Ten minutes passed, before I caught movement in the corner of my vision. I turned my head and there he came, sauntering across the patio, not sprinting, not break-neck speed, not avoiding me, but swaggering straight up to me, stopping within three inches of my toes. I mean, this was giggle stuff. I later did some sleuthing. This is a five-lined skink but from there the puzzle gets confusing. This skink was about eight inches long including that gorgeous tail. But only juveniles are said to have that brilliant blue tail. With a flex of a muscle they are able to release a section of tail to free themselves from a predator and save their life. Males have the brighter orange head which is an indicator of sexual maturity. His legs were a beautiful pale pink underneath the gray pattern. Nesting occurs in April and May with broods hatching June to August. I take that to mean there shouldn’t be any juveniles hanging around, right?
So now, where does that leave us? With a handsome salmon-headed skink still carrying a bright blue juvenile tail who was attracted to my toes? He was so cute. And lucky me, he's my neighbor.
Vickie. Great story and some wonderful skink portraits. I think you two have bonded. It sounds as though it was just as curious of you as you were of it.
ReplyDeleteI once asked a group of kids I was leading at the nature center, “Who knows what a skink is?” One little boy quickly said, “It’s a baby skunk!”
Lyn
Hi Lyn. Kids are so funny! Thanks for sharing that.
ReplyDeleteStephens comment made me smile...we have little skinks like that here too..
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