Two Esperance Geckos, one agile, one not!

What is the first thing you notice about a gecko?

For me it was their large unblinking unaggressive eyes, making them very cute looking. There are more than 100 Australian species, but in Esperance only three are recorded and I have never seen one of them. Of the two I do know, one is noticeably common possibly because it will also take up residence in your home, or take advantage of outside lights that attract insects. This human friendly species is the Marbled Gecko, Christinus marmoratus, which has learnt to take advantage of our energy guzzling activities.

However the Marbled Gecko and other species usually live under loose bark or under stones, some even live in spiders burrows. So maybe you can see why our houses look appealing to some.

They dine on a wide range of fare like insects, spiders and scorpions, but they also will partake of fruit, nectar and sap. Some large species will even eat smaller geckos. However, not all geckos have it all their own way. I have found geckos entrapped in the tangled webs of Redback Spiders, which I understand will also eat them.

You can see by the photos below how dexterous the Marbled Gecko is, being able to firmly grasp objects, or stick like glue to smooth vertical surfaces, it will even use its tail for additional traction.

Marbled Gecko, Christinus marmoratus

The Marbled Gecko have an interesting color variation, namely (with some animals) red patches on the tail. However most geckos in my area are without these markings, but it has been noted by Herpetologists that they are particularly common on juveniles. I have seen many juveniles and adults without any noticeable tail markings, so personally I am not convinced that they had them as juveniles or lose them at maturity, but more likely a color variation that for some reason, is only applicable to a minority of animals.

Just because geckos appear cute and cuddly, it does not mean that they cannot get very upset over territory and femme fatale issues with other geckos. Here one had latched onto the neck of the other and like a pit-bull had no intention of letting go.

The other gecko!

The second Esperance species is a very different animal; it is much shyer, prefers not to climb and has brightly speckled eyes, which often betray an inner sense of its own fatality. This is the Soft Spiny-tailed Gecko, Strophurus spinigerus subspecies inornatus.

As you can see, climbing smooth vertical surfaces is not regarded very highly by this species.

Have a look at the speckled eyes and the inner realisation that this might be the last photo it may ever have to endure.

Soft Spiny-tailed Gecko, Strophurus spinigerus subspecies inornatus

But despite the cute face and worried look, when it turns away you can see the remnants of a much bigger and more terrifying ancestor.

So next time you see a cute little gecko with big eyes and a worried expression on its face, remember if you were only a couple of centimetres high, it would probably eat you. However, except for science fiction, this is not likely to happen, instead they will do you the favour by eating all your nasty creepy crawlies.