Five-lined Skink

Description:

Female, approx 6 inches long, eggs slightly larger than a pencil eraser head. Brightly-colored young with dark bodies, 5 distinct gold lines running the length of their bodies, and vibrant blue tails. I took this series of photos in the summer of 2018. I uncovered a female Five-lined Skink guarding her clutch of eggs under a rotting landscaping timber. I carefully covered her back up and continued to check about once a week to see if she was successful. Sure enough, about 50 days after discovering her, her nest was full of brilliantly colored hatchlings. (They take approximately 60 days total to hatch.)

Habitat:

Sandhills/Piedmont of South Carolina. Deciduous Forest.