Planning the diet of a Blue Tongued Skink reptile is one of the easiest parts of keeping such a reptile because they eat plants as well as meat. Therefore, you do not need to consider many restrictions or precautions. The Blue Tongued Skink reptile is also a vociferous eater that will consume anything you give them, which is the only reason why you need to be very careful not to overfeed the reptile. Even though they are hearty creatures, you still need to plan their diets in order to help the skink become healthier and more active.
Bringing in variety in the food of the Blue Tongued Skink reptile is the most important point to remember. You can alternate between the protein sources and the canned foods you use for their diet. If you continue to feed your reptile with the same food over and over again, they will become bored and might even stop eating altogether.
Apart from the conventional varieties of fruits and vegetables that you can put in the diet of the Blue Tongued Skink reptile, many people incorporate dog and cat food as well. However, dog and cat food should not be the staple diet of your skink reptile and should be given only sometimes and in controlled portions. There is no harm in giving cat’s food to your reptile, but it is highly recommended to keep a varied diet, which is composed of almost 60% of insects like crickets and cockroaches. Besides this, it can have 30% of vegetables and the rest can be made up of miscellaneous food items like cat food, dog food, commercial diet like bread and poultry items and rodents.
When you purchase cat food or dog food for your Blue Tongued Skink reptile, make sure that you get high-quality cat food with premium ingredients. It should not have any by-products or meat and bones. You can also pick up canned food that has fruits and vegetables, something you can feed the reptile directly. This cannot substitute for fresh fruits and vegetables dusted with vitamin supplements, but this option is better than giving the reptile 100% protein sources.
Many reptile experts do not recommend cat foods to be used frequently in the diet of Blue Tongued Skink reptiles, primarily because cat food has more protein than dog food does. However, if you skink needs to gain weight or has been through a tough time, cat food can be beneficial in helping him gain weight and health especially if your reptile is a breeding one.
