Reptile

Blue-tongued Skink

Area: 
Australia and New Guinea
Habitat: 
Forests, grasslands, rain forests, and deserts
Food: 
Snails, insects, worms, fruit, and flowers
Size: 
Up to 2 feet long
Babies: 
Hatch from soft-shelled eggs inside the mother.
Blue-tongued skinks have strong jaws for crushing snail shells and beetles.
Blue Means "Boo!"

 

 

Have you ever stuck your tongue out at someone? For people, it is considered bad manners, but for this lizardAnimal that has a long, scaly body, four legs (usually), and a long tail. It is cold-blooded and has a backbone., it’s a way to scare off a predatorAn animal that hunts and kills other animals for its food.!

 

A blue-tongued skink spends most of the day searching for food. When a predatorAn animal that hunts and kills other animals for its food. threatens a skink, the lizardAnimal that has a long, scaly body, four legs (usually), and a long tail. It is cold-blooded and has a backbone. puffs up its body to look bigger. At the same time, it opens its mouth and hisses while sticking out its bright blue tongue. The sudden flash of color may surprise and confuse the predatorAn animal that hunts and kills other animals for its food. just long enough for the skink to scurry away.

 

In Australia, blue-tongued skinks are very common. They are often seen in peoples’ yards, where they eat insectA small animal without a backbone. Its body is divided into three parts. Insects have three pairs of legs and usually two pairs of wings. Flies, ants, grasshoppers, and beetles are a few of the many kinds of insects. pests. Because they live among humans, blue-tongued skinks have to watch out for dogs and cats as well as their other natural predators, such as snakes and kookaburras.