Tag Archives: Geckos

Gecko and pasta

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This week’s Sunday Stills challenge theme is ‘Inside.’ See more responses here.

I have a ladder I keep in a shed. Lately, I’ve had to access the attic on a regular basis (rat problems!) and have to bring the ladder inside to do so. I’ve learned from experience that, while in the shed, the ladder is home to a variety of creatures, mostly geckos. So before I bring it in the house I do my best to shake out the residents. Almost always, one or two will leap to safety. However, sometimes it’s not until I have the ladder in the house and set up that the more tenacious geckos make a break for it.

I’ve had a spate of this happening, which has resulted in a boost in the numbers of nocturnal house geckos inside. This, in turn, has resulted in territorial clashes between the geckos.

What does this have to do with jars of pasta? Well, at one end of this shelf is a cupboard which is home to one of the resident geckos. The other end of the shelf falls into the realm of a house gecko that lives in a closet in the next room. Into this setup, up above the jars, stumbled one of the new geckos. When it got too close to one end, the cupboard gecko chased it away. It ran to the other end where the closet gecko chased it back. Back and forth it went with the other geckos closing in with each pass. Soon the three of them were very close together.

At this point, the new gecko scurried down the wall in amongst the jars. This left the two resident geckos facing off in close proximity. Cupboard gecko charge the other one, but ran right past while closet gecko just looked bemused. Problem was, now they were both separated from their respective territories by the other gecko. A series of feints and scampers ensued before they regained their own homes.

In the meantime, the new gecko kept a low profile down amongst the pasta jars. That’s when I took this photo, as it was tentatively checking to see if the coast was clear.

Gecko on a stovetop

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I spotted this baby mourning gecko one evening, just sitting on the stovetop. This is what I call ‘making an unwise decision.’ Fortunately for the gecko, the day’s cooking was done, otherwise it risked getting fried or flattened by a pan.

Baby geckos have a fairly high mortality rate from accidents and predation by larger geckos, but at the same time, there seems to be no shortage of them. I guess some kind of balance has been achieved.

Posted in response to Becky’s July Squares challenge theme of ‘Perspective.’ See more responses here.

Bamboo with gecko and anole

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I noticed this gold dust day gecko and green anole in a stand of yellow bamboo. The gecko was just hanging out as per usual, but from the anole’s perspective it was intruding on his territory. When that happens, an anole will puff out his pink dewlap and engage in some vigorous head bobbing. This performance will put wanna-be anoles in their place, but I have yet to see it work on a gecko.

Posted in response to Becky’s July Squares challenge theme of ‘Perspective.’ See more responses here.

Baby gecko on bird of paradise

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Last month, I posted (here) a photo of a gold dust day gecko drinking from a bird of paradise flower. This photo, taken last week, is from that same clump of plants. This flower is past its prime, but the gecko has not yet reached adulthood and has already had at least one narrow escape judging by its missing tail. It kept its eyes on me, probably wondering if I represented another threat.

Top tropical

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The tropical-looking bird of paradise plant (Strelitzia reginae) is actually a native of sub-tropical South Africa. But it certainly has the pizzazz of a tropical plant, especially when being visited by a colorful gold dust day gecko seeking to sup on the flower’s nectar.

Posted in response to Becky’s April Squares challenge theme of ‘Top.’ See more responses here.