Interesting Gecko Facts

• The smaller Geckos live for about 15 – 20 years but a larger Duvaucel’s Gecko has been recorded as surviving to 42 years of age in the wild.
  
• Geckos have two transparent eyelids which are permanently fused together. They cannot blink but use their spoon like tongues to frequently clean their eyelids.
  
• Geckos shed their skins (which are made of small scales) – every six weeks or so in warmer weather.
  
• A gecko can detach it’s tail if caught by a predator, although the green tree dwelling geckos are more reluctant to do this than other geckos because they use their tail for climbing.
  
• New Zealand geckos are omnivores but their main diet consists of small to medium sized insects such as moths, flies, small crickets, larvae, etc. However, they also eat some berries and the nectar of some flowers.
  
• Geckos tend to live alone and are very territorial. They raise up and open their mouths to scare away intruders. The Northland Green Gecko with its blue mouth and bright red tongue would be very intimidating to other geckos.
  
• New Zealand Geckos carry their eggs inside their bodies. The young are born live and are immediately ready to fend for themselves. They usually have only one offspring but sometimes two are born.
  
• Unlike other reptiles Geckos have a range of vocal sounds from chirping and chattering through to a loud croaking sound.
  
• Geckos have superb grasping abilities as their toes are covered with microscopic hairs which enable them to climb sheer surfaces and some tropical gecko are even able to walk upside down across the ceiling. 
  
• Maori folklore tells us that when a war party came upon a Gecko on the trail they took it as a bad omen that the fighting would not go well and returned home.