Pages

Thursday, June 3, 2021

Gold Dust Day Gecko



The Gold Dust Day Gecko, a native to Madagascar, sometimes referred to as the Madagascar Day Gecko, does well in a tropical climate. Unlike most geckos, it is a diurnal animal, active during the day. They are territorial animals; males are especially aggressive towards other males.

These geckos are very colorful, usually bright green or a yellowish green. Halfway down their backs, they have three red teardrop markings. A blue shade is present around the eyes with bright gold markings on the back and neck. They feed on various insects and other invertebrates and are capable of eating other smaller lizards. They also eat soft, sweet fruit as well as pollen and nectar from flowers.  But they don’t bite humans.

Although these geckos will come into the house, probably looking for food, they are an arboreal species, spending most of their time in trees. If exclusion is desired, treat them as you would mice, rats and cockroaches; make sure to screen all windows, doors, ventilation passages and any small openings into the house.

Another species of gecko is the House Gecko, residing with humans in homes rather than in the wilderness. Being aggressive, this pale brown gecko drives other species away from the house. They are primarily nocturnal.

There are over 900 species of geckos worldwide, but only seven or eight reside in Hawai`i. Geckos are the only lizards who are able to make sounds, other than hissing.  Feeding on cockroaches, mosquitoes, ants, termites and moths, geckos are beneficial to home owners.

It has been thought that geckos are able to run up and down walls and ceilings due to tiny suction cups on their toe pads. However, recently scientists found that geckos have a network of tiny hairs and pads on their feet. With millions of hairs on each foot, the combined attraction of the weak electrical forces allow the gecko to stick to virtually any surface, even polished glass.