Lizard v Gecko

I rescured this little fellow today from the clutches of Cal after he brought it into the house for the second time ...



I think it's a wall lizard as opposed to a gecko, perhaps the Podarcis muralis?

Anyway, he's free again and disappearing into the rockery ...

 

Hey LOL. Are you telling us or asking us? Or maybe you are just trying to make us jealous. The only thing my Staffie brings in that has to be rescued are various forms of snail. :eek:

Did I say has to be rescued? My boss lady swears I am totally insane?

 

Evening John ... guess I'm asking as I'm new to learning about critters, both flying and crawling. There's a couple of gecko/lizard lovers here who no doubt will tell me what I rescued.

Boss lady may be right! As you may know, we only have small snails they eat ... possibly because the others and such like (ie, slugs) can't take the heat ... :D :D

 

Lol, It is very hard to tell some Wall Lizards apart as the interbreed and hybridise but is definitely either Podarcis Muralis or Hispanica. Geckoes are larger usually grey/brown in colour, have rough keeled skin and have large flattened discs on their toes for climbing vertical surfaces. A Wall lizard can climb a vertical rock but not a vertical room wall or pane of glass, a gecko can.

 

Evening strongy. Geckos here are usually fatter and flatter and, as you say, rough skinned. They are very soft to me? This little critter was soft but skinny as you can see .. it seemed to have suction cups all under its body which clung to me ... not it's feet. :D

As I'm not clever with them like you, I don't like "handling" them too much because they may get "upset" especially after one of my critters have had them in their mouth for some time beforehand and batting the poor things around ... good job they all play dead ... maybe humans could learn something here.

Back to critter in question, it is obviously a babe as I have small hands I was curious about the tail colour difference ... also, like a gecko, do they lose a bit if caught as the end is missing?

 

Yep, Autotonomy, shedding of the tail to confuse a predator. Being a juevenile makes ID all the harder, I hope they don't bring it back in again!

 

Why?

 

Why what?

 

That he doesn't bring it back again ... guess so it can grow up, huh?

He had a baby gecko this morning but sadly it did not survive. :( I know all too well they "play dead" but I put this one in a specific place and last seen it has been pulled aside and was covered in ants. :eek: :eek:

 

I hope the little 'un survives to become a big 'un. Shame about the gecko.
I caught and brought back four geckos on our honeymoon in Majorca 24 years ago. (Well I still had to persue my hobby!) :D Brought them back in a cocoa tin but as they are extremely territorial they didn't last very long together in the vivarium at home. From then on I only bought captive bred specimens.

 

Please let me know me if I can help you out any time, strongy ... should I start collecting cocoa tins? :D :eek:

 

I love to have lizards and geckos in our garden unfortunately so do my cats ! Great photos !

 

reminds me..... nust put up some pics of oldest spawns' Leopard Gekos - they're so sweet.... We are all soooooooo jealous of all you lot who live in sunnier climes and have these little fellers scuttling around your gardens....

 

you did get the gecko in the end...is he behaving?

of course I still have the secret dream of an arauna parrot and an iguana...

 

Well, my darling Cal is still doing what he loves best .... catching geckos ...





I found his tail (the gecko's not Cal's) on the living room rug later. :eek:

This little character is quite different from the one above and from looking through my Med wildlife book looks like it is the Tarentola mauritanica, the common Moorish Gecko.