Skink
There are 3 kinds of skinks in the Southeast that have the same traits. They are the Five-lined, Southeastern Five-lined and the Broadhead skink. It’s hard to tell the difference between these skinks except for the mature male Broadhead skink. He has a large orange head and powerful jaws. All can be found under logs, in trees and in the woods. They eat a wide variety of insects, spiders and other invertebrates. They lay eggs in rotten logs or moist soil in the summer. The young skinks have bright blue tails and white or yellowish stripes and sometimes called scorpions, but they are not venomous. When they get older their stripes fade and their color changes. When threatened by a predator they will break off their tails allowing them to escape.
Source of information: srelherp.uga.edu/lizards
- Young baby skinks have bright blue tails.
- Young skink 8-14-14
- Their jaws can crush small mammals. Yes, it hurts!
- Mature Broadhead male