Gecko (Gekko)

[erik_tonny]

For our home 2016 is of on a good start.
On new years day a gecko ( to be more specific: a perinquen) decided to move in with us.

[woe10]

We have about 6 of them living in the roof of our patio. When I switch on the outside light, they all come out around the light and eat all the bugs and moths.
They shed their tail when attacked ( by my cats for example ) as a defense mechanism, they grow a new one pretty quickly.

[Magoo]

When I was working in Trindad, I shared my accommodation with one, who lived behind a picture frame on the wall.

One of the local guys informed me that they made a very good room mate as they kept the wall clear of mosquitoes & spiders.   

[waggy]

We have about 6 of them living in the roof of our patio. When I switch on the outside light, they all come out around the light and eat all the bugs and moths.
They shed their tail when attacked ( by my cats for example ) as a defense mechanism, they grow a new one pretty quickly.
[/quote]

Like I've said before: not a good idea to take/keep alien species, in this case cats, to Islands, because over a period of time they cause extinctions, in this case several lizard species, throughout the Canaries and around the World.  I can give you some links if anyone's interested but I don't suppose anyone who is part of the problem would be interested.
So: get rid of the cats and keep lizards as pets instead.

[Tamkid]

I take it by your name your a dog lover Waggy?

[Snowdrop]

And ban the owners that don't clean up after their dogs as doggie poops carry diseases that can cause blindness in children.  And those that drop litter on the beaches causing death to the sea and beach creatures - phew said my pet hates :-)

[waggy]

I take it by your name your a dog lover Waggy?

Hi Tamkid, No, wrong connection: The old definition of 'Waggy' comes from 'Waggy - a person who, if they haven't already been, should be hung'. I inherited it from my Father who was born on 1st April and hence saw it as his right, nay duty, to be a practical joker and was given that nickname when he achieved a certain local reputation. That said, he was also popular as attested by the 400+ people who attended his funeral. But then again, they probably just wanted to witness the lid being nailed down securely.
I've kept cats, dogs, fish, birds, worms and snails over my 70 years but cats are by far the most destructive with regard to wildlife and where the indigenously evolved wildlife is scarce/rare, as on islands, they are even more of a threat if introduced. In a few decades or hundreds of years they can wipe out millions of years of adaptive evolution at a stroke.

[waggy]

And ban the owners that don't clean up after their dogs as doggie poops carry diseases that can cause blindness in children.  And those that drop litter on the beaches causing death to the sea and beach creatures - phew said my pet hates :-)

Hi Snowdrop, All of our domesticated animals put together cause most of Human infectious diseases since we are locked into a multi-host dependency with them. Dogs, cats, cattle sheep pigs, ducks, geese; you name it. The blindness causing parasite you mention needs dogs/humans/sheep and is most often found in sheep rearing areas like the Falklands, Scotland or Wales.
As for littering - it makes you fear for the environment when there are patches of plastic waste many metres deep and hundreds of miles in extent in the oceans and nothing bacterial really evolved to break it down. There are laws but patchy and ill-implemented.

[emmi]

I love the Geckos.......especially as they sometimes eat cockroaches! 

[Snowdrop]

Wow, never knew that emmi. 

[Tamkid]

I agree with you about Cats Waggy. I have an eccentric woman who lives near me has six of the bleeders, no bells on their necks, they have absolutely decimated the local "any small wildlife that fly's or crawls" population around our patch. Gecko's are great to have around, nice to look at and do their bit with keeping the bugs down.

[waggy]

Geckos can become tame enough to feed from the hand; just find a source of insects to feed them. I don't think cockroaches are indigenous so they'll do nicely.

[suendrob]

Azzuro in El Cotillo has geckos living by the corner window and we always book that table. They have put up a new  LED light on the outside and there aren't so many insects for them. Used to have Mini fluorescents there which have much more UV. If you want to feed your geckos use CFLs not LEDs