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Diet

Prehensile Tailed Skinks are known to be exclusively vegetarian and should be fed daily or every other day. Their diet in captivity should include a large variety of vegetables and some fruits. Although some keepers have each day's diet calculated to include precise ratios of daily nutrients, I use a much simpler method - VARIETY VARIETY VARIETY!!!! If you get into the habit of only offering 5 or 6 of the same food items day in and day out, there is a small chance that your lizards will be getting the adequate nutrition they need. Try and use yourself as an example. If you were to eat only a small handful of the same basic things each and every day, chances are you wouldn't be a very healthy individual.

Here's a list of fruits and vegetables I use on regular basis :

  • mustard greens
  • collard greens
  • dandelion greens
  • kale
  • swiss chard
  • butternut sqaush
  • sweet potato
  • green beans
  • frozen mixed vegetables (corn, peas, carrots)
  • carrots
  • green beans
  • spinach (small amount)
  • broccoli (small amount)
  • cauliflower (small amount)
  • kiwi
  • bananas
  • strawberries
  • melons

    • You may have noticed that there is NO LETTUCE on my list. Lettuce, including Romaine, is made up of nearly all water and little else. It seems that people tend to heavily rely on lettuce as a healthy staple for their vegetarian reptile. This is a dangerous habit. The same can be said for other "super watery" vegetables such as cucumbers and celery.

    The vegetable diet is also replaced with Mazuri brand tortoise diet once or twice per week. Although it does contain the controversial preservative ethoxyquin, this is one of the few commercially available diets that is actually nutrionally balanced and not just loaded with pretty colors and tons of added garbage. It was originally formulated for zoo and institutional use with Galapogas tortoises.

    Because of their nocturnal nature, I feed my skinks in the evening. The food is left with them all night and any uneaten portion is removed in the morning. As far as serving size is concerned, again, use common sense. If you're skink inhales what you give him in thirty seconds then you probably need to offer up some more vegetables. If there is a pile of food left over the next day, a smaller portion the next night is a smart idea.

    Just a side note - The size and strength of corucia jaws makes me wonder if at least a small part of their wild diet includes tree snails. I have never offered any live snails for fear of transmitting some type of parasite. If anyone can confirm one way or another if snails are consumed by wild skinks, please e-mail me.


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