Check out Australia Zoo’s Cunningham’s Skink!

Here at Australia Zoo, we love skinks! Keep your eyes peeled in our Australian Lizard habitat for some cute Cunningham’s skinks.

Cunningham’s skinks are found throughout the south-east of Australia. They are perfectly designed for life amongst the rocky outcrops.  They have a spiny exterior ranging in colour from brown and black to rusty orange.

As their name suggests, Cunningham’s skinks are a member of the skink family. This means they have the ability to drop their tail and run when under threat; However, they cant drop it as well as other skinks because they rely on it, rather than being willing to use it as a distraction. Cunningham’s skinks use their tail to grip into rocks/branches and when feeling threatened, they seek refuge under rock crevasses and use their spiny exterior to anchor themselves. And crikey, they can be very stubborn! An anchored Cunningham’s skink can be almost impossible to remove from its position of refuge.

A mature Cunningham’s skink is omnivorous. They spend daylight hours in search of vegetation such as flowers, leaves, berries, snails and insects. These reptiles are monogamous and produce up to 15 live young. Despite living in close-knit family groups, genetic studies show that they can somehow identify non-related mates. Amazing!