Eumeces fasciatus
The Five-lined Skink is
our most common lizard. They grow up to eight inches long,
with males growing slightly larger than females. They are usually black or
dark brown, with five light stripes down their backs.
Stripes fade as the skink gets older, so adults may look all
brown. Male adult Five-lined
Skinks often have bright orange jaws during the
breeding
season. Young skinks have very
clear stripes and a bright blue tail. Females may keep a
very full bluish-gray tail as they age, but males' tails
will turn brown. Copyright, Terry
Hibbitts
Mark Moran
Copyright, Terry
Hibbitts Five-lined Skinks mate in
the Spring and females will dig a nest under a log, stump,
or rock. She will lay up to a dozen eggs, which will hatch
between June and August, depending on when they were laid.
Females will stay with their eggs until they hatch. She will
also eat any unhatched eggs. Young Five-lined Skinks
are about two inches long when born. These lizards are found
in moist woods where there are a lot of logs, stumps, and
rockpiles to go along with leaf
litter. Five-lined Skinks are
diurnal,
so they are active during the day. They like to crawl out on
rocks or logs to bask (soak up heat from the sun) during the
day. They are also always
looking for a meal. Five-lined Skinks eat mostly insects,
including: crickets, grasshoppers, beetles, and
caterpillars.
They also eat spiders, earthworms, snails, slugs, isopods,
other lizards, and small mice. Five-lined Skinks will
often climb dead trees where there are a lot of
insects. Predators
of these lizards include Raccoons, Red Foxes, Virginia
Opossums, snakes, and hawks.
J. Harding