House Gecko

Genus Hemidactylus

Reptile

Transcript:

Today on Animal Fact Files we’re discussing house geckos. These little lizards are relatively well known because they are often seen around human houses, hence the common name. House geckos have a cosmopolitan distribution throughout the world's tropical and subtropical areas, however, they aren't natively found in every place they inhabit. Female house geckos are able to store sperm inside their reproductive tract for months. This means that when they are accidently sent overseas to places they don't natively inhabit, such as Hawaii, they can still produce offspring even without a viable mate! House geckos not only move around through human related reasons, but they're also adept at hitching rides on floating debris in the ocean which transports them to oceanic islands where they otherwise do not occur. So, while they're named for their behavior of hanging out on house walls, they live in a far greater distribution!

House geckos are nocturnal reptiles. They spend their days hiding under tree bark, rocks, logs, inside cracks in human dwellings, and sometimes even inside homes! Some folks appreciate the presence of geckos in and around their home because these little lizards are an excellent source of free pest control. House geckos often gather around artificial lights during the night and wait for prey, such as moths, to come to them. They also eat cockroaches and other invertebrates people generally don't want around their house. Of course, house geckos living outside of their native range can impact the native species in an area by eating and depleting the prey those native species would otherwise be eating, so it's a tradeoff.

House geckos are relatively small animals. They average about five inches (12.7 cm) long including their tapering tail, at least, if their original tail is still intact. Like other gecko species, house geckos can drop their tail to leave behind as a distraction to a predator. When the new tail grows back, it's not thin and tapering but instead turnip shaped! There are approximately 130 described house geckos species as of this recording, however, new species are described every few years, so that number is likely to grow. They're often pale when seen around house lights, however, these lizards have some color changing capacity and generally take on this pale hue to blend in. When they're on trees, they're often much darker!

Male house geckos call to females with a chirping sound. Did you know lizards can talk? Take a listen: (audio). They mate and the female lays multiple clutches of two, hard-shelled eggs every two weeks. These take approximately two months to incubate, though the temperature impacts this, and the babies emerge looking like small versions of the adults. They're on their own from birth. House geckos have to watch out for snakes, birds, mammals, and even other geckos as potential threats, but they have some nifty tricks for escaping.

Like other geckos, house geckos have special pads on their feet that help them adhere to nearly any surface. The pads are split, like the two sides of a leaf, so they're sometimes referred to as leaf-toed geckos. House geckos have also been observed walking on water. Not in the same way a sailfin or basilisk might run across the water's surface on two legs, but instead on all fours, quickly moving in a fluid-like motion much like a swimming crocodile. They also have claws and a good sense of hearing. In fact, house geckos aren't just listening for mates and predators; some observations suggest these reptiles are attracted to the calls of crickets upon which they happily dine!

On average, house geckos live to be about five years old.

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