When a homeowner glanced at her concrete porch last month, she froze. Poking out of a crack were two tiny legs and a tail — and they were moving. A lizard had somehow wedged himself deep into the concrete and couldn’t get out.
Unsure how long the little guy had been stuck, the homeowner called Evelyn’s Wildlife Refuge. Senior rehabber Shawnda Bentley rushed over, expecting maybe a sunbathing lizard.
“[Lizards are] not usually stuck,” Bentley told The Dodo. “I get over there and, boy, was he stuck!”
The trapped reptile was a skink — and that complicated things. Skinks are known for dropping their tails if pulled too hard, and Bentley didn’t want to risk breaking his legs or hips. Soon, two more volunteers joined her, bringing tools and an unlikely rescue aid: coconut oil.
Carefully, the team chipped away at the concrete, then eased small amounts of oil into the crack to help slide him free. They worked slowly, not knowing where his head was, worried about drowning him. After nearly two hours, Bentley finally managed to free the skink.
“As soon as I pulled him out, he latched onto my finger and bit me a couple of times,” Bentley laughed. “And honestly, I don’t blame him. I’d be mad too if someone chipped around me and doused me in oil.”
The rescue wasn’t over yet. The skink — now named Coconut — had lost the tip of his tail and suffered a deep gash along his belly. Rehabber Linda Nichols immediately worried about infection and even possible spinal damage since Coconut struggled to move his back legs.
But with antibiotics and care, Coconut began to bounce back. His energy returned, his wounds started healing, and his tail began growing again.
The Oklahoma Department of Wildlife Conservation says skinks are able to release their tails when necessary, like if a predator bites them, and regrow new tails. The old tail can even continue wiggling after it's been released, to distract the threat. The new tails that grow back are just as functional, if a bit shorter than the originals.
“I’ve been calling him Jalapeño Coconut now that he’s feistier,” Nichols said. “It takes two of us to hold him still when we clean his wound because he’s wiggling all over.”
Nichols suspects Coconut got stuck while chasing insects, misjudging how much space his body needed. Skinks are notorious for squeezing into tight crevices for food.
Once fully recovered, Coconut will be released back into the wild — near the spot where he was found.
“Skinks have been shown to live in family groups,” Nichols explained. “So we want him to return to where he knows the best places to hide and hunt.”
Until then, Coconut is safe, healing, and proving that even the smallest creatures deserve a second chance.
If you want to learn more about Evelyn’s Wildlife Refuge or donate to their organization, you can find them on Facebook.
