Fire Skink

1 Overview

The Fire Skink’s biggest difference from typical lizards is that it sits between lizard and snake — a slender, streamlined body with a long gap between front and rear limbs and short small limbs. Among skinks there are many affordable yet outstanding species, and the Fire Skink is a fine example.

Chinese Name: Fire Skink

English / Scientific Name: Riopa fernandi (now Mochlus fernandi; synonyms Mochlus fernandi and Lygosoma fernandi, named in different years and not fully unified)

Kingdom: Animalia

Phylum: Chordata

Class: Reptilia

Order: Squamata (Lacertilia)

Family: Scincidae

Genus: Mochlus (fire skink)

Species: Mochlus fernandi

Distribution: countries of West Africa.

2 Physical Characteristics

The Fire Skink’s biggest difference from lizards is that it sits between lizard and snake — not the bulk of a lizard, not the slender body of a snake, yet similar to both. Its body is slender and streamlined, with a long gap between front and rear limbs and short small limbs.

Among skinks there are many affordable yet outstanding species, and the Fire Skink is a prime example — calling it the most beautiful skink in the family is fair. Its body sides bear continuous black-white-red alternating bands from the snout to the tail, much like burning flames, hence the very fitting name ‘fire skink.’ Its scientific names are varied; besides Riopa, the most used are Mochlus fernandi and Lygosoma fernandi, named in different years and seemingly not unified.

3 Habitat and Environment

Gentle, the Fire Skink will not actively attack its keeper; with smooth scales it moves very quickly. Like typical skinks it likes to burrow into soil under rocks or dead wood.

As a diurnal reptile, UVB lighting is mandatory — over ten hours daily. Substrate can be sterile potting soil mixed with leaf litter or bark chips; humidity above 60%; a water dish is needed. With proper setup difficulty is not high. It is robust with high disease resistance; unless dehydrated it usually stays healthy. It needs warmth in winter; without it, it hibernates.

4 Husbandry

The Fire Skink is a typical carnivore, eating mainly small invertebrates in the wild — crickets, mealworms. In captivity it can be trained to eat pellets and beef or heart. If you keep it for breeding, read on.

Sexing skinks is generally hard, and this one is no exception. Males have a broader head and slimmer body; females a smaller head and more swollen abdomen. It lays eggs 2–3 times a year, 4–9 eggs each; at 28°C incubation is about 50 days. Newborn young are black-based with red and white markings and pale blue tail rings — more vivid than adults. Taiwan also has several skink species, just none as outstanding as the Fire Skink. With its low price and low difficulty, it is quite suitable as a starter lizard.