Rescued Five-lined Skink

We live in the woods and have a lot of small critters outside – lizards,bats, chipmunks, turtles, and non-poisonous snakes, to name a few. I have no problem with any of these creatures – in fact, they help make the garden an ever-changing, entertaining place to be. I just want them to stay outside where they belong.

A few weeks ago I went to the kitchen and was startled to see a blue-lined skink profiled sharply at the bottom of the white ceramic sink. The lizard had climbed down the slick sides, but was unable to get back out. It’s not easy to catch a live, squirming lizard, but I was able to get him into the dish strainer, which I covered with a plastic glass and lifted with a fork into a large stainless steel bowl. Then…outside to freedom!

Blue-lined skinks (Eumeces fasciatus) are actually immature five-lined skinks. They live primarily in wooded areas of the southeast. Some people (my sister, especially) are scared of small lizards, but skinks are very beneficial to the landscape. They eat slugs and mosquitos and are fun to watch as they catch the sun’s rays or chase one another over rocks or under deck surfaces. Kitchen exploration is not encouraged, however.