Sexual maturity is reached during the second year following hatching. Five-lined skinks are capable of living at least five years and likely longer. Eggs within a nest hatch nearly synchronously, and both the females and the hatchlings abandon the nest when hatching occurs. Eggs hatch from late July through early September, and hatchlings are about one inch in snout-vent length, with the tail slightly longer than the body. Respiratory water loss from the female helps to maintain the moisture in the nest necessary to maintain the developing embryos. Females frequently reposition the eggs, and sometimes leave the nest to feed, resealing the nest when they return. Once the nest is constructed, the female lays the eggs, coils around them, and remains with the eggs until they hatch. Females move in circular motion pushing rotted hardwood material or soil against the side of the nest chambers, essentially sealing it. Females construct nests in hollowed out areas, under hardwood logs or in rotted areas of hardwood logs under bark, and frequently under rocks. The number of eggs produced by females depends on size of the female larger females produce more eggs than smaller females. Females deposit clutches of eggs varying from as few as 3 to 8 or more eggs in June and July. Males interact aggressively while courting females, and courtship behavior involves following a female for a prolonged time period prior to mating. During the mating season, heads of males turn bright red or orange as a result of hormonal changes associated with breeding. Juveniles can be active on sunny days as early as March, but most activity of adults and juveniles occurs from April through November, depending on local climatic conditions. Juvenile five-lined skinks will have five white or yellow stripes against a black background color whereas juvenile Great Plains skinks are black with no stripes.įive-lined skinks are strictly diurnal and are usually associated with hardwood forests. Size alone separate adult five-lined skinks from Great Plains skinks. In addition, the fifth upper labial is the first to contact the orbit of the eye in five-lined skinks whereas the sixth upper labial is the first to contact the orbit of the eye in broad-headed skinks. These two species can be distinguished as juveniles by counting the upper labial scales: five-lined skinks have seven with two post-labials whereas broad-headed skinks have nine, with no post-labials. Small, black skins with five white stripes and brilliant blue tails can only be five-lined skinks or broad-headed skinks. A combination of size, coloration, and scale characteristics distinguish five-lined skinks from other skinks. Stripes also fade in adult females, but most females retain at least some indication of the lateral stripes. Adult males lose the stripes completely and have a brown-tan body and tail. When sexual maturity is reached, the blue tails fade, with blue coloration disappearing completely within about a year following attainment of sexual maturity. The stripes become less well-defined as the skinks age, with the background coloration fading to brown or tan. Juveniles are black with five distinct white stripes extending from the head to the first one-third of the tail. They closely resemble the larger broad-headed skink in coloration and overall morphology. Five-lined skinks are small to medium-sized lizards with smooth, glass-like scales, well-developed limbs, and a tail that is slightly longer than the body.
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