The Ground Skink is a type of lizard. It is usually tan or reddish-brown in color and between 3 to 6 inches long. The ground skink has a broad dark stripe running down both sides of its body and its tail. Its belly is yellowish-white and the head is often a grayish-brown color. Like other lizards, the ground skink has scales all over its body. It has small legs with 5 toes at the ends. Did you know that the ground skink has a transparent eyelid? It can close its eyes to protect them while digging through soil and still see what it is doing!

Skinks like to live in woodland areas, humid forests, or grasslands where there is plenty of plant life. They are often seen hiding under logs, rotting leaves, or other mosses. Skinks have been seen throughout the southeastern and mid-Atlantic USA. They eat insects and spiders that they find in old leaves, but some ground skinks will bite off their own tails for food if needed.

Ground skinks can breed up to 5 times a year; females lay up to 7 eggs at a time between April and August at the rate of one group a month. Although she will build a nest of leaves and soil for her eggs, the female ground skink does not care for them after that point. The eggs are left to hatch on their own and the young ground skinks must take care of themselves.