Well we've decided to hold off on the larger of our cages but filled a somewhat smaller one. We got a pair of Sandfish skinks (scincus scincus) and a pair Gold skinks (trachypleis aurata).

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Great choices, i'm sure steve (Palentology) will be along to tell you his 1001 reasons why skinks are great!

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My Photos

Actually your gold skinks might be Mabuya multifasciata. Get me a pic of their face, they should be photogenic, and I can tell you from 100ft away if it's what I bred. They should be fast, smart, aggreessive for feeding (my female bites me now and begs at her food dish). They should also hate people, though some that I bred were reported to be hand tame for a while after I sold them. They love digging, climbing, jumping, mathematics and eating especially- they can and WILL overeat, especially females, who get obese. I can gender them for you by face if you get a good enough pic.


Sandfish skinks are a great choice. Good for holding, bad for display, the opposite of the golds. The neatest thing about them is that they are an evolutionary exception to a general trend we observe in skinks. This trend is that grass or sand swimmers have a strong tendancy to reduce limbs to an extreme, moreso than any reptiles and even tying with snakes in one or two instances (Oddly, both in Lerista). These gaffers retain their feet, robust as they are, and even seem to have big, wide feet. They don't use them for dugging and their streamlined heads will show that they swim like any other skink or snake using body undulations to cover themselves in sand and move through it. Perhaps the big feet are for running ON the sand, but they seldom do that. I digress- try covering one part of the cage with plastic plants- you'll be more likely to see them aboveground.

At any rate, I think the golds are Mabuya multifasciata. Get me the face shots and please describe for me the color patterns, such as "gold with flecs on the sides" or "yellow head with red side". Make sure to note if the scales are matte or glossy- these guys have a huge range and I'm curious to see if I'm right about the variety of natural morphs (4 characters with 2 scales types).

Edit: the sandfish on the right is obese- give a little less food to that one.

Edit2: I did a search for your scientific name. Mabuya genus has been fractured, which is still up in the air, as it was huge and scientists are nit picky. This means it'll be harder to pin down a proper name. Reguardless, the species name should still be multifasciata if I'm right. Try that, despite it meaning many lined; there's more info under that name. These guys are hard to pin down cause ALOT of them run very similar in appearance (and are likely just geographic splits rather than true specific differences).
Scincidae

Thanks for the information. I looked into the Mabuya multifasciata now belonging to the genus Trachylepis, while I was at the shop they have alot of skinks available at the moment. Though they look rather simular they get somewhat larger then these two. Though as you say this could be a geographical split more than a different spp. I've added two more pictures that I hope will help. The scales are glossy, bronze to golden with alight black edge. the tail, dorsal, and flank are uniformly colored. With a white to off white ventrical scales. They are very fast, aggressive feeders, and not very fond of people.





We noticed the one looked alittle fat so she's getting a bit less for a while.

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"Tonights forcast..... Dark." Al Sleet, the hippy dippy weather man, George Carlin. You will be missed.
http://schlange-titus.de
http://dght.de

Nice pics. That'd be a VERY strange morph of M.multifasciata if it indeed is the same. The black around the scales is very different, as is the uniform coloration. Classic face of a mabuya (I made 50 bucks off a zoo keeper on a bet once reguarding this, lol). M. multifasciata I doubt belongs to Trachylepis. It is a whole mess, this genus, thanks to that idiot who split them and how he split them. He split them based on geography, mostly, rather than physiology and morphology. Idiot.

Another HUGE problem with these guys is that info is patchy at best. I'd bet money on the following for your skink:

>50% chance of it being placental, with my thoughts leaning on it being placental (not ovovivparous, I mean FULLY placental).
-babies will be weak, die easy and prone to dehydration.
-the can get obese. Don't let females eat more than 2 5 week crickets every other day, or a single superworm every other day.
-Males are larger, more tentative, more easy to scare and total wusses. Also they won't overeat.
-They don't bask much- they like ambient temps. Basking spots still needed.
-LOVE to tweezerfeed- will balance on two legs and jump for food.
-As a last point, they get to know people. Very well. Mine don't try to escape when I do stuff in their cage, but if my friend puts his hand in the female is running up his arm and jumping for freedom ASAP. Females DO NOT back down from challenges, be it cats, dogs, snakes or bigger lizards. I am not kidding, mine stares down cats all the time and runs towards snakes to puff up throat and challenge.


Forgot to say congrats on buying skinks. They are the best reptiles you can buy, I'll never live without one again. Golds are still my fav's, make me laugh all the time. Wonderful animals. Make sure to hold the sandfish often.

I have to corret my self as of now Mabuya multifasciata still seems to be corret. Quinquetaeniata and Perrotetii were moved to the Trachylepis genus.

__________________
"Tonights forcast..... Dark." Al Sleet, the hippy dippy weather man, George Carlin. You will be missed.
http://schlange-titus.de
http://dght.de

wow those are beautiful! congrats

yeah and no doubt they'll be moved again. Skink taxonomic complexes are just insane sometime as they are all so close yet obviously different.

After seeing the pics I doubt you have M. multifasciata. It is obvious that it is in the archaic/super genus Mabuya, however. Out of the 90+ species in that genus, I'd say you're on your own. Good luck, I'd question what the pet store told you at any rate and find out for yourself.