Artificial canopy openings such as roadsides, have produced far more habitat for this species than would normally be available, as tree fall gaps are usually quickly filled by young trees. This has allowed the species to expand its range within the rainforest. This skink is a true rainforest resident. It lives under and within rotting logs on the rainforest floor. Studies have found that prickly skinks tend to remain in the vicinity of the same log for their lifetime and are never found outside the rainforest.
Prickly skinks are generally active only on wet nights.
They have become such specialised rainforest animals that it is extremely difficult for them to colonise new areas, and so they are basically restricted to the rainforest patch they are presently inhabiting. This may mean that increased forest fragmentation and clearing may make thigmathermic species more vulnerable to extinction. Simon is continuing his research on the distribution patterns of these species and their preferred temperatures, and this will enable prediction of the effects of changes to the environment on these fascinating creatures. Figure 2 Prickly forest skinks are dark brown in colour, with a rough rather than a shiny skin like common garden skinks. The lengths of these skinks is usually between 30 and 80 mm from their snout to the base of their tails, and they reach.