# Please ID this gecko.



## pharskie (Jun 27, 2011)

can someone please ID this gecko for me. i am in central western NSW (Orange infact). this fella was found clinging to the back of the hot water heater that was replaced today. i was under the impression we didnt have any native geckos here due to the cold weather. Obviously im wrong. I have absolutly NO knowledge when it comes to geckos. I have done a small search and gander over pictures of geckos but havent found anything im happy to say is a positive match. Please dont bombard me with with your personal oppinions of asian house geckos if it is infact, just that.


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## Rocket (Jun 27, 2011)

Christinus marmoratus


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## GeckPhotographer (Jun 27, 2011)

Definitely not an Asian House. Cannot positive between Gehyra variegata or Christinus marmoratus from this pic but would be swinging stronger to the Gehyra option.

Ok revise that I am now tentatively swinging to the Christinus side.


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## PeppersGirl (Jun 27, 2011)

... and female by the looks


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## pharskie (Jun 27, 2011)

ok thanks heaps. how can you tell its a female?


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## richoman_3 (Jun 27, 2011)

yep female christinus marmoratus
can tell its female by the calcium deposits on its neck


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## pharskie (Jun 27, 2011)

View attachment 206960

Dose this pic help at all? Is there any reason for the inflamed lumps on the side of the neck?

ah calcium deposits???


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## Bushman (Jun 27, 2011)

_Gehyra variegata_ as an equally likely candidate. As GeckPhotographer mentioned, it's hard to be sure judging from the pic provided though. 
Can you post a better focused photo and/or ideally a close-up of the toes? Otherwise, can you tell us if it has clawed digits or not?


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## GeckoJosh (Jun 27, 2011)

pharskie said:


> View attachment 206960
> 
> Dose this pic help at all? Is there any reason for the inflamed lumps on the side of the neck?
> 
> ah calcium deposits???


This species stores calcium in deposits on either side of their neck.
They need this extra store as they are one of species of Aussie geckos that lay hard-shelled eggs (most Aussie geckos lay soft-shelled eggs)


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## Nephrurus (Jun 28, 2011)

It's christinus. The tail is too big for a gehyra and the toes seem to gradually widen out unlike a gehyra that has neat little discs.


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## Em1986 (Jun 28, 2011)

pharskie said:


> View attachment 206924
> 
> can someone please ID this gecko for me. i am in central western NSW (Orange infact). this fella was found clinging to the back of the hot water heater that was replaced today. i was under the impression we didnt have any native geckos here due to the cold weather. Obviously im wrong. I have absolutly NO knowledge when it comes to geckos. I have done a small search and gander over pictures of geckos but havent found anything im happy to say is a positive match. Please dont bombard me with with your personal oppinions of asian house geckos if it is infact, just that.



That's a pretty one compared to what we get around our house here (in Blayney), we get ones that look like marbled geckos but i think they are actually Oedura lesueurii that we get. Nice find/save by the way  Just thought i would let you know that yes we do get them out here, i think ours hide in the roof over winter and brumate. They have also bred  I may add a pic here to find out what the ones we get here are if that's ok?




This is a baby i found inside on the floor, i almost trod on it before carefully letting it climb on my hand and putting it back outside. The parents/adults look the same but are huge compared to this. Sorry for butting in but i wanted to show you the ones we get here (30 mins away from you) and also ask if anyone can ID this one please?


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## fugawi (Jun 28, 2011)

Gehra Varigata, My outlaws live in Ardlethan and all the way through from the Blue Mountains, Blayney, Cowra, Young, Temora and finally Ardlethan we have found these guys. We sit in the fernery and watch them at night, racing up and down the shade cloth.


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## GeckPhotographer (Jun 28, 2011)

Em1986, that baby one looks like a Christinus marmoratus to me, the tail is a dead give away when seen from above (for me). Really long and with almost stripe like patterns that in some individuals form light yellow dashes down the middle of the tail.


