Natural Life History: Plestiodon faciatus

I caught this little guy trying to seek into the garage at my parents house over the weekend. While trying to snap a picture I found out just how fast skinks can run!

This is a Plestiodon fasciatus (five-lined skink). It belongs to the family Scincidae.This skink's darker middorsal stripe color and reddish coloring around the jaw characterizes this specimen as an adult male. The five-lined skink is often confused with the broadhead and southeastern five-lined skinks. The Plestiodon fasciatus can be distinguished by the uniform size of the scales under its tale. The middle row of scales will be enlarged in the other two species. These shiny scales cover the hard osteoderms that lie beneath.  The five-lined skink can be found in damp habitats including abandoned wood and rock piles. They mate during the spring and begin hatching between June and August. A female can lay up to a dozen eggs. She will stay with her eggs until they hatch, increasing the probability of the survival of her offspring. The young are dark brown to black in color with yellow strips and a bright blue tail. As adults the stripes darkens and the ground color lightens. These skinks are mostly terrestrial and feed on a diet of insects and other arthropods.