Herping at home in Cairns, or geckoes and frog

[Renenet]

Hi,

This is my first herping post! I don't know if it's strictly "field" herping because I didn't actually have to go anywhere, and also my Complete Guide to Reptiles of Australia is still lost in a box somewhere, but hey. I last lived in inner-city Melbourne and geckoes and frogs, however unidentified, make me excited.

Or frog, to be precise. This fellow sat on the exterior window sill for a couple of nights soon after I first arrived:



Please tell me he's not a cane toad.

Geckoes are plentiful. I've got two kinds here that I can discern; either that or one is some kind of albino mutation:



I love my Gecko Guard because if they weren't here I'd hate to think how many insects I'd be beating out of my hair.

About five days ago I noticed a couple of baby geckoes running around:



I didn't see them for a couple of days and I thought they'd encountered foul play. (I did see one running past Zephyr's enclosure a couple of times - eeeeek!) Then I found one hiding under the Chux. It gave me a startled look and hurried off to hide behind the sponge instead:




In the first picture you can see how tiny he or she is. That silver thing to the right is part of my water filter and attaches to a standard tap. She's about 4 centimetres long and, in that shot at least, reminds me of a tadpole with her big head and tapering tail. It's the perspective.

Assuming I'm seeing the same baby, she keeps disappearing and showing up at random moments. This afternoon, at about 4 pm, I was working at my completely disorganised desk when she shot out from underneath some rubbish and made her way to the wall. I still see her passing Zephyr's enclosure, with apparently no idea what lurks inside.

Something I didn't know about geckoes: they jump. I haven't got a photo of that yet.

[richoman_3]

very nice!
love the frogs
the first batch are asian house geckos
im not sure if they rest are that or mourning geckos?? they look like lepidodactylus pumilus but dont think they're in cairns, probs just lugubris or ahg

[Renenet]

Are Asian House Geckoes native to Australia?

I have to dig out my reptile ID book! I don't have a frog ID book yet, so if anyone can, please go ahead and identify that frog for me.

[Poggle]

Are Asian House Geckoes native to Australia?

I have to dig out my reptile ID book! I don't have a frog ID book yet, so if anyone can, please go ahead and identify that frog for me.

No they are not native

[richoman_3]

no they are introduced :/
the frog is a litora sp.
not sure what but someone on here will ID it for you

[tommy123]

the Asian House Geckoes is a pest in Australia

[Scleropages]

Are Asian House Geckoes native to Australia?

hehehe


nup.

[Renenet]

the Asian House Geckoes is a pest in Australia

Does that mean I can go ahead and feed them to my snake?

[waruikazi]

Yes but your snake will end up full of worms.

Does that mean I can go ahead and feed them to my snake?

[snakes123]

yay first time i can ID something first

Think its a Lepidodactylus Pumilus

[jordanmulder]

The last batch of geckos are lepidodactylus lugubris, pumilis as (ben suggested above) live north of cairns... I know caus I made the same wrong Id myself.

[Renenet]

Yes but your snake will end up full of worms.

What a shame, it would have solved my mice supply problem.

[slim6y]

Watch the gex... they poo everywhere and become quite nuisance with their Gnyack Gnyack Gnyack at night.

Above all - if they get into your computer via the fan system, they tend to fry your computer and you end up needing a new one.

[Renenet]

The last batch of geckos are lepidodactylus lugubris, pumilis as (ben suggested above) live north of cairns... I know caus I made the same wrong Id myself.

How north of Cairns? I am slightly north of Cairns CBD, near JCU.

I'm going through an online frog database to try to find the specific speces if litoria. I'll report back if I find anything.

Edit: I'm thinking Litoria Rubella. Can anyone please confirm? Thanks.

[Waterrat]

Most likely L. rubella. They're quite variable.