Gecko

Gecko
Originally uploaded by Peter B. Tzannes

These geckos are everywhere all the time, so I forgot how pretty they are. This one claimed our little plastic set of drawers as his territory. Sometimes we watch them hunt moths and other little bugs on our ceiling for entertainment. From what we've seen, they range from about an inch and a half to about five inches, but they always have the same markings.
The geckos compete for hunting territory, the best is by the light bulb, and sometimes have little standoffs to defend it. After a lot of staring and slow, careful movements, they suddenly charge at each other and in a flash, one turns and flees. The loser usually ends up hiding somewhere in our things while the winner, still on the ceiling, can target any part of our living space with his excrement.
One night we watched a gecko in prime hunting territory go after a moth we thought was way too big for it. To our surprise, he caught it quickly. But, as predicted, he had some trouble fitting it all in his mouth. He had to go off to the side to be less upside down while he ate. As soon as he was away from the light bulb, another one rushed in to fill the vacancy. I don't know how many more were watching from safety the of my personal belongings.
Micaela claims the geckos have gotten more bold since we've been here. I think it's true. Today one was lounging on our cutting board and I picked up a knife and faked like I was going to cut it. The gecko stayed still while I held the knife a millimeter above it. It was only when I gave it a gentle nudge that it took a few lazy steps toward the dish drain.