Five-lined Skink (Plestiodon fasciatus)

The five-lined skink (pictured below) is a common species within Eastern North America. It can grow to over 8 inches in length.  Juveniles have 5 distinctive white stripes with a bright blue tail.  The stripes fade, the bright blue tail turns light blue, and the head becomes reddish when it reaches maturity. 

Often it is confused for the smaller, more fossorial, Federally protected Blue-tailed Mole Skink.  Blue-tailed mole skinks have much smaller legs and their bodies are a much lighter brown.  Bluetail mole skinks need loose sand for burrowing and typically inhabit sandhills, xeric hammocks, oak and sand pine scrubs, and turkey oak barrens. In Florida, bluetail mole skinks are found in Highlands, Polk, and Osceola counties along the Lake Wales Ridge (Florida Natural Areas Inventory 2001).