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No federal permit to keep

Sandfish skink

Scincus scincus

Reptiles › Lizards (Lacertilia) › Scincidae (Skinks)

Scincus scincus, also commonly known as the sandfish skink, common sandfish or common skink, is a species of skink notable for its burrowing or swimming behaviour in sand.

Pet trade

Experience: Easy

Sandfish skink — Photo: Wilfried Berns, CC BY-SA 2.0 de, via Wikimedia Commons

Photo: Wilfried Berns, CC BY-SA 2.0 de, via Wikimedia Commons

FamilySkinks

Adult weight22.5 g

Kept byPet trade

HabitatLoose

Care at a glance

Species-specific values

Values researched for this exact species. Where they differ from the group guide below, follow these. Air, surface and water temperatures are listed separately, and each source is kept as published rather than averaged.

Basking sand surface temperature	130–140 °F Sandfish care regime; not ambient air.	230
Cool substrate surface temperature	80–90 °F Source emphasizes IR sand-surface readings.	230
Night temperature	70–80 °F Measurement type not explicit.	230
Moisture microhabitat	Predominantly dry sand with a localized damp refuge below the surface and a shallow water dish.	230

Care guide

Group care guide

Small and mid-sized skinks

Applies to most species in this group. Habitat: Forest floor, grassland and sand. Individual species can differ, so compare with the species numbers above and the linked sources.

Housing & setup

Deep, moisture-holding substrate for fire skinks and crocodile skinks; loose sand for sandfish.
Hides and leaf litter; most are shy.

Sources 113 114 225 230

Climate & lighting

Starting point only: Fire skinks and desert sandfish need very different heat and moisture regimes. Check the species-specific values for this animal where shown.

Basking spot	90–95°F
Warm side / daytime	80–85°F
Cool side	70–75°F
Humidity	60–80%

UVB: Recommended.

Sources 113 114 225 230

Diet

Insects and worms; some take fruit.

Sources 113 114 225 230

Health watch

Crocodile skinks are fragile and humidity-dependent; fire skinks are hardy if kept humid.

Sources 113 114 225 230

Understanding the animal

About this animal

It is native to the Sahara Desert and the Arabian Peninsula, but is also kept as a pet elsewhere.

Quoted from the Wikipedia article “Scincus scincus” (CC BY-SA 4.0) 174

In the wild

Researched for this exact species, not its family. Good care copies these conditions.¹²³⁴⁵⁶

Where it lives	A sand specialist of North African Saharan deserts, including dunes at El-Oued in southeastern Algeria. It spends much of its life just beneath loose dune sand, emerging briefly to forage.
Ground it lives on	loose, fine desert sand
Climate	Very arid, with hot days and large daily temperature changes; reliable species-specific field temperature and relative-humidity ranges were not established.
Active	Diurnal; heat-related aestivation is reported, but field timing is poorly documented.
Social life	Usually encountered individually; territoriality is insufficiently documented.
Wild diet	Primarily insects; an Algerian field study found beetles most prominent, followed by hymenopterans such as ants.
Behavior to plan for	It folds its limbs against its body and swims through sand by undulating; burial provides escape and thermal refuge.

What this means for care

Provide deep loose sand for swimming and burial.
Heat from above so deeper sand remains a cooler refuge.
Offer varied small insect prey rather than a herbivorous skink diet.

Native climate (measured)

Warm-season highs	about 92°F (up to 104°F in the hottest sampled areas)
Cool-season lows	about 43°F (down to 42°F in the coldest sampled areas)
Average temperature	67–75°F across sampled records
Relative humidity	52–54% on average (driest month about 45%)
Rainfall	about 142 mm a year, with strong wet and dry seasons

Measured at 58 wild occurrence records sampled against WorldClim 2.1 climate data (1970–2000 averages). Air conditions in the range are ecological context, not enclosure settings: microhabitats such as burrows, leaf litter or basking rocks can be cooler, warmer or more humid.

Profile

Researched for this exact species. Sources are listed under In the wild above.

History

Scincus scincus has an important nomenclatural history because Scincus is the type genus of Scincidae. The Reptile Database notes that several former subspecies have since been elevated to full species.

Keeper tips

Provide loose sand that permits complete burial.
Allow the animal to spend long periods hidden beneath the substrate.
Keep vegetation sparse if recreating the wild habitat described.
Do not treat prolonged burial as abnormal on its own, because the species naturally spends most of its life beneath sand.
Do not invent exact temperature or humidity targets from these sources; none are supplied.

Behaviors reported

Moves through sand in a swimming-like manner.
Usually remains about 1-3 cm beneath the surface.
Dives into sand to avoid desert heat.
Uses burial to escape predators.
Emerges principally to feed, excrete and reproduce.

Unique adaptations

A long wedge-shaped snout assists movement through sand.
The compact tapered body is covered in smooth, shiny scales.
The limbs are short and sturdy.
Specialized structures on the belly allow it to breathe while submerged in sand.
Its sand-swimming movements produce vibrations reported at a consistent frequency of about 3 Hz.

Remarkable facts

Adults usually reach about 20 cm total length according to the supplied Wikipedia source.
It is native to the Sahara Desert and Arabian Peninsula.
Animal Diversity Web states that it spends most of its life beneath desert sand.
The Reptile Database states that Scincus scincus is not present in Morocco.
Several forms once treated as subspecies, including albifasciatus, laterimaculatus and conirostris, are now considered valid species by the Reptile Database.

From the sources

Quoted from the matching sections of reputable sources for this exact species. Specialist databases are used first; Wikipedia (community-edited, CC BY-SA 4.0) only fills gaps. Other sources are short credited quotes.

