When they're angry, they open their mouths and wave their blue tongues. But you'll rarely see even tempered blue-tongue skinks get this mad, they rarely display their aptly named tongue as a warning flag. In fact, this reptile is a great alternative to a green iguana, particularly for first time pet owners. Green iguanas remain trendy, inexpensive and easy to find. But they're not a good idea for most pet owners.
Green iguanas get huge, up to five-feet long, and they require nearly twice that climbing height.
Caring for a green iguana is a similarly huge responsibility, apparently too huge for most people since the majority of green iguanas are either given up for adoption or die prematurely due to inadequate care. That's why considering alternatives makes sense, particularly for rookie reptile owners. The blue-tongue skink has several of the same attributes as the green iguana. For one thing, they're smart. Pete Weis of Tallahassee, Flor. could have a bumper sticker on his car stating he's proud father of his honor student skinks.