It is thought by some authorities to be the only lizard which gives 
birth to one offspring at a time, bringing it forth alive after a three-month 
period of gestation. Other specialists insist that two or even three young 
are produced. At birth, the young lizard is half the size of the adult. 
The stump-tailed skink spends its time tunneling in the sand, or 
basking in the sun on a bed of sand or stones. About six times a year 
it sheds its skin, after having soaked itself in water. The lizard feeds on 
worms, small snakes and other lizards, but in captivity it will eat any 
sort of meat as well as raw greens. Stump-tails thrive in captivity and, 
perhaps because of the easy life, become sluggish and slow-moving. 
EGYPTIAN SKINK 
This nine-inch skink, inhabiting the Sahara Desert and parts of Egypt, has 
a snout built like a shovel — and used like one. When it wants to dig down 
in the sand, it scoops out a burrow with its snout. Its feet too are adapted 
to desert life, with wide, thin toes permitting it to saunter over the sand. 
The body of the Egyptian skink is cream-colored with black or dark 
red bands, which appear as the creature becomes older. Its flat abdomen 
is reminiscent of the constricting snakes, and the body looks still more 
serpentlike when gliding along the mounds and hollows of the sandy terrain. 
This skink is uncomfortable unless kept in a temperature of more than 
ninety degrees Fahrenheit; much below that it becomes torpid with cold. 
The Arabs believe that the flesh of the Egyptian or desert skink will 
cure almost any disease, and it is widely used for food and medicine. 
When broiled, it is said to have an excellent flavor. 
A relative of the Egyptian skink, the seps, of the Sahara Desert and 
Arabia, has a seven-inch, snakelike body. Its small legs are of little use 
to it and are frequently folded against the body as the lizard glides along 
like a serpent. Flower writes that its wedge-shaped snout aids it in virtually 
swimming into the sand to escape trouble. 
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