Wildlife Watching Wednesday: The Colorful Five-Lined Skink

By: Tom Berg

Have you ever seen a skink?  Skinks are pretty cool creatures.  They are small lizards which are native to North America and many other parts of the world.  The Five-Lined Skink, in particular, is a very handsome and colorful little lizard.  It is very common throughout much of the eastern United States and the Midwest, ranging from the East Coast all the way west to eastern Texas, Oklahoma, Kansas and Nebraska.  They can also be found all the way south to the Gulf of Mexico.

Five-lined skinks are often called blue-tailed skinks since juveniles of the species have bright blue tails.  The blue color fades as they get older, especially in the males.  The main body of both males and females is dark brown with five yellowish stripes running the length of its body.  The yellow stripes gradually fade with age, too.

These interesting lizards typically only grow to about eight inches in length from their nose to the tip of their tail.  They have short legs with long toes, but they can still move surprisingly fast.  They use their speed to catch all sorts of small insects and spiders.  Ants, beetles, crickets and moths are favorite foods.

Like many other skinks, five-lined skinks have the ability to disconnect and drop their tail if it is grabbed by a predator (or a person).  The bright blue color of the tail often attracts the attention of predators, and these skinks actually wave their tails back and forth to get the attention of an attacker.  Once the offender grabs their tail, the skink releases it and escapes, otherwise unharmed!  With time, a new tail is regenerated.

Five-lined skinks prefer to live along stream banks where there is plenty of water and lots of insects to eat.  Trees lining the shoreline provide cover and plenty of shade, and open rocky areas give them a good place to soak up some heat from the sun on a cool morning.  Rocky ledges also offer lots of hiding places where they can hide and stay safe.

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