Other Stuff

Christinus marmoratus: Southern Marbled Gecko

Half-drowned gecko

Half-drowned gecko

I rescued this little gecko from the birds’ water dish this morning. Since they rarely seek out drinking water, he must have blundered into it overnight during his nocturnal rambling. I think it was my fault, for placing the container down on the lower level to give the birds more area to get at the seed, but maybe the gecko climbed up and fell in.

WP_20150330_004

I’ve often seen a fat little gecko go skimming across the outside of my kitchen window of a night, after insects, but this is the first time I’ve seen what they look like on top. Common in our part of Australia, this one is about 8cm. Being legally allowed, one can buy them in pet shops.

For a horror-stricken moment, I thought it had WP_20150330_006drowned, but its little legs moved when I lifted it from the water. I slipped a geranium leaf underneath for transport to a safer section of the fence – in the sun to bring up body temperature. Then I worried about its eyes, it being nocturnal, so I moved some dead grass to screen his head.

You can see how his pattern changes on his tail – that’s because it’s regrowth.WP_20150330_008

I came back later, thinking I better move him somewhere further away from birds, but it had already hidden itself pretty well. Eventually it vanished, probably into one of the fissures in the brick fence.

Gecko, moss, and grass and the old brick fence.

Gecko, moss, and grass and the old brick fence.

WP_20150330_017

Going down over the side of the brickwork.

So that’s my excitement for the day.

Standard

21 thoughts on “Christinus marmoratus: Southern Marbled Gecko”

  1. What a gorgeous little lizard! I’ve always been very fond of lizards of all kinds — someone once gave me a pair of mountain devils when I was about 8 and I spent hours putting them on ant hills and watching them eat, or placing them gently into saucers of water to soak up liquid through their skins (hence, of course, ‘flat out like a lizard drinking’) 🙂

    You do take the nicest photos!

    Liked by 1 person

  2. sue ouzounis says:

    He’s gorgeous. Found a dead baby lizard in the expansion cracks in the driveway the other day, it was covered in ants, poor thing, I hope it had died before they got hold of it. I logged in (like you suggested) last time I sent a message, this time there is no log in box, so that may have fixed it.

    Liked by 1 person

  4. You have so much exciting life outside your windows. This was entertaining and informative. Don’t know if I’d actually pick one up but since it was so small, maybe I wouldn’t freak out. You are used to these various critters, though, right?

    Liked by 1 person

  5. What an entertaining post this is with the pertinent photographs and clear, precise prose, and, most important, the description of your close interaction with a tiny gecko. I enjoyed the way you took care with it and appreciated it. But, then, I like lizards; for some reason they delight me.

    Liked by 1 person

Comments are closed.