Hobbies And Interests
Hunting Habits
The garden skink is a ruthless hunter, attacking anything that moves and is small enough to eat. Hiding under leaves and sticks, the skink waits motionless for unsuspecting prey. When an insect enters into view, the skink pounces. With the insect in its mouth, the skink shakes its head violently, killing its prey, then swallows it whole. Depending on conditions, a skin can survive eating only every four or five days, but will eat as much as it can catch.
Insects and Invertebrates
The normal diet of a garden skink varies widely. In a year, it can consume any number of crickets, grasshoppers, moths, worms, flies, grubs or earwigs, though skinks prefer cockroaches. Even other predators, like smaller spiders, can make a fine meal as long as the skink is able to catch them. Its diet is only limited by its mouth size, and lack of teeth, as any meal will have to be small enough to swallow in one gulp.
Encouraging Skinks
A skink can be a valuable ally in for any gardener, and skinks are sure to visit as long as the garden is inviting. Using leaf mulch around trees and beds provides hunting grounds, as well as hiding places. Dogs and cats are considered predators, and their presence will scare away skinks. Once the skinks begin nesting, care has to be taken to avoid harming their eggs. pesticides will kill a skink that eats the poisoned bug carcass. Avoid overuse in the garden.
Pet Diets
Though a garden skink's true habitat is the great outdoors, it is possible to keep a skink as a pet. In captivity, a skink will eat fruit and cooked vegetables, as well as canned pet food. Mealworms, crickets and vitamins, should supplement this type of diet. Garden skinks are not the most popular type of pet skinks, and just like all lizards, they require a large terrarium equipped with a reptile heater and plenty of fresh water.