Common house gecko

Language English

Onglets

Description

Distinguishing features

The common house gecko, also called the Asian house gecko, is a small lizard that is usually gray or pale brown. Its body is marked with small iridescent green dots, and its belly is white.

A bulge at the base of the tail where its sexual organ, the hemipenis, is located, helps differentiate mature males from juveniles.

The pupil of its eyes is vertical, and the retina has a high density of photoreceptor cells. Its vision is binocular and excellent at night. Much like snakes and unlike other lizards, geckos’ eyes don’t have lids, which is why they use their long, wet tongues to clean and moisten their eyes.

The fingers of this lizard have large claws and adhesive pads, allowing it to climb walls or walk on ceilings.

Reproduction

Courtship begins with a little ritual where the male caresses the female with his muzzle, then bites her and holds her by the neck. When approaching the female, the male may emit a 3- to 5-note call, which he will repeat after mating.

Common house geckos are polygynandrous (both sexes have multiple sexual partners) and oviparous (they lay eggs).

Their eggs are round, with rigid shells that bolster drought resistance. The female usually lays two eggs, stuck to the walls of a hidden crack or crevice to protect them from predators.

Incubation lasts from 42 to 62 days; the mother does not take care of the eggs, or of the babies when born.

At birth, the young measure between 40 and 60 mm. As the female can store sperm in her spermatheca for over a year, the common gecko can easily become an invasive species. Common house geckos reach sexual maturity at between 6 and 12 months of age.

Diet

The common house gecko is a predator that consumes all kinds of small invertebrates and land vertebrates. Insects and spiders make up most of its diet, although anything that can fit in its mouth can be eaten.

It can eat other lizards smaller than itself, including juveniles of its own species. The common house gecko also feasts on nectar and other sweet foods. Its tongue is prehensile and helps it capture its prey.

The common house gecko can go a long time without eating. Temperature has an effect on its diet: below 17°C it stops eating, because at that temperature it can no longer digest the food it swallows.

Predators

Common house gecko predators include cats, stray dogs, birds, snakes, rats, large spiders, praying mantises and large lizards.

To protect itself from predators, this gecko may lose part of its tail – this is called tail autotomy. The abandoned tail tip wiggles and attracts the predator’s attention, sparing the lizard’s life. After its loss, the tail does not grow back.

The greyish coloring of the common house gecko allows it to conceal itself in the environment, and improves its hunting abilities.

Active at night, it is very well adapted to catching insects that are attracted to light near buildings.

Habitat

The common house gecko is very prevalent in Asia. The tropical rainforest, with its humidity varying between 70 and 90%, is its natural habitat, but it has also adapted well to human habitations.

Although native to southern Asia, the species is now pantropical, having been introduced to India, Australia, China, Japan, Africa, South America, Central America and the United States.

A perianthropic species, it is commonly found on the walls of houses in these regions. People are normally happy to see them, as they eat unwanted insects in and around homes.

The common house gecko frequents rainforests, savannahs and deserts. Originally a land animal, it is now seen in trees and on fences and houses, especially if there is light nearby. It is also found under large rocks, decaying logs or on bare ground.

The common house gecko is active when the temperature varies between 19 and 34°C, moving about at night and hiding in nooks and crannies during the day.

Ecology, behaviour

The common house gecko is a territorial, aggressive species and a fierce competitor for other geckos. It attacks its opponents, bites their tails until they fall off, or devours them whole.

It could even bring about the disappearance of other lizards that occupy the same ecological niche (that of nocturnal insectivores). Resistant to the competition of other native species of gecko and possessing a better hunting technique, it monopolizes their territory and takes control of the most abundant food resources.

A true dangerous invasive species, the common house gecko is now found on every continent except Antarctica and poses a threat to all native geckos and their ecosystems.

French name

Gecko commun

Scientific name

Hemidactylus frenatus

Phylum

Chordata

Class

Reptilia

Order

Squamata

Family

Gekkonidae

Size

From 7,5 to 15 cm length

Life span

5 ans in the wild Up to 8 years in captivity

Status

Of least Concern according to IUCN (2018)

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