So, you're thinking to yourself, Swampy's gone over the edge at last. She's posting pictures of skink scat. Well, yeah, I am. But I am doing it for a reason. From time to time I check my site meter and look at the referrals. I have discovered that there is someone out there in cyberspace who needs to know what skink droppings look like.
Here you go, mystery person. This is a picture of the droppings of a five-lined skink, Eumeces sp., a lizard common to our area.
76 comments:
it was me! i needed to know what it looked like! my son just a skink for a pet, and we're supposed to clean the scat daily. there hasn't been any that i could discern so far, but now i'll know something more about what to look for. thank you!
Thanks for both the questioner and the replier. My trapped (by accident) skink will appreciate it, I am sure, since I will now be able to make her meals reflective of her tastes.
Exactly what I was looking for!! I live in Greenup Co., Ky and found this scat both on my front steps and in my garage--Couldn't figure out what was leaving it!!
I have seen some 5 lined skinks running around but didn't know if it was from a skink or some rodent!!
Thanks
Greetings All,
I'm glad this photo has been of help to you. It's always nice to know which critters are sharing our space!
Just what I was looking for. Found the scat in my St Marys, GA garhage. How do you get rid of a skink? I haven't found him yet.
Thanks SO much--who knew how many people need to know this. I saw scat I didn't recognize in my greenhouse and knew a skink lived there, and that super distinctive white cap was like nothing I'd ever seen. Your site is the first I clicked on and I'm already done! Mystery solved. Thanks!!
Does anyone know what causes the white bit at the end?
The kidneys of reptiles work differently than those of mammals. Their nitrogen-based wastes are excreted as a paste of uric acid. That's the white stuff you see in the dropping.
Wow, I think there's a skink in my house, which is better than a snake. Thank you for your picture. I live in St. Mary's County Maryland. We have skinks running all around outside and now I think they have make it inside :) I first thought it was a snake. I was able to identify the scat from your picture.
Thank you for posting the picture of skink poop. I have been going out of my mind trying to figure out what animal was somehow getting into my shed and leaving me these "gifts" I researched everything from mice, rats, birds, I was so puzzled at how what ever it was could be getting inside when the doors are shut. Well, I finally saw the skinks and managed to catch one, I kept that little guy in a tank for almost 4 hours until it finally pooped. Mystery solved! Thank you, I wasn't sure how such a little creature could produce such a big terd!
Glad to be able to help. If you think the scat skink is big, you should see how big a toad scat is ;)
I want to thank you, one more interested party has his answer. I thought it was skink scat but now I know for sure.
PS I kind of like the little guy and his poop is only on my deck, just glad to know its from him and not something else
SR in Boonville, IN
You're welcome. Skinks are harmless and they eat a lot of bugs -- good to have around!
If this photo weren't here, I'd still be wondering what had left identical deposits on my foundation vent sills. My first guess was bats. Glad to find out it's just skinks.
Glad you found the photo of benefit.
Thank you so much for posting this picture. We have these droppings on our foundation sill, too, and I just had a pest control worker try to tell me they were from either a roof rat or norway rat. When I found pictures elsewhere of those, they don't match. I looked for skink, since I know we have a ton of them around our house. And sure enough, first link is here, and you could have taken this picture from our garage. I was almost certain that it was either a skink or toad, both of which are in abundance. Again, thank you.
Thanks for the pic. Skinks are very rare to our part of the world (Southwestern Ontario, Canada) and this will help me in my search for isolated populations. Who knew there would be so many others looking for the same thing!?
http://erintown.blogspot.com/
A tiny blue tailed skink was in our house recently. I saw it exit under the facing of the sliding glass door which is rarely used. It was fast and flexible going under the sliding track. However, he must still be coming in and out because I am seeing droppings that look like what you pictured near the sliding glass door. I have a big safety stick in the track seemingly blocking the entrance.
Is this scat dangerous? How clean? How "trap" them or discourage them?
I also would like to thank you for posting this picture. We have been trying to figure out what has been leaving these droppings on our front porch. In that search, one website stated that this was snake poo, I'm sure that both being reptiles, they are similar, but the skinks are graciously welcomed, the snakes are not. Living in southern KY, we are surrounded by hay fields and wooded areas both harbage for snakes and we have had A LOT of them this year.
Anonymous (June),
The skink is hunting insects. I wouldn't be overly concerned about the scat. Unless you have a small child who crawls on the floor, it shouldn't pose a problem. We all bring in all sorts of worse things on the soles of our shoes.
Anonymous (August),
Skink scat is smaller and much more tidy that snake scat. We have lots of snakes around our house, yet I seldom find snake droppings.
