance plays an important role in keeping your blue tongue skink healthy. Keeping your skink in a clean healthy environment will virtually eliminate many of the health issues skinks are susceptible to such as, parasites, stomatitis, mites, scale rot and respiratory infections.
Daily Spot Cleaning
Simply use toilet paper or paper towels to remove fecal matter and the substrate surrounding it. If you have a juvenile skink, then you probably already know, they seem to enjoy showing off their artwork by leaving you poop murals almost on a daily basis. In this case, you can use hot water with a little soap to clean, but be sure to rinse the area very well.
You can also use a product called F10 SC. This is a disinfectant used by veterinarians and is safe for all animals, including reptiles. It kills all types of bacteria, fungi and spores. In fact, this is what I have been using for several years and highly recommend it. It is a safe and effective way to disinfect your skinks enclosure without any fear of leaving harmful residue behind, as long as you dilute it correctly. I keep a spray bottle of the diluted F10 SC solution and a roll of paper towels in every room I have animals in, just for convenience.
Monthly Cage Maintenance
Once a month or so, you will need to break down the entire enclosure and give it a thorough cleaning. Remove all furniture, food and water bowls and substrate. The easiest way I have found to remove the substrate is to just vacuum it out with a shop vac.
Clean the tank with hot soapy water and rinse well. Be sure not to leave any soapy residue behind. Disinfect with F10 SC if you have it. Many people use a mild bleach/water mixture to disinfect but you have to be very diligent in rinsing if you choose to go this route. Be sure there isn't any smell of the bleach left in the tank before you put you skink back inside.
Scrub all furnishings prior to replacing them as well. You may find that some of your furnishing can simply be put in the dishwasher, even the rocks. You might want to give them a quick rinse before hand.
Schedule Maintenance
The easiest way to remember to do cage maintenance is to put yourself on a schedule, and stick to it.
For daily cleaning, pick a time that you know will work for you every day. Maybe you are an early riser and want to do your cleaning first thing in the morning before leaving the house or maybe evenings work better for you. Which ever it is, pick a time and make it part of your daily routine. If you clean at the same time everyday, it will just become habit.
For monthly cage breakdown, choose a day of the month, whether it be the 1st, 15th or the 30th, break the enclosure down on the same day every month. Then you won't have to try to remember when the last cleaning took place.
Another easy way to remember when it's time for a complete breakdown is to clean after each shed, which would be every 4-6 weeks, and is fine as long as you are doing daily cage maintenance.
In Conclusion
Your blue tongue skink is relying on you 100% when it comes to its health. It doesn't matter if you are tired, busy, sick or just feeling lazy, it is your responsibility to keep your skink happy and healthy. Get yourself into a routine that works for you and your skink, and stick to it.
Typically found in wild-caught skinks. Caused from
rubbing the sides of tank.
Cover three sides of the tank so help the skink
feel more secure.
Check to make the heat and humidity levels are correct.
Shedding
Problems
Stuck shed on Toes, Mouth,
Tail, Lips and ears
Low humidity can cause
shedding problems on some areas of the skink and may build up over time. If
left untreated, can cause infection and permanent damage.
Try bathing the skink to
soften theshed.
Use your fingernails to gently remove stuck shed.
Parasites
Tiny white worms seen in fecal matter
Usually isn't a problem in captive bred skinks.
Wild -caught skinks may have them when you purchase the animal. Also caused
from improper cage maintenance.
See your herp vet for a fecal exam and medication.
Stomatitis
(Mouth Rot)
Inflamed, red lips
Red Bumps around the mouth
Mucus in the mouth
A bacterial infection that
can be cause from an untreated injury to the mouth or improper cage
maintenance.
See your herp vet for a
fecal exam and medication.
Dehydration
Dry Scales
Caused from the humidity being too low.
Mist the substrate in the tank twice daily to raise
the humidity
Scale Rot
Large blisters filled with
fluid
Usually cause from unsanitary living
condition. If left untreated the blisters could rupture, leaving and open
wound susceptible to infection.
See your herp vet for a
fecal exam and medication.
Mites
Lifted
scales
White specks appearing in patches
Black spots that move
Mites are an eight-legged blood sucking organism
that can carry and transmit diseases from one reptile to another. Can be
cause from living in unsanitary conditions.
Remove
everything from the enclosure, replace furniture with cardboard. Repeat
daily.
Spray the skink with a reptile safe mite solution, every three days.
Repeat until the mites are gone.
Metabolic Bone Disease
Lumps on the legs, vertical column of the back and
tail
Twitches, ticks, spasms or tremors.
Soft or swollen jaw.
Jerky movements
MBD is the weakening of bone,
caused by an imbalance or deficiency in vitamin D3, calcium and phosphorus.
Moderate cases can be treated
with the proper diet, temperatures, UVB and a good calcium supplement.
More severe cases require vet treatment that may include calcium and
vitamin A/D/E shots administered.
Respiratory Infection
Gasping
Wheezing
Coughing
Heavy breathing
Mucus around the eye, nose & mouth
Respiratory
infections may result from improper temperatures, humidity and poor cage
conditions
Be sure to shred or finely chop vegetables prior to feeding.
When feeding canned dog or cat food, read the nutritional information on the can. Choose a food that doesn't have any by-products. Meat mixed with vegetables is best.
Never leave uneaten live prey in your skinks tank overnight. They will crawl on and possible bite your skink, possibly even causing injury.
Always keep a large water bowl with fresh water in the tank.
