Tribolonotus gracilis
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| Tribolonotus gracilis | ||||||||||||||||
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 Red-Eyed Bush Crocodile Skinks
Triblonotus gracilis |
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| Binomial name | ||||||||||||||||
| Tribolonotus gracilis (De Rooij, 1909) |
Known as Red-Eyed Bush Crocodile Skinks, Orange-Eyed Crocodile Skinks, and Armored Dragon Skinks, Tribolonotus gracilis are found in New Guinea and other nearby islands. They live in tropical forests and have also been found in human-populated areas. These skinks eat crickets, mealworms, superworms, and earthworms, along with small amounts of various fruits and vegetables. Gracilis prefers temperatures of 18-22 °C (65-72 °F) at night and around 23-30 °C (76-86 °F) during the day, as well as extremely moist and humid climates. They are known to live up to 10+ years if properly cared for.
Gracilis is one of the few species of lizards that vocalize when in distress. When startled, they tend to freeze and have been known to convincingly "play dead" (even when handled). Wild-caught tend to be skittish and are extremely temperamental; captive bred specimens have been conditioned in some cases to be docile (though such training is not always successful).
Crocodile skinks can be sexed using the pores on their front feet (males have "pores") or by being "popped" in a way similar to snakes. Females have only a single working ovary, laying one egg at a time. They also show tendencies for mother-child family groups.
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