Creature Feature: Microgecko.

As much as I love doing impersonal blog posts, sometimes, something cool comes up from real life and bitchslaps me. Then, because I love sharing such experiences, I write a blog post about that weird, obscure thing.

This was one of those things.

 

No, that is not a dish containing three baby geckos. Those are all adult microgeckos. They were only about half the length of my middle finger. Although beautiful, I could not take them home because they cost 350 dollars. That, and if one got out, there would be NO DOUBT AT ALL that it would either die in a vent or get eaten by a cat.

Alas, it was really, really hard to find another pic of that same exact gecko. There are several species of gecko called "microgecko." The name can be a little misleading. The microgeckos I met were particularly tiny 'microgeckos.' Some geckos commonly called microgeckos can get up to four inches long. They aren't quite what I saw, but still pretty small.

So, for now, let's focus on the geckos in the genus Tropiocolotes.  These geckos are all native to Northern Africa and get less than 2 inches in length. Again, that's the adult size.



These little geckos like it hot (80-95 degrees Farenheit). As with rosy boas, they are desert animals, so no humidity required. A small gecko like this eats small prey, so feed them crickets, which are widely available, or very small larval insects. The eggs are also tiny-tiny, able to fit many on a single cent. (Side-note: You know a lizard like this is not commonly kept when the care sheets for it are scattered about.)

I'm out of words to say about this lizard. There's not that much to say, despite them having a fair following. For now, just gawk at the sheer tiny cuteness that they possess.

Forgive my fangirling: かわいいですね〜！

P.S.- I love exotic pet stores. There was no way I could have known about these without the Chicago Reptile House.

Creature Feature: Marine Iguana.

"The black Lava rocks on the beach are frequented by large (2-3 ft), disgusting clumsy Lizards. They are as black as the porous rocks over which they crawl & seek their prey from the Sea. I call them 'imps of darkness'. They assuredly well become the land they inhabit."


If this doesn't sound like something from the Dante, only more terrifying, we do not know what does. No, a religious guy from Texas did not write the above passage. That was Darwin. DARWIN. Mr. Evolution himself. Lamarcke, Darwin's predecessor, also treated reptiles as slimy, gruesome beasts. Even so, what reptile could possibly merit such a vile description?

The reptile Darwin was describing was the marine iguana (Amblyrhynchus cristatus), a large iguana native to all islands of the Galapagos. The largest specimen on record was a male 5.6 feet/1.7 meters in length. It feeds almost exclusively on marine algae. Like many creatures of the Galapagos, it is considered vulnerable. Contrary to Darwin's description, some marine iguanas are quite colorful.



The marine iguana is the only marine lizard in existence. By this, we mean that it is the only extant lizard to live and eat near or in the sea. It feeds on nothing but sea algae, can swim up to ten meters deep, and is capable of staying underwater for almost half an hour. It deals with the salt in the water via a special nasal gland that sneezes it out on land. The spilled salt makes the iguana's face look white, just like eating fast food inevitably leads to breakouts.


Big and impressive as these lizards are, they are not adapted to dealing with predators -let alone efficient mammalian carnivores. Cats and dogs are the biggest hazards to these slow-moving, herbivorous iguanas. You wanna ban an invasive species, government? Ban humans and their inevitable furballs.

So, does this giant marine lizard merit Darwin's ghastly description? Kinda.While this lazy algae eater may hardly sound monstrous to most of us, at least one movie monster has been inspired by the marine iguana:

 

...yeah, kill THAT with fire.

Creature Feature: Green Anoles.

When I went to Florida, I was chasing "chameleons" all the time. They were fast little buggers. I also knew, even at a young age, that they were not chameleons - chameleons were waaaay freakier and native to Africa.

Duuuude, you could acid trip on this lizard.

The "chameleons" in Florida and pet shops are really an agamid called the Carolina anole (Anolis carolinensis). They are native to the Southeastern United States and Caribbean Islands. They are one of the most popular pet lizards; most shops have the sense to label them as anoles, too.



Like chameleons, the green anole is capable of changing color. Again like chameleons, this is more a mood thing than a background thing. A stressed green anole will be brown and sluggish no matter what color it's on. If you want that kind of acid-trip camouflage, get a flounder. Neither chameleons nor anoles change color to blend in.

The males also have pretty red throats.

Green anoles are the generic green lizard kept in captivity. They are easy to breed, easy to feed (crickets and moths), and are currently having their genome mapped. Are they chameleons? No. Good starter lizards? Very yes.

Creature Feature: Leopard Gecko.

Hey, speaking of bio-art, remember the ball pythons from way back when? There are other reptiles that are almost as pimped when it comes to paintjobs.

There are usually two beginner lizards one sees in pet shops: Bearded dragons and leopard geckos (Eublepharis macularis). Both are easy to take care of and come in a wide variety of colors. It is really up to the individual hobbyist which to get, but the wide variety of leo morphs makes them the more tempting option. Who wouldn't want a pure white lizard?


