From 2009 to 2010, Parks Australia and Taronga Zoo started a captive breeding program, which has prevented total extinction of the species.

[5] It can be identified by its small black body with two yellow stripes running down the skink's back and onto its vibrant blue tail.

Because of its small size, the Christmas Island blue-tailed skink forages for its food on the ground, over exposed rocks and low-lying vegetation, and will generally only eat prey that are slower moving.

[7] For the Christmas Island blue-tailed skink, the first breeding season occurs when males and females are approximately one year old.

Once the female Christmas Island blue-tailed skink has been fertilized, being oviparous, it will generally lay two eggs at a time, with a 75-day incubation period.

[6] The threat of extinction is largely attributed to introductions of invasive species, including a predatory wolf snake and the yellow crazy ant which were unintentionally brought to the island in the 1980s.