Lesley Smitheringale Fine Art

Garden Guests Diary - Gorgeous Gecko [29 March 2008]

I was hanging out the washing today and noticed a little garden guest trying to climb up my wicker basket.  He was a tiny little Asian House Gecko (hemidactylus frenatus) and it’s the first time I’ve actually been able to photograph one due to their amazing speed when they spot you.  One of our cats, Ginger, brings these geckos into our house frequently but he never kills them.  We hear him miaow (well, it’s actually more like a howl) when he has caught one and he simply drops it infront of us.  We then have to make a fuss of Ginger and tell him how wonderful he is and thank him for the gift while we frantically try to catch the traumatised gecko and take it back to its natural environment.  Usually this is impossible due to their fast escape speeds and as a result we are “breeding” geckos in our house in all shapes and sizes - some are less than the size of a match stick!  I love these creatures but still can’t accept the noise they make is coming from such a tiny creature.  It is a startingly loud “chuck-chuck-chuck” sound which you hear from the eaves of your house or in our case the corner of our ceilings as they live with us!  Here are the photos of my gorgeous gecko guest.