SCIENTIFIC NAME
Eumeces fasciatus
DESCRIPTION
Despite their smooth-skinned appearance, skinks are actually lizards not salamanders. Lizards, which are reptiles, have scales, claws on their feet, and external ear openings, whereas salamanders, which are amphibians, have smooth, moist skin, and lack both claws and ear openings. Five-lined skinks start off life with a bright blue tail and dark body with 5 broad light-coloured stripes. As they age their tail and body fades to a more uniform brown-grey averaging about 15 - 20 cm in length.
RANGE
HABITAT
These lizards are found in moist woods where there are a lot of logs, stumps, and rockpiles to go along with leaf litter.
DIET
BEHAVIOUR
undefinedPRIMARY ECOSYSTEM ROLES
Skinks are cold-blooded, which means their body temperature is regulated by external factors rather than internally. Although wary and secretive, skinks will occasionally lounge on rocks or logs to bask in the sun. In the heat of mid-afternoon they take shelter under rocks, logs, or leaf litter. During winter they hibernate in rotting logs, under large rocks, or underground.
To welcome skinks or other reptiles to your garden, be sure to provide lots of shelter in the form of dense vegetation, brush piles, and fallen logs. A carefully placed rock or log that receives morning sun will serve as a welcome basking spot. In wooded areas allow leaf litter to accumulate naturally. They will reward these efforts by consuming crickets, flies, grubs, and other insects.
