5 lined skinks are medium sided lizards with smooth shiny scales, stripes, and often an iridescent blue tail. We are likely to have both 5-lined skinks and southeastern 5 lined skinks, and the only way to tell them apart is to get up close and personal. This site at the University of Georgia has more information about 5 lined skinks.
They have a really interesting adaptation that they can use to distract a predator: they can shed their tail and run in another direction. The tail may continue to wriggle, further confusing the predator.
