Common garden skink

The common garden skink (Lampropholis guichenoti) is a small species of lizard in the family Scincidae. The species is endemic to Australia. Additional common names for L. guichenoti include grass skink, Guichenot's grass skink, pale-flecked garden sunskink, and penny lizard.

Etymology
The specific name, guichenoti, is in honor of French zoologist Antoine Alphonse Guichenot.

Geographic range
In Australia, L. guichenoti is often seen in suburban gardens in Adelaide, Melbourne, Perth, Sydney, Canberra and Brisbane, but also is common across most of Southern Australia, Tasmania, and some of New South Wales.

Description
L. guichenoti can grow to a maximum total length (including tail) of 14 cm, but the average total length is 8 –. The average common garden skink lives for 2–3 years. It usually has a browny black colour and sometimes may appear a dark shade of red when bathing in the sun. The lighter its colour, the more energetic it is. It has small sharp teeth which easily slice through smaller prey. Even wild individuals are very docile, and rarely bite humans when touched or picked up.

The female pale-flecked garden sunskink has a yellowish, almost orange tinge to her underside, however the males have a light grey tinge to their underside. Females are often bigger than the males in size.

Capable swimmers, skinks have been known to dive under water to evade predators and remain submerged for several minutes until a threat has passed.

Diet
The common garden skink feeds on invertebrates, including crickets, moths, slaters, earthworms, flies, grubs and caterpillars, grasshoppers, cockroaches, earwigs, slugs, dandelions, small spiders, ladybeetles and many other small insects, which makes it a very helpful animal around the garden. In captivity, it can also be fed fruit and vegetables, but the vegetables have to be cooked for the skink to be able to eat it. Skinks especially love bananas, strawberries and blueberries etc. (no citrus fruit). The common garden skink relies purely on the movement of its prey when hunting. When hunting, the skink will either hide and wait for prey to come by or actively pursue it (this depends on how hungry it is). Once it has caught its prey, it shakes it around vigorously to kill it before swallowing it whole. Once it has had one meal, it begins to actively pursue prey for a short while with its newfound energy. The common garden skink only needs one prey item per four or five days, thus making it an ideal pet for small children. It can be fed earthworms if the soil is drained out of them with salt water, because worms are too high in soil.

Habitat
Although L. guichenoti is often seen under leaves, in long grass and under rocks so that it can watch its prey, it also often prefers hiding in logs where its larger predators cannot reach it. As with most reptiles, the common garden skink is cold-blooded, and may be seen on top of rocks or paths in the morning trying to warm its blood. It prefers large areas with a lot of leaves and soft soil. It is normally found around hot and dusty areas that have many trees and stumps.

Predators
The common garden skink's predators are mainly birds and cats. Even tiny birds like robins are a threat. Larger lizards and snakes will sometimes try to eat it as well. Like many other skinks, its tail will drop if grasped roughly. The disconnected tail will twitch vigorously for a while, capturing the attention of the predator while the lizard makes its escape. This survival tactic may seem hard for the skink to tolerate, but it is quite the opposite. Although it may cost the skink some energy, the skink's tail will eventually grow back to normal.

Eggs
The common garden skink is oviparous and lays small white eggs between summer and mid autumn. The female usually lays about six eggs, often in communal clutches that may contain as many as 250 eggs altogether, usually under a cluster of rocks to keep them safe from predators. The eggs hatch in a matter of weeks after they are laid. Most eggs are around 10 mm.