Turnip-tailed Gecko

In the tropics the nocturnal Turnip-tailed Gecko is the invisible “bird” chirping up in living room rafters at night. Some say it chirps after nabbing a tasty moth, spider, or cockroach, and if that’s the case, more power to it. But it’s more likely that the chirps are used to establish and proclaim territories. I couldn’t find an audio recording, so try to imagine a juicy kissy sound, repeated several times.

This gecko reaches about 5″ in length, and can walk on almost any surface with its “adhesive” toe pads. They’re not really adhesive, but the effect is the same, as it can climb any clean dry surface, including glass windows. It doesn’t do so well on dust, though, because that breaks the attraction. More here.  

Normally, it lives 30′ to 50′ up in palm trees, nicely camouflaged by its markings as it picks off insects,. Turnip-tailed geckos come in an assortment of colors, but if you get a chance to hold one close-up, you’ll notice that its tongue tip is a gorgeous powder-blue. The swollen tail stores fat against hard times, and if annoyed, the gecko may wave it’s tail at the offender while sticking out its blue tongue. WOOOO! SCARY!

Turnip-tailed Geckos range from Mexico to Brazil and are frequently found in houses here at Better in Belize.