Starving skinks are looking for love

9:12am Tuesday 12th February 2008

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Three hungry reptiles on the brink of extinction are hoping the generosity of visitors to Chessington World of Adventures (CWA) will give them something to munch on.

The theme park's three monkey tailed skinks like to chew on a cheeseplant or rubberplant but, because those are a summer plant, the park in Leatherhead Road is having difficulty getting any suitable food, leaving the skinks starving.

In response, the park wants anyone in the local area with a cheeseplant or rubberplant to donate them to a worthy home.

Marc Boardman, zoo manager, said: "Ideally the cheeseplant buds should be a regular food source, however, due to the lack of supply they rarely get these treats.

"We implore anyone in CWA's locality to help us by donating any unwanted cheeseplants or rubberplants."

Native to the Solomon Islands, the reptiles are considered at risk of extinction, after fighting in World Ward II destroyed huge swathes of their natural habitat.

They eat a variety of insects and leaves from tropical plants; however, cheeseplant buds tend to hold more water which is needed for their development.

Although the fruit currently given contains plenty of moisture, it also contains high citric acid. It is thought that cheeseplant buds contain the right amount of moisture and roughage to help digestion of other plant material.

To make matters, none of the skinks even have names because they have not yet been adopted by any visitors.

• If you wish to give a skink a name, some love or a cheeseplant, visit chessington.com.