The coloration is highly variable, depending on the age and sex of the skink. Young skinks have five white or yellowish stripes on a blackish body and a bright blue tail. Adult males usually show traces of stripes, but tend to become nearly uniform brown or olive in coloration. Orange-red appears on the head and jaws of the males during the spring breeding season. The range of the five-lined skink corresponds closely with the eastern deciduous forest.
Disjunct populations exist in northeastern Iowa, western Wisconsin, and Minnesota.
This species is at its northeastern range limit in southwestern New England. There is no covering on the nest, but the female guards the eggs during the month-long incubation period. The eggs increase in size during incubation. In Connecticut, the eggs hatch during August and September. One to 2 days after the eggs hatch, the female leaves the young on their own and does not return.