I'm at wit's end!

[UroFreak13]

I would say just handle him more and he would get used to it, you are probably most fearful of getting but, if that is the case get yourself a pair of work gloves and a towel and just hold him just firm enough to secure him, when you see an improvement you can let him explore a bit more. He just needs time to know you wont hurt him

[Fatal_S]

Just another perspective:
I have a WC tanimbar who's been with me for several years. He is still exactly like your skink. Any form of 'taming', such as forcing him out regularly, caused him extreme stress and made him worse. So we came to an agreement - he stays alive and I let him do whatever he wants.

No, this isn't so good for a pet. He will never want to cuddle with me, or go exploring. But now whenever I see him watching me, or when I notice him basking, I consider it a huge gift. Yes, I still have to grab him sometimes for cleaning and such, but I try to interact as infrequently as possible. Unlike my other skinks, with him I just try to make sure he's as comfortable as possible in his captive life. Since I've stopped trying to force myself on him, he's settled a lot. He still hides when I look at him, or flails and bites when I pick him up, but on the other hand he eats his food, basks on his tile, and makes adorable little tunnels all through the tank. So I don't get to see him much (when I do I have to smile ) but I know he's living a pretty decent life.

I'm not trying to be depressing. I'm just pointing out how I've decided to make peace with my wussy-skink. He is the exception to my collection: the one I do not force myself on. My other tanimbars are shy, but definitely handleable (they do tend to pee on me though). Even my 'evil' skink, who just wants to kill me, is much more of a pet than this one. I'm sure if I really wanted to I could get him calmer, but I don't feel the need to. This is fine for me, but may not be a good for you.

[Bird_Brain]

Good points, Mel. Also lets not forget that reptiles are exotic pets, not domesticated pets. They have wild tendencies and some will never become handleable.