Anupama Ghosh

Skinks are not as dangerous as they seem. You and your kids will be amazed to learn how easy and safe it is to keep a pet skink. They easily live in urban areas.

• Skinks are a non-poisonous species of reptiles.
• Skinks are easy to keep Pets. Skinks bite is not dangerous.
• Skinks look like lizards; they can be found in dark hiding places.

Skinks are small reptiles.

Before you plan to keep a skink species as a pet, you must know whether they are poisonous or not. Contrary to popular belief, skinks are among the greatest reptile pets.

Skinks are calm, quiet, kind, playful, and simple to teach. They do not need special maintenance. They are simple to keep and low-risk reptiles, making them perfect for novices and even youngsters. However, most people are hesitant to adopt them as pets initially.

Rest easy - skink species are non-venomous and non-poisonous, making them completely harmless. They do have fangs and may bite when provoked. Since they are not inherently violent, their bites will be brief and will not inflict significant injury. They do not possess sharp claws.

Skinks are a species of lizard that may be found all over the world. There are around 1,600 skink species, ranging in size from a few mm to a few ft. They range in size from the little Western Skink, which is just a few mm long, to the huge Blue-Tongued Lizard, which may grow to be 40cm long.

There are around 325 distinct skink species in Australia. The female Garden Skink lays five eggs. Adult females construct nests in damp soil beneath garden items.

Interestingly, within three to four months after mating, the female Blue-tongued Skink gives birth to live young. Skinks may shed their tail when captured by predators and may regrow the lost tail later.

As the predator concentrates on the wiggling tail, the Skink flees. Some skink varieties are semi-aquatic. The majority of skinks enjoy rather long lives, with some species lasting up to 20 years as a pet.

Digging and burrowing are characteristics shared by several skink species. Many are found underground, where they are usually secure from predators, excavating tunnels for simple transit.

Their tongues are also used to smell the air and locate their prey. When they come to their prey, they pursue it until they either corner it or lay a bite on it, then consume it whole.

They have the potential to be ravenous hunters. Skinks are carnivorous in general and especially insectivorous. They eat small rodents or worms.

Some species, particularly those kept as house pets, are omnivorous and have more diversified diets, and may be fed a diet consisting of vegetables/fruit and meat. Tristiidon species are mostly frugivorous, although they also consume moss and insects.

The Chinese tallow trees are ornamental, albeit invasive, plants that is native to East Asia.

These trees are known for producing the stillingia tallow, after which they are named. This tallow can be used to produce wax for candles and soaps, as a result of which the US Department of Agriculture promoted the plant as an oil crop in the 1900s.

Despite its beautiful coloring and uses, this tree grows rapidly and is considered an invasive specie in America, as it takes over the local species in that habitat and overcrowds the area.

However, one cannot refute that the waxy tallow these plants produce is extremely useful for various reasons. Read on to learn more about the Chinese tallow tree, how to identify it, and where to find it.