Known as gecko, the gekkota are scaly sauropsids that they have more than 1500 species with changes between them.
We are going to get to know them and find out their curiosities such as that they change their teeth every 3 or 4 months or that they smell with their tongues. Besides we will learn to distinguish them from other lizards.
What are geckos?
Physical characteristics
There are many species of geckos that exist, but all of them have some common characteristics that make us know that they are Geckos compared to other types of lizards.
The Gecko eyes are usually larger, as are their toes. They are longer. Their skin is flexible because their scales are small. Their heads are flat and smooth, unlike other lizards, which often have crests, spines, or some kind of protuberance.
Because they have flexible skin and small scales, it is a more fragile skin compared to other lizards, so if we are going to handle them we must be careful with them.
They are from a small size that can be around 10 to 20 centimeters, tail included. The smallest species is Shaerodactylus ariasae, which reaches a length of between 1,6 and 1,8 cm. The largest species is Rhacodactylus Ieachianus, which can reach 36 cm. There were larger species than this, but they are now extinct.
like all lizards depend on the environment for warmth since they generate very little body heat by themselves.
Differences between day and night gecko
Most of the geckos are nocturnal and the colors of their scales are varied in shades of gray and brown. for better camouflage. However, brightly colored geckos such as the typical Wellington's green gecko can be found in New Zealand. As a curiosity, the most colorful gecko are usually active during the day and take shelter at night.
We can tell if a species of gecko is diurnal or nocturnal by looking at its pupil. The pupil of the diurnal species is rounded, while the nocturnal species have an elongated pupil. to the vertical When hunting, at night, the elongated pupil dilates and can become rounded, but in the light it contracts again. They do not have mobile eyelids but a transparent membrane that covers the eye.
tongue and teeth
La tongue is an important element because it serves as a sensory organWith it, they collect odors using a very special technique they share with snakes: when they stick out their tongues, they capture odor particles, and when they insert it into their mouths, they place it on the palate (Jacobson's organ), which allows them to recognize the captured odor.
Every 3 or 4 months they change all their teeth, the 100 they have. Next to each tooth the next replacement tooth is formed. This characteristic is shared by all the species of the Squamata or scaly reptiles.
gecko natural habitat
Geckos are spread all over the world, on all continents except Antarctica. Now, depending on each species within, they are more abundant in one place or another. Some of these species have been distributed due to human action.
We can find, for example, in Australia the species of the genus Gehyra and Phyllurus. In Europe, especially in the Mediterranean area, those of the genus Hemidactylus are common.
Suelen prefer warm regions against cold places, although this does not imply that they are not found in cold areas except those with the most extreme conditions.
Almost all species of geckos are arboreal., that is, they live and move among the trees and their branches. They can become quite fast in that medium. This implies that they prefer to inhabit wooded places, although they can also inhabit places with more open landscapes and move on the ground. Some of these species are practically terrestrial.
It is easy to differentiate a terrestrial gecko from an arboreal one, the terrestrial ones lack lamellae Underfoot. Lamellae are pads that allow them to adhere to branches and trunks to maintain a firm grip and move around easily. If terrestrial geckos had these pads, they would be at a disadvantage because dust and dirt would stick to them. Terrestrial geckos can be found in semi-desert or steppe areas.
But not all geckos inhabit natural areas, some of them prefer urban areas and it is easy to see them in some cities in Africa or America.
Beginnings of its expansion
From the tropics, geckos They were advancing and evolving to adapt to the subtropical zones, covering all of them in addition to the tropics. The cold zones began to inhabit them but only in the hot seasons.
That they inhabit during the heat or warm areas does not imply that they are not resistant to cold. There are some species that can withstand the cold well as would be the case of Cyrtodactylus tibetanus, which is the most resistant to cold of all. Its name already indicates where it can be found and it is that it is possible to see them in the Himalayas up to 4000m. The Afroedura genus can also be found in mountainous areas of South Africa where they also need to withstand cold conditions.
Food and/or diet
the geckos they are insectivores, that is to say, they base their diet on eating insects. Sometimes they can feed on the nectar of some flowers and fruit, but this does not give them all the nutrients they need. Some specific species of geckos do feed mostly on plant matter.
The insects that are among their favorites when it comes to feeding are: spiders, crickets, grasshoppers, cockroaches, beetles and moths. Larger geckos also include larger sized insects such as centipedes or even small rodents..
feed them in captivity
At the time of feeding them we will have to give them crickets, silkworms and small cockroaches How much? Well, it depends on how big the geckos are, but between 4 and 8 crickets, for example, in each shot is usually the most recommended.
The food must be given alive so that it hunts them since otherwise it is possible that they would not eat. A form of to know if our geckos are well fed is to look at the tail. Most of the fat accumulates in the tail, so we can see that it is excessively thin, we must add more food and if it is too chubby, reduce it.