Skink Lizard

Belonging to the Scincidae family, skinks are one of the widely found lizard species in the world. The diversification of this species is so large that there is a lot of ambiguity on the exact their exact number. Roughly, there are nearly 1200 species of skinks, giving it a place amongst the second largest lizard family in the animal kingdom. The blue-tongued skink (famous for their long blue tongues), five-lined skink (with five stripes on its back), great desert skink (included in Australia's threatened species list), emerald tree skink (with bright green color), and snake-eyed skink (with no eyelids, it looks similar to snakes!) are just some of the popular lizards of the vast Scincidae family.

Facts About Skink Lizards
It is easy to identify several genera of skinks as they match true lizards, however, numerous other species of this lizard can be quite amusing. Some skinks have extremely short limbs or no limbs at all, and they're found in different colors. One of the most prominent features of skink lizards is that they resemble snakes due to their movements. With long tapering tails and smooth, skinny and cylindrical bodies, Skinks are famous for hiding under leaf litters. Skinks are of average size, their length being 12 cm (4.7 inches), measured from the spout to vent. Few species like Corucia grow extremely large in size and they measure around 35 cm!! Corucia is also famous as the Solomon Islands giant skink. Skink lizards are found in many colors, some with colored dots on the body, stripes and other different features. Here are some more facts about these skinks.

• Right from grasslands to deserts, skinks are found all across the globe.
• Most of the species of this lizard prefer hiding or burrowing rather than tree climbing or being in water.
• Nearly 45% of this species is viviparous (giving birth to young ones, just like mammals)and 55% is oviparous (egg laying). Some of them are even ovoviviparous, that means they lay hatch egg inside their body to give birth to young ones. Some species give birth through placenta, just like in mammals.
• Skinks carefully break their tails when they're fighting with an enemy, to escape the spot by drawing attention of the attacker. The specialized and developed vertebrae of skinks is easily dislodged by muscular contraction.
• Being secretive in nature, skink lizards prefer hiding underneath rocks or logs of woods.
• Mostly skinks feed on insects (crickets, grasshoppers, beetles and caterpillars) and anthropods however, there are several species of skinks that are herbivorous.
• Babies of skinks can be easily identified as they have yellow stripes and a bright blue tail. As babies grow, the color of stripes fade and adult or normal skin color appears.
• Is a skink lizard poisonous? Although, blue tailed skink lizards are said to have poisonous tails, there is not much evidence regarding skinks being poisonous. Skinks are generally called poisonous because of their contrasting tail color and snake like movements. However, to be on the safe side, it is always good to take safety precautions in dealing with skink lizards.

It is a fact that these lizards are very popular as pets amongst several lizard fans. However, do contact animal pet shops and zoos to select the right kind of lizard breeds. If proper care is taken, skinks can be interesting pets to keep in your home. Depending on the number of skinks you'll be purchasing, you have to take a suitable size skink enclosure. Generally, one male and three females can be kept together in a normal size aquarium. You have to also buy a top lid for aquarium to prevent the escape of skinks. The bottom of your aquarium must contain dark brown soil, mulch and bark. Using heat lamps, you have to maintain temperatures close to 30 degree Celsius inside enclosure and nearly 35 degree Celsius on one end of the enclosure. For 14 to 16 hours per day, you must use spectrum lightning so that skinks can get a feel of sunlight. Similarly to pronounce night, keep the lights off for remaining hours in a day. Also ensure that you are able to feed your skink lizard four to five times per week. Skinks can survive on crickets, lean meat and snails.

Properly designing a hiding area for these lizards inside an aquarium is essential, so that they can stick to their natural nature. If no hiding area is provided, they may appear restless and fidgety. Keep a few small branches, rocks, and small hollow logs inside the aquarium, to help them feel comfortable. Lastly, many people have complained of poops of this lizard, especially of the blue tailed skink lizards, in their yards and front doors! That I guess, is an inevitable problem with insects and animals! Different people deal with them differently! Skink lizards are certainly a manifestation of diversification in a single species of animal, and are often interesting species to observe (at least for some of us)!