I've lived in Redding for about 4 years now.
Never seen a skink up here.
About a week ago, I saw a very fast moving skinny lizard - too skinny to be a swift, running into the grass. I barely got a look at it, I thought it might be a skink but then thought it must have been a juvenile alligator lizard because I had not seen any skinks at all up here.
Today - not while out herping, just walking home - saw a very small lizard with a bright bright blue tail zoom off into the bushes. Skinks are the only species with bright blue tails that might be found here, so I'm pretty sure that's what it was - and the unknown lizard was quite possibly an adult skink (hence no blue tail).
Western Skinks are my favorite native california lizard species - I'm glad they are up here, even though it is generally drier here than where I use to find them by them by the bunches.
I'm now contemplating setting up a skink habitat and trying to find a couple.
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3.0 WC; 0.2 CB L. getula californiae
0.1 WC; 10 eggs (7/11) Elgaria multicarinata multicarinata
