Hungry Gecko

[rojash]

When our veranda roof was removed to facilitate adding another story to the house, one of the geckos that used to live there moved into the house. We are quite fanatical about flyscreens, so as far as I can tell he hasn't had a decent meal in weeks. He used to hide behind the dressing table mirror and only come out at night (as is normal), but now he sits on the wall all day looking hopeful. We are moving soon and if he's still alive I intend to install him om the veranda of the new house, but how long can he survive without food?

[funnywebsite]

Can't you feed him something?

[rojash]

How? As far as I know they only eat live insects. They wait for one to settle nearby, then charge over and grab it. If you go near them they take off at 100 kph and disappear behind the nearest cover. So in order to feed him, I think I would have to fill the bedroom to fill with flies, moths, mosquitoes, etc. Not someting I really fancy doing!

[funnywebsite]

Sorry I thought this was a pet one. Are you living in a country where they are wild then? We do not have this problem in England. I just thought he was maybe a pet one because you said you were taking him to your new verandah.

[rojash]

I live in Greece. When we leave this house, it will remain empty and locked for at least 6 months, so I thought I would take him to the new house where he is welcome to gobble up the insects on our veranda. (I am a bit of a softie - my wife used to get annoyed because I always left the veranda lights on to attract insects to ensure that the five geckos who lived under the eaves always got a decent meal.)

Geckos like verandas as there are plenty of places to hide in the day, and they can just sit on the wall at night and wait for dinner to settle nearby. I have to admit though that watching a gecko eat a praying mantiss is not a pretty sight - and the sound effects are disgusting!

[funnywebsite]

I love lizards and geckos. I wish I lived in a warm country. I went to Madeira and they have loads of lizards there and they are quite tame. I went to the local park and suddenly a lizard walked straight up to my feet and looked up at me. I got the message he wanted feeding. The next day I took some bananas and apple. They loved them, I must of set of world war III because they were fighting over them. I also gave them chicken which they enjoyed. I have been to Corfu and we used to have a lizard in our bathroom, he obviously used to get in there by himself through the ventilator on the bathroom wall. How big is he? Did he get in the house himself? If you are moving in to your new house then you will have to catch him eventually. Can you lure him down to eat some fruit and chicken?

[rojash]

I think geckos recognise food by its behaviour rather than smell or taste - if it acts like food it is food. I don't think they eat fruit. I tried putting some meat on the end of a straw and imitating the actions of a moth fluttering about and settling nearby, but he ignored it completely - when I touched it to his nose, he just slunk away.

There are always lizards in the house because our cats bring them in, but they are easy to catch and release back into the garden. (I think we have the worlds largest collection of tail-less lizards in our garden). Lizards seem to be much less fussy about what they eat than geckos.

I could catch him and take him outside, but with the veranda rooves gone, and the rest of the house a building site, I am afraid there is nowhere safe to put him.

[WendyS]

One of the nice things about this website is occasionally coming across something unusual from another part of the world. Lucky you with your gecko! Don't suppose you have a fishing shop anywhere which sells maggots/other live bait which he might eat?. Or, could you risk domestic wrath by leaving a bit of meat out to go maggetty so that you breed your own?

[qapmoc]

Hi all, Well, While I agree that lizards etc.... eat flies and all the stuff which gets indoors they do have a down side.
The basic problem is that what goes in one end comes out the other later ! My wife stops me to get rid of lizards because they ''kill the bugs and all that'' but they sh1t all over the place indoors and leave streaks down your walls. It is a regular problem cleaning after them with white painted walls inside the house, and NO I don't feel like painting the walls brown !