Content

• Steps
• Method 1 of 3: Using your hands
• Method 2 of 3: Using the network
• Method 3 of 3: Using a Trap
• Tips
• Warnings

Have you ever seen a lizard with a bright blue tail? These are blue-tailed skinks! There are many ways to capture these lizards if you want to get a closer look or just take them out of your home. You may want to catch a skink, but this is a wild animal and cannot be kept at home as a pet. Better to catch and release the lizard back into the wild.

Steps

Method 1 of 3: Using your hands

1. 1 If you urgently need to catch a lizard, but there is no net or trap at hand, do it with your hands. Catching a blue-tailed skink by hand is very difficult, as they are quite nimble and quickly shed their tails. If you have no other options or take it as a challenge, you can try to catch the lizard this way.
   • If you need to lure a skink out of a secluded hiding place, be aware that it will be difficult to do it manually. Try to use the trap.
2. 2 Prepare a temporary house. For a temporary home, any sturdy, odorless box will do. You can add leaves and grass, as well as food and water. Blue-tailed skinks eat spiders and other insects, but the easiest food to get hold of are crickets.
   • Although not recommended, prepare the most suitable location for your skink for permanent housing. It will be helpful for you to talk to the staff at your local vivarium, which can be found on the Internet or in the local directory pages.
   • If you plan to keep your skink at home on a permanent basis, check the relevant laws and permits first.
3. 3 Find a skink. If you know where he is most often, go to this place. It's best if you find a lizard burrow in the ground.
4. 4 Lure the skink out. Blue-tailed lizards are attracted to light. Provide light and some baits (crickets or mealworms) near where you think the skink lives.
5. 5 Move slowly towards the skink. You don't want to scare him off beforehand, so approach him slowly and without sudden movements. You should sneak up from behind (or from above, if possible) so that the lizard is less likely to see you.
6. 6 Swipe your hand sharply over the skink. Quickly grab the lizard with your hand from above or from behind. Try to catch her by her torso, not her tail.If you try to catch its tail, then there is a high probability that the tail will simply fall off and the lizard will flee.
   • Be careful not to squeeze the skink too hard or you may injure it.
   • Keep your fingers away from the animal's mouth. Although skinks are not poisonous, they can bite painfully!

Method 2 of 3: Using the network

1. 1 Use a butterfly net. Do this if you have been unable to catch the skink by hand or simply do not want to touch it. Catching with a net will be easier than with your hands, since you have a better chance of grabbing the skink and you don't have to worry about the tail.
   • If you find it difficult to lure the skink out of its hiding place, then using the net will be difficult. Try taking a trap instead.
2. 2 Prepare a temporary house. For a temporary home, any sturdy, odorless box will do. You can add leaves and grass, as well as food and water. Blue-tailed skinks eat spiders and other insects, but the easiest food to get hold of are crickets.
   • Although not recommended, prepare the most suitable location for your skink for permanent housing. It will be helpful for you to talk to the staff at your local vivarium, which can be found on the Internet or in the local directory pages.
   • If you plan to keep your skink at home on a permanent basis, check the relevant laws and permits first.
3. 3 Prepare the network. It is best to take nets with a long handle with a wide net at the end.
   • Thanks to the long handle, you will be able to reach the skink from a great distance, and this will increase your chances of catching the lizard.
   • A wide net will also make it easier to catch the skink, as you don't have to aim too long to catch it.
4. 4 Lure the skink out of its hiding place. Place a bowl of food and adjust a light near the hiding place to lure the skink out into the open.
5. 5 Catch the skink by covering it with a net. While the lizard is busy eating, throw a net over it and catch it. It is best to approach the skink from the back so that he has less chance of seeing you.
6. 6 Place a piece of cardboard or other thick paper under the net. Place cardboard under the net to keep the skink trapped. This way, he will not escape when you pick up the net.
7. 7 Turn the net over so that the skink falls into the net. Holding the cardboard at the base of the net, turn the net over. Hold the cardboard on top to prevent the lizard from jumping out and crawling away.
8. 8 Turn the net back upside down and move the skink to its temporary home. Remove the cardboard and turn the netting out so that the skink falls out and ends up in a new house.

Method 3 of 3: Using a Trap

1. 1 Use the trap when you are unable to lure the skink out of its hiding place. The trap can be set up and left in this position for several days until the lizard hits it. This will save you time waiting for the skink to crawl out of cover.
2. 2 Prepare a temporary house. For a temporary home, any sturdy, odorless box will do. You can add leaves and grass, as well as food and water. Blue-tailed skinks eat spiders and other insects, but the easiest food to get hold of are crickets.
   • Although not recommended, prepare the most suitable location for your skink for permanent housing. It will be helpful for you to talk to the staff at your local vivarium, which can be found on the Internet or in the local directory pages.
   • If you plan to keep your skink at home on a permanent basis, check the relevant laws and permits first.
3. 3 Buy or make a trap. You can buy a glue trap or mouse trap at your local store. Alternatively, you can make your own trap using a box and plastic wrap. Cover the openings of the box with plastic wrap and cut out the slots about 15 centimeters long.
   • Glue traps are also considered a humane method and can be used safely on skinks.
   • If you're using a mousetrap, try to find one that doesn't snap too quickly. You don't want to hurt or kill the skink, your goal is just to catch the animal.
4. 4 Trap him. If you opted for a glue trap, attach some crickets to the glue. If you've chosen a mousetrap, you'll need flour beetles or dead crickets as bait. If you are using homemade traps, it is recommended that you cover the net (if light) with plastic wrap to prevent the skink from escaping.
5. 5 Set up the trap where the skink is most likely to spawn. Find where you usually see lizards and set a trap.
6. 6 Check the trap several times a day. You don't want the lizard to starve or die of thirst before you let it go. Therefore, you should check more often to see if the lizard has fallen into the trap.
7. 7 Be patient. You probably won't be able to catch the skink right away, but sooner or later you will. You may need to change the bait after a few days if it deteriorates or decays.
8. 8 Move the skink to its temporary home. After capturing the lizard, you can move it to a temporary shelter that you have prepared yourself.
   • If the skink is caught in a mousetrap or homemade trap, you can just let it crawl there like in its new house.
   • If you caught a skink with a glue trap, put a few drops of vegetable oil on it. This will loosen the glue and the lizard can get out. You can push the skink out of the trap with your fingers, but be careful so that the lizard does not bite you and throw off its tail out of fear.

Tips

• Hold the skink in your hands carefully so that it does not throw off its tail.

Warnings

• Lizards bite, so be careful!
• Keep pets away from the blue-tailed skink! Keep your pets away from discarded tail, as it releases poison when ingested.