Southeastern Five-lined Skink

Snapshot

A five-lined skink of drier pine woods and coastal Georgia — about 5–8.5 inches — blue-tailed young; adults may show reddish heads. Native; leave alone.

Photos

(Photos pending — see photos/southeastern-five-lined-skink/MANIFEST.md.)

Description and identification

SREL: 5–8.5 in. Gray, brown, or black with five white/yellowish stripes (two per side + mid-dorsal). Young with bright blue tails; adult males’ stripes may fade with reddish/orange head color. Scale cue vs five-lined and broadhead: no enlarged mid-row of scales under the tail. Broadheads usually larger; five-lined prefer moister sites.

Look-alikes

Five-lined skink — moister habitats; enlarged subcaudal scale row. Broadhead skink — larger adults; extreme male head width. Juveniles of all three are hard; habitat dryness and adult size help.

Range in Georgia

Throughout South Carolina and all but extreme northern Georgia (SREL). Full southeastern Coastal Plain–centered range.

Full species range map

(Full native-range map pending — maps/southeastern-five-lined-skink-full-range.png. Georgia occurrence in text; prefer GA DNR / SREL / georgiawildlife.com. Not Georgia-only art.)

Habitat preferences

Dry wooded habitats with fallen trees and stumps; particularly common in dry pine forests and coastal areas. Less arboreal than broadheads but uses ground and trees.

Natural history

Often under logs or bark; when pursued, races to nearest tree or log. Tail autotomy if grabbed. Females lay several eggs in moist soil or rotten logs in summer and attend until hatch. Blue-tailed young are sometimes falsely called “scorpions” — they are not venomous.

Food preferences

Insects, spiders, and other invertebrates.

Temperament and encounters

Quick to cover; harmless. Enjoy from a distance; don’t grab for “scorpion” myths.

Conservation and legal notes

Generally common in dry pine and coastal habitats where cover persists; fire exclusion and habitat conversion reduce open-structure pine woods.

In Georgia, native nongame lizards are wildlife. Possession and take rules differ from popular pet-trade assumptions — check current Georgia DNR guidance (native wildlife / legal pets) before any collection. Do not invent statutes. Habitat loss, roads, and free-ranging cats drive many local declines. Educational observation from a distance is the default.

If you meet one

Watch from a distance; do not grab lizards by the tail (many species drop tails as defense — costly to the animal). Keep pets from chasing wildlife. Local educators — including community resources around Cartersville such as Etowah Valley Exotics when appropriate — can help with distant photo ID. This profile is educational, not a husbandry or collecting guide.