Blue-Eyes White - wait, no. 

Regular leopard geckos look like this:

 


I'm not sure whether to smile or be terrified at this one. 

Leopard geckos are native to Central Asia, ranging from Pakistan to India. They live in rocky, dry grasslands. They eat mostly insects, and, in captivity, may refuse dead prey. Like many desert animals, they can endure extreme temperatures. As with most reptiles, they enter a state of hibernation when temperatures get too cold.

Leo geckos are well-adapted for their harsh environment. Their tough skin prevents scrapes from the rocks and sand. Unlike most geckos, it has eyelids. By far the most valuable adaptation of the leo gecko is its tail, which is chubby with fat if the gecko is healthy.

Oh, and it can also detach and regrow said tail.



The leopard gecko is among the many lizards that can break off its tail if grabbed by a predator. It has special fracture points in its chubby tail that snap easily, leaving the predator with a wriggling blob of chubby lizard meat. They regrow the tail, but it is never quite the same.

It can look FREAKY.

Temperature is extremely important for leo gecko reproduction. If the eggs are kept at cool temperatures  (about 26–30 °C (79–86 °F)), more females will hatch from the clutch. Intermediate temperatures yield more males. This is called temperature-dependent sex determination (TSD) and is fairly common among reptiles. It just sounds very strange to humans, who are born either male or female from the moment sperm meets egg.

TSD allows breeders to favor certain sexes among their clutches. This helps produce the wide variety of leo gecko morphs in captivity en masse, making them far cheaper than most ball python morphs. Albino? Of course. Purple? They have it. Weird eye color morphs? Check out the Eclipse below.


Katy Perry, try THIS in the next alien video.

Just about the only color these fun little lizards cannot come in is blue/green. As desert animals, they do not make the pigment naturally. That does not keep people from trying to breed for such a strange color, even if it fades out as the babies get older.



Wait a sec...wasn't there a Beanie Baby like that?



Freaky. 

Creature Feature: Cuban False Chameleon.

1You have probably heard the old saying, "If it walks like a duck, quacks like a duck, and swims like a duck, it's a duck." Generally, if one animal behaves and looks a lot like another animal, the two animals are probably the same species.

Again, if only nature made things that easy.




This alien-looking lizard is called a Cuban False Chameleon (Chamaeleois genus; also Anolis barbatus, "bearded anole"). It is found only in Cuba and resembles a cross between a chameleon, an iguana, and a space monster. It is so obscure that Wikipedia does not even have a page on it.

The Cuban False Chameleon walks like a real chameleon and has bulgy eyes like a real chameleon, but is not a true chameleon. It, like the "chameleons" common in Florida, is an anole - a type of lizard related to iguanas. It cannot change color like those little anoles, and overall behaves much more like an iguana when it is not swaying like a twig.

Cuban False Chameleons are lazy. If you own a CFC, it will spend most of its time on a branch, staying as still as the wood itself. These lizards are not very active; their sluggish nature plus excellent camouflage means that predators will have a hard time picking one out. It also means that they are fairly easy to take care of, even though they are rather large for anoles.


Wood, lizard, or lizard made of wood? 

Good luck finding a CFC if you want one as a pet. They can get rather pricey; after looking around a little, one can expect to pay upwards of 300 USD for one lizard. In the wild, they eat snails, insects, frogs, and young birds; they can eat insects specially sold for lizards in captivity. Cool lizard; decide for yourself whether it is worth 3 paychecks for yourself.


Tomorrow: Yet another overlooked felid!

Creature Feature: Electric Blue Gecko.

Electric blue gecko. by =KuroKarasu on deviantART

Ever think of dyeing yourself electric blue to show your masculinity? No? That's because a gecko did it first.

Yes, this creature really is called the Electric Blue Gecko. Other names include William's Dwarf Gecko and Lygodactylus williamsi. They are native to the tropical forests of Tanzania, but the one up there was at this year's February NARBC. They are considered under threat of habitat loss - go, captive breeders, go! (I wonder if the one I photographed was captive bred at all; the Beauty Snake they had looked like it had some shipping damage.)

Chameleons are not the only lizards that change color. Many other lizards, including anoles (American 'chameleons' frequently sold in pet stores and encountered in Florida) and these geckos are capable of changing color. This can be in response to either temperature or a change in mood.

In this case, the electric blue gecko is not always electric blue. The males are more prominently colored, but, if they are feeling under the weather or socially-unwell, can look similar to females. The females can also be a brighter green than usual, but never turn quite as shiny or blue as the males.

Like many tropical animals, they are considered difficult to keep in captivity. One settled, however, they adapt readily. They can be easily trained to go onto one's hand with an offering of treats.

In any case, they really get one's attention! How could I not look them over? They are not the world's only blue lizards, but they certainly are among the most fabulous.

(...I swear I'll do something not blue tomorrow.)