Reptile & Amphibian Forums

I found this little fella while I was out cutting grass. There were 2 adults as well with the same colors. I'm calling it a striped skink but what's it really called?

Mike

well it depends on where you live.also you did not show the tail.if its blue it is a baby five lined skink but I really dout it.It looks to me like a six lined racerunner.or if you live in the south western part of the US then it could be one of the many whiptails that live there.
nick

Actually it does have a blue tail. I'm in central Florida. I used to see these things at the beach on the west coast of Florida but I hadn't seen them here until last year. They are the fastest little things. The adults are about 6 or 7 inches long. I have more pictures of this baby one I caught but I did let him go. But thanks for the help! And if you have any more info, I'd be happy to hear it!

Mike

Pretty sure that's a 6 lined race runner.

if it has a blue tail Im am 99.99% sure it is a baby five lined skink.but the adults do not have blue tails when older.
nick

Well, looking at the other pictures I have here, I count 6 lines so I guess that's what it is. I cannot remember if the adults had blue tails. Maybe just a thing the babies have. And it was a pale blue. Next time I see an adult I'll go out of my way to catch it and post a pic but yikes, they're fast! Thanks for the help guys. They are becoming more and more common around here and I wanted to know what they were.

Mike

Six lined race runners do have a pale almost sky blue tint to the tail. They also have the larger scales on the sides and belly. A 5 line skink is much blacker as a juvenile and has more of a cobalt blue to electric blue color in the stripes on the tail. The stripes run from orange on the head to yellow on the body to blue on the tail. 5 lines are shiney and small scaled.

Those race runners can be pretty hard to catch. I used to chase them for hours when I was a little kid. You won't see a 5 line skink run for 3 hours- it's in a hole and gone.
Lora