That's no Snake on Sanibel: It's a Skink!

Sanibel is home to many unusual creatures, some found only on our little island.

But even those that may habitat a wide range of locations, often have characteristics that confuse the observer.

Take for example the Skink, whose head and body are a flow of form.  Often, because of its continuous head to body flow, the Skink is mistaken for a snake...but one with legs....perplexing the casual observer as the legs are quite short and therefore not always quickly noticeable.

But the Skink is a lizard, with other special features in addition to its head to body proportions.ale
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The Five-lined Skink is our most common lizard. They grow up to eight inches long, with males growing slightly larger than females.

They are usually black or dark brown, with five light stripes down their backs. Stripes fade as the skink gets older, so adults may look all brown.

Male adult Five-lined Skinks often have bright orange jaws during the breeding season.  This is an attraction for the females who are drawn to the brilliant colors.

Young skinks have very clear stripes and a bright blue tail. Females may keep a very full bluish-gray tail as they age, but males' tails will turn brown. Like most lizards, the tail is not an absolute necessity and the Skink will shed it if captured by the tail as a way to evade a predator.

Five-lined Skinks mate in the Spring and females will dig a nest under a log, stump, or rock. She will lay up to a dozen eggs, which will hatch between June and August, depending on when they were laid. Females will stay with their eggs until they hatch. She will also eat any unhatched eggs.

Young Five-lined Skinks are about two inches long when born.

These lizards are found in moist woods where there are a lot of logs, stumps, and rockpiles to go along with leaf litter.  Home is where the camoflage is!

And if ever there were a species that could illustrate a functional food chain on a tropical island like Sanibel, it is the Skink.  While considered a tasty morsel by a wide variety of island residents, it is also a predator to a wide variety of residents.   So, like with many of our Sanibel dwellers, it all boils down to eat or be eaten.


tail. Females may keep a very full bluish-gray tail as they age, but males' tails will turn brown.
very clear stripes and a bright blue tail. Females may keep a very full bluish-gray tail as they age, but males' tails will turn brown.