what do skinks eat

I got my son a skink at a pet shop. They didn't know much about them, so now I am trying to find out what else they might eat besides crickets and meal worms. I am not sure what kind of skink it is. It is brown with an orange strip down its sides. any info you can give would be great! He is a healthly fellow. so please help!

Hard to say based on description. May be a fire skink. We could probably help more if we saw a pic. Most skinks eat live prey items such as crickets, meal worms, occasional wax worms. Larger species eat superworms, cock roaches, occasional pinky mice, etc.

However, my advice to you is to take the animal back directly before the limited time guarantee runs out. It is always better to research an animal ahead of time and make sure they fit your family. You also need to find a reptile or exotic pets specialty shop that you can be sure is housing and feeding animals properly. Reptiles aren't like other small animals. They can be very delicate. If this petstore can't tell you how to care for the animal they most likely weren't doing a very good job themselves. This means you could already have a sick animals and sick animals go down hill quickly. Also, if you bought this animal for a young child you should know that many species of skink don't do at all well as beginner pets for reptile keepers and especially don't do well with children while others do.

Where are you in Tennessee? I live in Mid. Tennessee and could direct you to some excellent reptile petshops.

Otherwise if you choose to keep the animal you have instead of seeking one from a better store, please post a pic soon so we can identify it, then read up on it alot and take it to a vet familiar with working with reptiles to make sure he doesn't already have problems from being kept incorrectly at the shop.

Thank you for your reply. I dont have a pic of him just yet. I did research or at least tried to, but could not find any thing on him. The pet shop I got him at just gave me a basic care sheet. He is doing very well. We have had him since January. My son is 12 and has had lizards before. My brother gave him 2 bearded dragons Matt cared for them even when he was just 5. They lived for over 10 years of age. They were around 3 or 4 when we got them, my neices decided they were more interested in boys so he gave them to Matt. They would come right up to him. Matt has a special gift when it comes to animals. He wants to rescue them when he is grown. As soon as I get a pic I will post it. and again thank you.

I had a big blue tongue skink i Fed him baby banana food ,wet caned cat food , crickets, meal worms,fruits (they like grapes) .Don't feed them to much of the wet cat food they tend to get over weight if they eat allot of that lol

That's true some skinks do eat fruit and vegetable matter but some don't so I wouldn't offer that until the animal was distinctively identified

ps-a reptile hobby is a great hobby for a kid to have if they have the right supervision. They teach so much patience and responsibility. If he continues the hobby and you're anywhere near Nashville I would suggest the Aquatic Critter on Nolensville road. All their animals are healthy and you can always count on good supplies and good info. In fact if you take your skink there they will identify him and give you some info even though they didn't sell him to you. Ask for Jeff, Robert, or Danielle and tell them Kara sent you and they will definitely set you up.

I wont. Forgot to tell you I live in goodlettsville. I am trying to find a decent digital camera. When I do I'll take a pic of him. Matt named him Raptor. He loves the live crickets and meal worms.

I finally got a camera and took a piture of my skink. If I did it right it should be on my profile. Please take a look and tell if if i loaded the pic right and if you can tell what kind of skink it is.