Geckos, lizards etc which come under the same animals species come to as many as 1500 species. These are rather interesting reptiles that have the ability to climb up on even the smoothest surfaces like glass etc and can even walk along the ceiling using the adhesive pads that are on their toes.
Apparently the study of this subject has thrown the fact that each of the pads is covered in numerous that is called setae. These hairs are further subdivided into many spatulas which are only 0.2 micrometer long and this that is the Van der Waals forces between the surface and spatulas that produce the adhesive force.
The name gecko has come about from the vocalizing that certain lizards do producing a peculiar sound. In fact lizards communicate by chirping in the manner, wagging the tails and bobbing the head. When in trouble the Gecko will leave its tail behind and has the ability to grow it back again though the new tail may differ from the old one in look and different in color. If you have a gecko at home, handle them with care and do not grasp it by the tail. Many species of geckos are bred in captivity and some types of gecko available to people as pets are described here:
Leopard Gecko
Eublepharis macularius is the gecko that is most commonly kept as a pet and they are native to North west India and Pakistan. It is a robust creature and easy to take care of. These are different from many geckos in that they do not climb and dwell on the ground. These are night creatures and will spend the hotter days hiding in holes or under rocks. So if you keep them in a terrarium with hiding places, they will be happier. These are bred to have many colors today, most of these lizards have a lot of orange coloring. These leopard geckos are quite calm and do get used to being handled by people.
Crested Gecko
They can be found in the jungles of New Caledonia which were assumed to be extinct before being rediscovered in the year 1994. These happen to be very popular pets in US and Europe today. The name of Rhacodactylus cilates comes from the hair type skin projects that can be seen over each eye and running to the tail. These lizards are night beings and have toes that end in claws with which they cling to surfaces. The tail also acts as an adhesive pad. These geckos are robust and pretty easy to keep and handle. They eat insects, fruits and also commercial diets. You will need a tall vivarium with branches for them to climb along with live plants if possible.
Rhacodactylus Ciliatus, Crested Gecko
Flame Crested Gecko
Orange Pinstripe Crested Gecko
Dalmation Crested Gecko
Autumn Crested Gecko
Day Geckos of Madagascar
These belong to the surrounding islands and to Madagascar. They are bright in color, mostly with green in red marking, though the neon ones have yellow heads and two blue lines running on its sides. Not like the others of their species, they are pretty active during the day too and love to spend time soaking up sun to get calcium and to keep their colors going. You will however need to handle them with care when you set them in the terrarium. But once this is done, they are good to go. Do take care not to house two males together and keep them in pairs of one male and female, though you will need to keep an eye on it. Their sensitive skin means that they need to be handled with lots of care. Ensure that their living area is full of tubes of bamboo with holes cut into them, for them to sleep and hide.
French Island East of Madagascar
Giant Day Gecko
The Yellow Headed Day Gecko
Gold Dust Day Gecko
Electric Blue Gecko
These geckos do live up to their name though it only the males that have the blue color while females are in drab green to brown. These small lizards were found in the Kimboza forest in Eastern Tanzania. Due to the loss of their habitat due to cutting of trees , their numbers are coming down a lot. Since the wilder lizards are banned, today only the ones bred in captivity can be kept as a pet. The ones that are bred in captivity are easier to handle than the ones from the wild. This gecko is known often as a day gecko, but it cannot be truly called a day time one. It is relatively active in the day and will need a tank with tall planks. It will need to be fed nectar and insects. The males can be very protective of their territory and need to be housed one at a time in one place. These are bold and can be quite easily tamed though can be a bit delicate when it comes to being handled.
Electric Blue Dwarf Gecko
Electric Blue Gecko
Electric Blue Day Gecko
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