Does the skink scat always have a white tip? I have been seeing a lot of it recently, as well as lots of skinks. Occasionally I will see some scat with no white tip and I am curious what it is.
Anonymous,
The white portion is basically a paste of uric acid - the lizard form of urine. I don't recall ever seeing a skink dropping without the white portion but I guess it's possible. Amphibian droppings can look similar, though generally larger in diameter, and they lack the white portion. I have seen droppings from small green treefrogs that closely resemble a skink dropping minus the white tip. Droppings from toads tend to be robust little things and would be difficult to confuse with the more slender skink scat.
Amazing! Who would have thought so many of us wanted to know what this unusual dropping with the white tail was!! I found it on my porch where there are lots of skinks. But then I found it inside the doorway at my office! Yikes! I live in the mountains of North Georgia! Work at an art center.
Another big thank you for posting scat images on this site.
Geee the pic helped me too i was ready to set out decon or mouse and rat traps...i love the little n ig ones too i they bring luck
Thank you so much! I found some in our attic and wanted to be sure we did not have a bat hiding up there somewhere. These little critters are all over the place outside and on the brick. Guess they get inside too. Thank you!
Glad to help! Skinks are good climbers so finding them in an attic is no surprise.
Thanks a million! All this time (years) I've been convinced our house had mice! (or...shudder...rats) What a relief! And, the mystery of why they were so hard to trap or catch or kill, now solved! I can now testify that skinks don't like cheese, peanut butter, or rat poison.
I like skinks, but don't like cleaning up after them. So, now, how to keep skinks out of the house?
Great fricking job! I was crazy concerned we had rodents of some type on the outer windowsills and other areas on the outside of my residence, but the worldwide web led me here, much to my relief. I don't enjoy cleaning lizard crap, but I really do not mind so much, considering they consume the insects which are probably attempting to enter the house. Thanks again!
You're welcome! We have skinks on our porch and I'd much rather have them than mice :)
I am finding scat on my patio that looks like this but does not have white at the end of any of it. Could this be from a skink? I live on salt water, thought it might be from a raccoon or opossum? I need to find out. It is grayish in color..
Thanks
How big is the scat - diameter and lengthwise? Raccoon and opossum scat are both much larger than skink scat. Another possibility is frog/toad scat on your patio. It lacks the white spot and is a bit larger than the skink scat but not as large as raccoon or 'possum. If you're up for it, take a stick and break the scat up and see if you can see any bug parts like beetle wing covers or legs in the scat.
Thanks for the picture. I had seen the droppings on my front porch and wasn't sure what animal was leaving them. Then as was cleaning my garage I saw a skink and then the droppings. Making sure 2 + 2 does equal skink poop.
THANK YOU I thought this was what it was!
Although your post is not new, it was certainly helpful for me. Just as many others have posted, I found this is my garage one morning and was not sure what creature was living with us. Seeing as it was fresh and quite smelly, I knew was not from the ducks at the pond since the door was closed all night. We do have a rather large skink living in the garage, but I had no idea what skink scat looked like. Now I do, and I am glad to know it is our skink friend and not an undesired visitor.
I'm glad this post has helped people identify their skink scat. :)
Thanks so much for posting the picture. A skink got into my house a few weeks ago, but I was able to chase it out the front door. In subsequent weeks, I've noticed some scat, mainly around the perimeter of the lower level. I was beginning to think a snake had gotten in, thinking the scat was too big for the skink, even though it's a pretty large adult. Now my wife will sleep at night, while I seal the probable entry point.
Happy that the picture was helpful! Sweet dreams to your wife :)
Seen them around then saw some dropping i didn't know what it at thought rats.but after looking at your pic. on the money.
Sure happy to see your post to identify the mystery scat? Very distinguishable! Thanks!
That was me. Today. In Florida.
Thanks.
Your posts...the gift that keeps on giving.
Thanks again and again....Charleston, WV has skinks! I have been wondering for weeks where these droppings were coming from. ��
Thanks again and again....Charleston, WV has skinks! I have been wondering for weeks where these droppings were coming from. ��
I echo thanks! Mystery solved in Townsend, TN!"
As always, I am delighted to be able to help solve the mystery of the droppings :)
I'm so glad to have my question answered as well. I have been going crazy trying to figure out what this poop was from. We finally had a day of decent weather and my hubby not working on the weekend for us to tackle the annual garage clean out, and I'm so so glad it's a skink! That I can totally handle lizards being around. Snakes are even fine with me as long as they are not in my house and I don't see them!! Again thanks for confirming wether or not we had a snake or something else.
