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I was hoping someone could shed some light on this for me? I live in Amador county California, Recently during a research trip into Caliveris County California I collected a skink When I saw it I recognized it as a Western skink but after picking it up I found it was a adult individual with a pink “regrown” tail. In my whole 26 years I have never observed this. I checked my field guide and found the only Skink in there with a pink tail was a sub species of Gilberts skink or more specifically the Arizona Skink witch only ranges from C. Arizona in yavapai and Maricopa counties which doesn’t even put it in my state. Question 1 is it possible this is a pet that was released? There were no residential areas within miles of where it was collected and question 2 Has anyone ever observed such a colored tail in a Western Skink? As stated this tail has been dropped and regrown so I am wandering if the odd color is just a pigment defect in the new tail. Thanks in advance for any help you can offer to uncover this mystery

My reptile research and collection

Gilbert's skinks actually range through a lot of California. Check out the range map here: http://www.californiaherps.com/lizards/maps/egilbertimap.jpg

-Alice

I saw that but in my little green book “Audubon field guide” It has the exact picture and calls it an Arizona Skink witch is a subspecies of Gilberts Skink and dose not occur in our state but just in a very small portion of Arizona. I hope I am not reading wrong and making a fool of myself but I read the field guide numerous times since the collection. I suppose I can post a picture of it

My reptile research and collection

Gilbert's skinks are rather variable throughout their range and through genetic studies certain populations / subspecies have been found to be more closely related to western skinks than other Gilberts. I suspect the subspecies will be revised in the coming years. There are alos some desert populations which are extremely isolated. I used to rely primarily on the Audobon field guide too, but now I almost never look at it. Robert Stebbin's field guide to western reptiles and amphibians is a much better reference. If you go to www.californiaherps.com, you can browse photos of the various Gilbert's skink subspecies occurring in California. With these guys, I think comparing the range map, with the location you collected it is your best chance of ID'ing it. I'd also take a look at the male western skinks, some of them can get a lot of red on their tails during the breeding season.

-Alice

You know its funny you mention the color of the males, I believe the one with the pink tail may just be a male. I have it in an enclosure with another W. Skink and during feeding time the other day I found that the other one was preparing to shed and had several marks on the old loose skin that resemble mating nips by a male. Should this be the case it is very good news as I have a debate going with an associate of mine that W. Skinks wont breed in captivity “Or so he says” So we will just have to wait and see what happens. I am going over the California herps page now thanks for the link

Foot Hill Reptiles