Friday, October 19, 2012

Another salamander--I mean, gecko

(EDIT: Thanks to Zanazaz for proper ID of this critter!)

Saw this guy and a couple of his buddies up on the wall out on the front porch one night a few weeks ago.  I'm not sure if he's a frost salamander or a flame salamander.  Either way, I think he looks cool, and I'm happy to have him hanging out at my house.  Any of y'all have "pets" like this that live around the outside of your home?

4 comments:

BROODE said...

We have 9 of those little fellas that like to hang out, on a nightly basis, on our front porch. I think they're neat, the wife doesn't like them, and the cat would love to eat them.

Zanazaz said...

It's a Mediterranean House Gecko or common house gecko. It's not native to Texas, and is considered an invasive species. Other places and countries don't consider them invasive due to their small size, and the little to no impact they have on other species. They are highly resistant to pesticides, and their range is increasing.

We have quite a few here at the house. One evening I saw about 9 of the little critters. They like cracks and crevices, and I usually find one once every couple of days.

Yes, I'm something of an amateur herpatologist.

Kaptain Kobold said...

We get lots of small lizards in our garden, and they do OK assuming that they can evade the cats and the chickens. The last two places we've lived have had blue-tongue lizards in the garden - they grow over a foot long, and are quite impressive.

As for bird-life, we get all sorts of things, including some garish parakeets.

I love living here :)

All taken in my garden:

http://www.flickr.com/photos/kaptainkobold/5478278590/

http://www.flickr.com/photos/kaptainkobold/5503431643/

http://www.flickr.com/photos/kaptainkobold/6155109806/

http://www.flickr.com/photos/kaptainkobold/3051002661/

Ski said...

We have two pet ones here in Savannah. I'm sure there are others in the house. They are gentle and funny little things but absolute terrors at feeding time.