Asian House Geckos

[Fuscus]

In my travels though SE Qld I have been hearing lots of AHGs calling. While the calls from buildings were not unexpected I am also hearing then from trees, in particular palm trees. When I was here last (Five years ago) they were resticted to houses so they seem to be wideing thier micro habitats.

 

[Dicco]

I've found them many metres from any houses at the base of Eucalypts at Yepoon nearGladstone, and they're getting futher west, they can now be found at Ipswich west of Brisbane. There is now only a lone Dubious Dtella left at our house amongs a miriad of AHG.

 

[ari]

These guys are a menace - cute little things though, but a menace.

Breeding crickets is pretty hard with these things around - I have caught them heaps of times in my cricket breeding enclosures - and yeh they do a runner with my crickets in their mouths.

No wonder the ones around our place are so FAT.

LOL

 

[peterjohnson64]

Poor old sydney. We never get to hear Lesieurs.

 

[Surfcop24]

Yep gotta agree they are so annoying.... We have heaps around our house and in my shed..... Bloody things scare the hit out of me when they dart around... I think they are spiders..(NOT A BIG FAN OF SPIDERS)... We are having a pest guy around today..... SO maybe that may kill a few off...

 

[ElZilcho]

Maybe what you need is a few large spiders....

 

[Magpie]

Definately a lot of them living in palm trees.
When we cut a heap of palms down here, the ones that had vines growing on them had literally hundreds of house gex in them.
I've also seen them on hillsides, 500m or more away from houses.

 

[chameleon]

i have hundreds of these geckos on my property and i cant understand why they have't been
declared a ferral pest yet...
but one thing you must agree with....
they are EXCELLENT at getting rid of insects.
houses, palmtrees, they reside anywhere.

 

[reptililian]

I guess they had to live somewhere before houses were invented. I just wonder what they were called back then!

 

[alexr]

I guess they had to live somewhere before houses were invented. I just wonder what they were called back then!

PMSL reptililian...funny stuff.

 

[Hickson]

and i cant understand why they have't been
declared a ferral pest yet...

Actually, it's never been proven that AHG's have been introduced. There is a belief that they are native to Australia. And they won't be declared a pest until they endanger another species or an industry.

And they will never be declared feral, as feral refers to a domesticated animal that has gone wild (cats, dogs, horses etc.).



Hix

 

[Magpie]

Actually, it's never been proven that AHG's have been introduced. There is a belief that they are native to Australia. And they won't be declared a pest until they endanger another species or an industry.

Bit like the dingo innit? They may have been in australia for thousands of years , but in limited distribution and numbers?

 

[Dicco]

Asian House geckoes wipe out local gecko populations, we used to have the natives here, then the occational Asian poped up, now we are over run with AHG.

 

[Koula]

What exactly do these geckos look like? I have been told that the smooth skinned fat pink ones on the ceilings are them, but someone also said they are pink with small spines on their tails. I have seen both in the house, and lately I have seen many baby pink geckos on the walls, or hanging around my cricket tubs. Are these the same ones that make that squeaky "gak-gak-gak-gak-gak!" sound?

 

[Hickson]

Asian House Geckos are probably the only vocal gecko you're likely to encounter in an urban environment. So if you hear them, it's probably an AHG.

Here's one I photographed last month in Rubyvale, Qld.

Hix

 

[Dicco]

Hix, I believe that is a Gehrya species

 

[Dicco]

What exactly do these geckos look like? I have been told that the smooth skinned fat pink ones on the ceilings are them, but someone also said they are pink with small spines on their tails. I have seen both in the house, and lately I have seen many baby pink geckos on the walls, or hanging around my cricket tubs. Are these the same ones that make that squeaky "gak-gak-gak-gak-gak!" sound?

hey Swifty, both Asian House Geckoes and some natives go a pale pinky colour at night, AHG aren't fat, they are more lean then Natives, their tails have a row of spines on either side and their tails aren't plump like the pic Hix posted, the taiper more evenly to the tip. The AHG make that annoying Gak sound , the Natives aren't quite as vocal.

 

[Hickson]

Dicco,

You're quite right. At the time I tried to catch one to photograph the foot, showing all five toes clawed, but they were too quick for me (and I wasn't making a serious attempt). But I just went to my original pic (the one shown above) and zoomed in on it, and it is quite obvious the inner toe is unclawed.
Probably either Gehyra dubia or G. variegata as they're the only two spp. with ranges over the Gemfields (according to my books).

Thanks Dicco!



Hix

 

[Rennie]

I guess they had to live somewhere before houses were invented. I just wonder what they were called back then!

They were probably just called geckos or more likely some asian word!