How to catch skinks?

[Cliygh and Mia 2]

Okay, so there are two skinks on/inside my back porch. My curiosity got the best of me, and I now want to know what species that they are. But the only problem is in order to identify the species (3 in my range) you have to catch one. That is easier said than done, because they are the most flighty animals I have ever seen! Even anoles, renowned for their cowardness let me get close enough to see them But these guys have a little house and before I can even open the door they run back underneath their home (a column) and my initial strategy was to wait for them to come out and bait the entrance with a prey item and it almost worked (I saw a tail) so does anyone else have any ideas?

[Cliygh and Mia 2]

Oh, and by the way the 3 species that I narrowed it down to in my range are five-lined skinks, southeastern five-lined skinks, and broad-head skinks

[Krispy]

Make a window screen box around it with a small slit for them to get in the usual spot, they usually cant get out...

[Cliygh and Mia 2]

Well I made a baited trap and caught one, turns out he is an American five-lined skink, thanks for the help!

[Krispy]

Thats awsome! Cant wait to hopefully see it! Skinks are super cheap some places up here but not so healthy looking... theres an odd armidillo lizard ive been looking at, but they do better in a colony so idk...

[Cliygh and Mia 2]

Well, I feel like a newb right now When my family left to go to the Georgia milestone tests on Wednesday, I left his cage unlocked by accident. And he got out. I believe that he is in the vents now, because there is nowhere else he could be (we looked everywhere for him) so I am going to be trying to find a way to purge him from the vents

[Cliygh and Mia 2]

Does anyone know how to get him out of the vents​ safely?

[Cliygh and Mia 2]

Nobody?

[monster]

Hello, I don't know what Skinks eat but if you think he is in the vents maybe if you take something they eat that has some odour to it you could place a container of this food by an intake vent so it will suck the smell in. Maybe he will smell it and come looking for it. You could probably place a few containers or bowls by a couple different intake vents so he doesn't have to find that specific bowl or container.

[Cliygh and Mia 2]

Well we almost caught him, but it was very fast and intelligent, like a jurassic park raptor, but we have a basking/feeding/watering station for him. Any suggestions on how to get the little guy?

[monster]

Do you have an idea were the little bugger is hideing now. If you know were he is I might be able to come up with some ideas. Isn't fun when one of our pet friends escape into the house, adds some excitement to the household. L.O.L

[Cliygh and Mia 2]

Last I checked, he was in the pet room where we keep all of the animals, (for now ) and I have a basking spot for him so he will reveal himself. The room is technically a guest room, and was a toy room, so it has doll houses, and a bed and various places he can hide. As of the third time trying to catch him, he was behind my sister's cooking sets and we almost had him, (he waited for us to lift it a tad to put paper underneath to put him back in his tank and bolted away) and we are going to come home and set some meal worms (the only thing that he ate so far) to bait him to an easier spot to catch him. Is my plan wrong? Do you have any other ideas I could use? BTW, the species he is is an American Five Lined Skink, so we could see if there is a survival exploit we could use to our advantage

[Cliygh and Mia 2]

Oh, and it's upstairs BTW

[monster]

I think your on the right track for sure. Just watch when you open the door to that room that he isn't waiting there to make a run for it, at least right now he is one room. I would try to make some kind of little trap he can get in but wont be able to get out. Have it see through so you can put some food and water in it for him to see so he will enter, im thinking like if you had something you could make a little swinging door on one end like a nice size thin Tupperware container or something. and have it so he could push through to get in but cant push it to get back out.

[Cliygh and Mia 2]

I am so happy! I recaught him after 4 days out of his tank! Thanks Krispy and Monster, you guys helped a ton!

[monster]

Glad to hear you caught the little bugger. I was starting to think if you didn't get him soon that the news when you found him wasn't going to be good, so again glad it was a happy ending.