One more happy interweb searcher! Thanks so much from Marshall, VA. We've seen a dramatic increase in the population of these guys over the past 10 years. I attribute it to the increasing temperatures in the mid-atlantic. Regardless, we love having them around!
I'm glad you found it helpful!
You can find anything in cyberspace! I was wondering what the white cap on Skink poop was made of...now I know! Thanks swamp4me.
We found these lovely droppings by our garage recently and I admit my first concern was a snake (which meant he was well fed and happy being close to our home). I am relieved it's just from our very happy skinks. We love seeing them scurry! Thank you!!!
I like Jules before me, was worried it was something much more sinister. But I can handle the skink. Thanks for posting this as it still is helping folks like me.
Almost 10 years later and this post is still helping people. Thanks for the information, I found this in my garage and thought it was caused by a rodent.
I'm glad you found it useful. I'll leave it up as long as it's helpful to folks.
Thanks!I found in my basement ceiling today here in southern Indiana. I was afraid it was going to be worse.
I've been noticing scat with a bit of white on the end outside the garage and on outside window sills. I was afraid it might be bat guano, but it didn't quite fit the description. Then I started thinking about all the skinks I've seen this summer, and I found this webpage. Thank you so much! I can live with skinks!
Thank you from me too. I have them inside, next to a rock which the house is built around. Very pleased they are skink scat and not evidence of a mouse.
Been trying to catch a "rat" in my garage for weeks with zero luck because thanks to this pic I now know the droppings turned out to be the many skinks around the driveway
Been in FLA most of my life, thought no really its too big to be lizard scat, really no, well I just came in from watering my orchid's and holy scat, must have a large resident pop, living on my property. Good news, skink's on your property mean your environment is pretty healthy, lol. Also means too much water, and not enough pesticide....lol
Fantastic. Found this poop in my garage and was wondering. I had seen a big, big skink in there. Mystery solved.
This article has legs! One more thank you from western nc. We've seen so many blue-tailed skinks this year that I thought it had to be them, but it seemed large for such tiny animals. Good to know it's not something else.
One of the reasons I haven't taken this blog down is the response to this particular post. I'm glad that people find it helpful.
Thanks for the info...this is good news for me. Orkin told me I had mice and rats in my attic and gave me a huge estimate to solve the problem. Turns out to be skinks. Now not so much of a problem.
Thank you for posting this!! I've been finding little poos on my back porch and wasn't sure if it was snake or lizard and this has confirmed! Plus I saw him yesterday ^-^
Thank you so much for the picture. I also have a baby running around and am seeing exact same scat about 1cm long. Very cool! All on my elevated deck.
You are still helping people 12 years after the original post! I saw this poop in my shed and googled and here it is!
Yep. I found some scat outside the house and wanted to know if it was coming from these lizards i find all over the yard. Turns out it wasn't theirs, but now I know what the other scat is all over my shed floors. Holy smokes, we got some big ones...
thanks I live in Ga .called the exterminator ,Told him if i have rats that big i would just leave ,no packing.He looked up your pictures ,problem solved.Now i don,t have to move THANKS
Wow, what a relief. I am a forest Ranger and have all kinds of critters around my office. When I found this turd inside the house I figured giant rat or copperhead. My mind always goes to the greatest extreme.
Thanks and keep up the good work.
Ray Butler
Forestry Tech Tn div Foresty
I join with everyone else in thanking you for leaving this thread up on your website for all these years. Just found droppings in our garage and freaked out until I stumbled upon this conversation. Just curious: what is the usual size of skink droppings? They sure seem huge (approx. 1 inch or so) for such a tiny creature.
An inch long scat is not unusual for a grown skink. Little skinks leave smaller droppings but a decent sized adult could certainly leave an inch long dropping. If you want to be amazed by a dropping size compared to the animal's size, you should check out toad scat. Toads can leave impressive droppings!
How are you sure it isnt a snake? They also have the tell tale white portion
In response to Seek's comment: For this particular scat, I saw the skink deposit it. In general, snake droppings tend to be larger and wetter.
Thoreau would be proud of all this close observation. Thanks for making it practical, too. A twofer.
It took me a while to figure out the droppings in my cabin were from skinks. Believe it or not, I find the scat regularly on top of my bed and twice in-between my sheets. Eww. Sometimes the cabin goes unoccupied for weeks or months. I'm going to have to caulk around the door area, where I see them often on the porch floor and screen door. Cumberland County KY
Thank you! New to the country and NC. Had never seen or heard of them before. The scat is really unique and had me wondering what was living in my garage. Now I know and he/she/them are welcome to stay and eat all the bugs they want!
Thanks! I was wondering too. It looked like an egg to me.
Thank you! Certainly was helpful for me today.
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