The Perils of Foil Tape /or/ The Tale of a Lost Tail

Tonight I was moving the trash to the curb when I looked up to see the foil tape I had put up around a janky outside light fixture this weekend had peeled up. I put the tape up because we were supposed to get a heavy rain and the fixture has significant gaps around its edges. Probably makes more sense to install the two outdoor lights we refinished last year. I reached up to smooth out the tape and saw a small blue tail sticking out behind the tape. A small five-lined skink was attached to the tape, scratch that, two small skinks were attached to the tape, and they were not happy. I was able to pull the tape from the light fixture and tear it so I could focus on extricating one at a time. They were seriously stuck, they tape was securely attached to their entire backside including their little legs and feet. It took me an hour to get them extricated from the tape, slowly pulling at different directions so not to seriously injure them. Once their heads were free they opted to snap at me insistently, one took a bite and held on to me the entire time I was trying to free his backside. They are pretty banged up, missing sections of scales and one missing a tail (its tail broke off while trying to free it).

The two skinks hanging out in a plastic bin, completely traumatized.

Its motivation to finally get the new lights installed.