Baby Skinks

[lavendertook]

Starting May 1st, because they keep calendar books apparently, adult skinks started emerging to view around the lake in Maryland I live near. I'm hoping the babies with their neon tails will start appearing sometime in June. Here are pics of some of the baby five lined skinks I saw by the lake last summer . . .


This little skink brings you the letter "C". "C" for celtic knot work. You can see where those scribes got their ideas for illuminated fanciful creatures forming letters, can't you?




These guys are about 3 or four inches long--the tail being more of their length. These are very clever or lucky ones.


In the sun, the base of the tail takes on a bright teal color and shades bluer until it is a purple at the very end--so stunning. I could not saturate the pics enough to show the effect. The blue will fade as they get older.


These babies are too curious and ferocious and stupid for camouflage to do them much good, so the bright blue tails protect them by being a decoy. Predators will leap for their tails, which will snap off in their jaws and allow the little skinks to get away. They'll grow new tails, but probably not as long and blue. However, they'll have a better gauge now of what they can eat, and what is likely to eat them instead.

Comments

[grackle]

Awesome pics! I love these little guys but don't see them very often.

[sid]

Way to go, Nature! :-)

[white_rabbit]

Awww, what cool looking little dudes! :) Skinks are cute!

[dantesspirit]

We see these up at the cabin in the woods on the side of a mountain. They're fun to watch.}:P Didn't see any of these this last trip, but did see a few with a bright red head that we'd not seen before, as well as a lizard I've yet to identify.

[calissa]

Amazing! That blue is quite striking.

[egret]

So beautiful! Thanks for sharing them.

[felis]

I'd never seen these before, very interesting. Thanks for sharing!

[lark_ascends]

Cool!

[kk1raven]

Very nice! I haven't seen any skinks for a long time.