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Western skink

Plestiodon skiltonianus · Lizards · Reptiles

Western skink (Plestiodon skiltonianus): Slender, long-bodied lizard with smooth, shiny scales and a tail about as long as the body; adults about 5-8 cm snout-vent, up to 19 cm total. Brown, black and cream/golden-yellow longitudinal stripes from the nose onto the tail; belly light gray to cream. This profile does not establish whether taking it is legal anywhere.

Check rules for a place and date

Certified rules currently represented in Hunt: coverage in development. This is coverage, not a legal answer.

Scientific name
Plestiodon skiltonianus
Family
Scincidae
In North America
Native
Range
Western North America from south-central British Columbia to northwestern Baja California, from the Pacific coast east to western Montana, Idaho, eastern Utah and north-central Arizona, to about 2,530 m.
Biology

How to identify it

Slender, long-bodied lizard with smooth, shiny scales and a tail about as long as the body; adults about 5-8 cm snout-vent, up to 19 cm total. [1][2]

Brown, black and cream/golden-yellow longitudinal stripes from the nose onto the tail; belly light gray to cream. [1][2]

Young and young adults have a brilliant blue tail that fades with age. [1][2]

Males develop reddish-orange on the chin and sides of the head in the breeding season; tail may be stumpy after loss. [1][2]

Compared with the western fence lizard: Keeled, prickly scales and never a blue tail. [1][2]

Compared with the northern alligator lizard: Has a skin fold on the side of the body and short legs. [1][2]

Species it is confused with

Check these before deciding what you are looking at. If you are not certain what it is, do not shoot.

Field notes

  • Identification Confirm a western skink before you act. Compared with the western fence lizard: Keeled, prickly scales and never a blue tail.[1][2]
Field knowledge

Where it lives

Grassland, chaparral, open juniper-sage shrubland, pinyon-juniper, pine-oak and mixed conifer forest. [1][2]

Favours grassy openings and rocky areas near streams and dry shaded hillsides. [1][2]

Field knowledge

How it behaves

Secretive; shelters under rocks, leaves and logs and digs burrows; inactive in cold winter weather. [1][2]

Eats crickets, beetles, grasshoppers, flies, spiders and earthworms. [1][2]

In Utah mates May-June and lays eggs in July (clutch 2-6, up to 10); the female guards eggs and stays with hatchlings. [1][2]

Non-migratory. [1][2]

Regulatory handoff

Limited legal take

Legal take of this species exists only under narrow conditions — a quota, a draw, a permit, a small area, or animals released or held on private land — set by the authorities below. Nowhere else is a legal opportunity implied, and Hunt shows one only where a certified rule establishes it.

Where legal take is listed

Being listed is not an open season. Seasons, zones, licences, methods and limits decide whether this animal may be taken on a given day and place — check Hunt or the authority before you go. Listings read 2026-09-30.

Geospatial intelligence

Where it is found

Western North America from south-central British Columbia to northwestern Baja California, from the Pacific coast east to western Montana, Idaho, eastern Utah and north-central Arizona, to about 2,530 m.

Biology

Sources

Every claim above is attributed to one of these published sources.

  1. NatureServe · reviewed 2026-09-30

    NatureServe

  2. Montana Natural Heritage Program / Montana Fish, Wildlife & Parks · reviewed 2026-09-30

    Montana Natural Heritage Program / Montana Fish, Wildlife & Parks