THE VIVARIUM, 123 
Aldrovandi’s Skink (Plestiodon auratus, Gray, or Eumeces 
schneidert, Boulenger), (Fig. 45, p. 125) is a very handsome Skink, 
_ and one that is, as a rule, easily procured in this country. It has 
been described as not being very hardy; however, personally I 
have found it to be anything but delicate while in confinement. 
If properly treated, it feeds very well, and soon becomes tame. 
It will eat cockroaches, meal-worms, snails, slugs, pieces of raw 
meat, but it prefers snails, I think, to any other food. It shows 
not a little skill and power of jaw in breaking the tough shell of 
some old mollusc. The Skink’s method of devouring prey of this 
kind may be thus briefly described: First of all, by the help of 
its teeth, it breaks the shell in several places, in fact, all over, 
and then it seizes the body of the snail, and by vigorously 
shaking it frees it of every bit of shell. When this has been 
done, it begins, apparently with great deliberation, to swallow 
the tempting (to it) morsel. 
Aldrovandi’s Skink should be kept during the colder monthis of 
the year in a heated Vivarium, and allowed to have as much sun- 
shine as possible. It is of a gentle disposition, and may be allowed 
to occupy the same case as smaller Lizards. This, however, cannot 
be said of many of the Skinks. Its body on the upper surface is 
brown and spotted, or striped with red or golden-orange (see spe- 
cific name): the lower parts are of a yellowish-white. This Reptile 
may be frequently bought for sums ranging from 4s. to7s. 6d. It 
is a native of the Holy Land, Egypt, Syria, and Persia. 
The Common Skink (Secncus officinalis) is to a certain extent 
quite an historical character, having been mentioned as an im- 
portant and useful animal by several of the writers of antiquity. 
For example, Pliny declares that if portions of its body, such as 
the scales of its nose and feet, are ground to powder and mixed 
with wine it will form a drink of great value as atonic. Another 
speaks of parts of this Skink being used as an antidote against 
poisoned wounds. And many a physician among the ancient 
Greeks and Romans prescribed powders made from its dried body 
as a kind of universal remedy. As late as the fifteenth and 
sixteenth centuries this little creature was eagerly sought for by 
the chemist and apothecary. Since then it has been proved to 
possess no useful medicinal properties whatever. 