Overview	Scincus scincus, also commonly known as the sandfish skink, common sandfish or common skink, is a species of skink notable for its burrowing or swimming behaviour in sand. It is native to the Sahara Desert and the Arabian Peninsula, but is also kept as a pet elsewhere. — Wikipedia (community-edited)
Where it lives	Sandfish skinks spend most of their lives burrowed beneath desert sand, only emerging to eat, excrete waste, and reproduce. — Animal Diversity Web
Social life and communication	Sandfish skinks are sand specialists and spend most of their time underneath the sand. — Animal Diversity Web
Wild diet	Sandfish skinks are insectivores. — Animal Diversity Web
Behavior	One of the most studied and interesting behaviors of sandfish skinks is their ability to maneuver through sand as if it were swimming. — Animal Diversity Web
Reproduction	The mating system of sandfish skinks is unknown. — Animal Diversity Web
Lifespan	The exact lifespan of sandfish skinks is relatively under-investigated. — Animal Diversity Web
Appearance and size	Diagnosis (genus): Heavy limbs with robust pes, expanded lamellae on digits and phalanges, short-tailed. Conical head, convex in lateral view, parietal bone with clear lateral indentations and supratemporal fontanelle open. Sexual dimorphism in head proportions not distinct. — The Reptile Database
History and naming	Named after Latin scincus, and this from Greek σκίγκος, skink, a kind of lizard found in Africa and the East, used in medicine. [".Corpus officinale pro aphrodisiaco…"]. — The Reptile Database

Data and studies

The numbers

Each bar is what one source reports. Where several sources weigh in, the dashed gold band marks their average.

Typical adult weight

Reported22.5g

Myhrvold et al. 16322.5

Average adult body mass in each database (FishBase gives the maximum recorded weight).

Adult snout-to-vent length

Reported4.3in

Myhrvold et al. 1634.3

Body length without the tail.

Clutch size

Reported2.8eggs

Myhrvold et al. 1632.8

Average per litter or clutch.

Incubation

Reported64days

Myhrvold et al. 16364

Federal legal snapshot

No federal permit to keep

No federal law singles out this species for private keepers. State and local rules still apply.

State law decides most of it. Each state sets its own permits and bans for exotic, native, venomous and dangerous animals, and cities and counties can be stricter. Find your state agency →

Not covered by the Animal Welfare Act

The Act only covers warm-blooded animals. Reptiles, amphibians, fish and invertebrates have no federal care standards, even at licensed facilities; state and local rules may still apply.

Kept in captivity?

Every species on this site needs evidence that people actually keep it. For this one:

Included in our hand-checked list of animals kept as pets, livestock or in zoos
Reviewed by Clint's Reptiles
5 iNaturalist observations of captive animals

Clint's Reptiles review

Clint Laidlaw reviews this animal in his "The Best Pet?" series: Sandfish Skink, The Best Pet Lizard?. He scores handleability, care, hardiness, availability and upfront cost, and explains the reasons behind each score.

Watch Clint's review →

Sources for this sheet

Myhrvold et al. (2015). An amniote life-history database. Ecology 96: 3109 Peer-reviewed researchPeer-reviewed compilation of life-history data for over 21,000 birds, mammals and reptiles.
Merck Veterinary Manual: Management and husbandry of reptiles Zoo, university or veterinaryThe Merck Veterinary Manual: a standard veterinary reference written and reviewed by veterinary specialists.
Merck Veterinary Manual: Nutritional, metabolic and endocrine diseases of reptiles Zoo, university or veterinaryThe Merck Veterinary Manual: a standard veterinary reference written and reviewed by veterinary specialists.
ReptiFiles: Fire skink care sheet Zoo, university or veterinaryAdded in the 2026 source-checked care-guide review.
ReptiFiles: Sandfish temperature, UVB and humidity Zoo, university or veterinaryAdded in the 2026 source-checked care-guide review.
Clint's Reptiles (YouTube): Sandfish Skink, The Best Pet Lizard? Expert educator & keeperClint Laidlaw, PhD in Biology Education and MS in Evolutionary Ecology; owner of Clint's Reptile Room and a longtime keeper. His "Best Pet?" series reviews each species' care in depth.
The Reptile Database Peer-reviewed researchScientist-curated catalog of every reptile species, with taxonomy and literature.
GBIF Backbone Taxonomy (Global Biodiversity Information Facility) Peer-reviewed researchInternational scientific taxonomy used here for classification.
Species+ (UNEP-WCMC and the CITES Secretariat) Zoo, university or veterinaryThe official database of species listed under CITES.
Wikipedia (species article) Community referenceFree encyclopedia; useful overviews with their own citations. Intro text is quoted under CC BY-SA 4.0.
iNaturalist (captive observations) Community referenceCommunity observation platform run by the California Academy of Sciences and National Geographic; observations marked captive show animals living in homes, zoos and aquariums.

Sandfish skink

Care at a glance

Species-specific values

Care guide

Small and mid-sized skinks

Housing & setup

Climate & lighting

Diet

Health watch

Understanding the animal

About this animal

In the wild

What this means for care

Native climate (measured)

Profile

History

Keeper tips

Behaviors reported

Unique adaptations

Remarkable facts

From the sources

Data and studies

The numbers

Typical adult weight

Adult snout-to-vent length

Clutch size

Incubation

Sources for this sheet

More skinks

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Blotched blue-tongued skink

Centralian blue-tongued skink

Fire skink

Indonesian blue-tongued skink

Shingleback skink