Five line skink sunning himself on a retaining wall

[Fumesucker]

Took a while to sneak up on this baby close enough to get a shot, skittish little bugger and there's no cover anywhere close to his spot. I've seen him disappear out of the corner of my eye probably a dozen times this year so far, this is the first time I've actually had a chance to see what he looks like.

[NV Whino]

1. Oops. I thought you wrote skunk.

Nice shots, even if it isn't a skunk.

[CaliforniaPeggy]

2. GREAT shots! And I thought I read "skunk" too!

These are wonderful. Did you use a telephoto?

Congrats!

[Fumesucker]

4. Thanks and yes on the telephoto, 200mm with a macro ring..

[flamin lib]

3. I see he has a new tail!

The tail is new enough that the defining lines haven't developed yet. I've got several green anoles with a similar condition. Probably birds.

FYI many lizards, when attacked, will lose their tails which wiggle like crazy to distract the attacker.

[Fumesucker]

5. I figured the new tail spoke to the skittish part, we have lots of birds too..

[ManiacJoe]

6. Had to click on the thread just to see

what you are talking about.

[Curmudgeoness]

7. I love those photos.

Healthy, fat little bugger. Even the detail of the little toes is great. I can imagine how hard that was to get. They are programmed to scoot all the time.

[Solly Mack]

8. He's so cute!

[BlancheSplanchnik]

9. SKINK!

A dinkadink! A dinkadink! A dinkadoooooo....

[stonecutter357]

10. gorgeous

I think i have seen one of this in Alabama but with a blue tell.

[Scuba]

11. Crikey, mate! She's a beaut!!

[Fumesucker]

17. You have said that to me before

http://www.democraticunderground.com/10369847#post1

[Scuba]

19. I've never had an original thought.

[abakan]

12. I wish I could lose my tail and grow a smaller one too...

Nice photos, thanks

[ffr]

13. Fence lizards and skinks in my backyard too

That's a fat and happy skink if I ever saw one!

They're entertaining to watch and what a great little animal for keeping the insect populations in check! There are so many of them, they sometimes get into territorial fights and occasionally I'll find one hiding under the trash container. I have to be careful when I roll it out, so I don't squash the little guy.

I've seen them run from great distances to eat carpenter ants or drink from my drip irrigation. They're clever and smart.

[shenmue]

14. O hai

I a dragon!

[handmade34]

15. he's a beauty

[AikenYankee]

16. Nice!

Where do you live Fumesucker?

[Fumesucker]

18. Foothills of the Blue Ridge Mountains

Forest grows here if it's just left alone long enough, we have a lot of wildlife.

[AikenYankee]

20. I live in South Carolina ...

not far from Augusta, GA. We have a number of these guys living out back near our pool, under the deck. Never heard them referred to as "skinks". They are fast! Thanks for posting. Nice pics!

[Fumesucker]

21. They are all over the Eastern US..

Skink is the common name, the Latin scientific name is..

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Plestiodon_fasciatus

I like watching them too, you just about have to use binoculars though, get close enough to see them otherwise and they are gone.

Anything that eats bugs is alright in my book and if they are cute too so much the better, we have a migratory bat colony here as well and they show up nicely timed to bug season.

[Enthusiast]

26. They are in Canada close to the Georgian Bay.

[Fla Dem]

22. I had one of those in my hands the other day. My cat brought me a present.

We have an enclosed lanai, but somehow geckos and little frogs get in and my girl loves to catch them. I've seen ones like this before and recognized they were different than the other little lizards, their markings are distinctly different and they seem rounder, but didn't know they were called Skinks. Anyhow she brought one in and dropped it at my feet and it went scurrying off. Took a bit but I caught it and released it out in the back yard.

[Fumesucker]

23. They like our woodpile, we didn't use all of it last winter and now it's a skink smorgasbord

Some of the older wood has probably been there for four or five years by now, the bug population is large and the skinks are all over it as soon as things warm up.

I've shot the other lizards too.

http://www.democraticunderground.com/?com=view_post&forum=1036&pid=9699

[Fla Dem]

24. Wow, that's a gorgeous picture. nt

[LibDemAlways]

25. I was on the phone one day with a friend. She is

constantly multi-tasking and was cleaning out a dresser drawer at the same time. Suddenly she started screaming. In amongst her clothing she found the shed skin of a skink. He turned up a day or two later affixed to a sliding glass door. Not a fan of lizards in the house, but your outdoor photos are great.