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## GeckoJosh (Jun 28, 2011)

As Nephrurus stated the tail is too long for G.variegata

This is a picture of a G.variegata for comparison


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## Em1986 (Jun 28, 2011)

Goldmember said:


> As Nephrurus stated the tail is too long for G.variegata
> 
> This is a picture of a G.variegata for comparison



The ones we get also don't have clawed feet, thanks for the comparrison pic 



GeckPhotographer said:


> Em1986, that baby one looks like a Christinus marmoratus to me, the tail is a dead give away when seen from above (for me). Really long and with almost stripe like patterns that in some individuals form light yellow dashes down the middle of the tail.



Sometimes the parents/adults have what looks like yellow markings on them, thanks heaps.


Again sorry for butting in but i thought i would show what the ones here look like


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## GeckoJosh (Jun 28, 2011)

Em1986 said:


> The ones we get also don't have clawed feet, thanks for the comparrison pic
> 
> 
> 
> ...



Christinus marmoratus are known for having yellow/orange markings.


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## richoman_3 (Jun 28, 2011)

heres some examples of some with and without the yellow/orange markings on their tails,
most specimens have them, but some dont


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## dylan-rocks (Jun 28, 2011)

I find those geckos all the time around my house and area(Cowra), but i am having the same dilemma with I.D them for years, me and my friends just call them bark geckos lol


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## Em1986 (Jun 28, 2011)

Thanks heaps for the pics Richoman, they look like the first pic but don't have such darl markings. Our house is a cream type of colour on the outside so i think they blend in with it and that may be why.
They also have a translucent underside, i have seen them on the glass windows from inside and have photos somewhere 

Thanks Goldmember


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## pharskie (Jun 28, 2011)

thanks heaps guys. i have been told by the house owner that they this female has been here for years. i think i will make a small rock garden for them outside (if there are any others that is). But due to our jack russle inside the house and amstaff outside, i have chosen to set up a large enough tank to keep him in and keep him safe and well fed. Do the calcium deposits mean she may be ready to lay or be infact carting around eggs?

sorry "keep HER in".


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## GeckoJosh (Jun 28, 2011)

pharskie said:


> thanks heaps guys. i have been told by the house owner that they this female has been here for years. i think i will make a small rock garden for them outside (if there are any others that is). But due to our jack russle inside the house and amstaff outside, i have chosen to set up a large enough tank to keep him in and keep him safe and well fed. Do the calcium deposits mean she may be ready to lay or be infact carting around eggs?
> 
> sorry "keep HER in".



Keeping native animals is illegal, whether its a gecko or a Rock Wallaby its still not ok, if your worried about your dogs then move it to nearby bushland (within 5km)


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## pharskie (Jun 28, 2011)

good idea. i know a good spot out near the gold mines


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## GeckoJosh (Jun 29, 2011)

pharskie said:


> good idea. i know a good spot out near the gold mines


Hey,
Sorry I don't mean to sound harsh but keeping reptiles from the wild cannot be publicly condoned for obvious reasons.
When you release her just make sure its within a 5km of where she was found otherwise there is a risk of spreading disease and/or corrupting locale gene pools


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## Bluetongue1 (Jun 29, 2011)

Pharskie,

I am quite certain that what you have there is a Marbled Gecko _Christinus marmoratus marmoratus._ Here is photo of a similarly individual but a bit a lighter…
Marbled Gecko and my Orange - Animal & Insect Photos - Mehrafarin


Em1986,

That is a young Marbled Gecko _Christinus matmoratus marmoratus_ you have in your hand. The adults can yellow to orange to almost orange-red median blotches on the tail that often extend onto the lower back. In exceptional specimens the blotches can link up the form a wide caudal stripe of colour. 


Both _Christinus_ and _Gehyra_ can store calcium in cheek pouches, but it tends to be mote prevalent and more pronounced in _Christinus_. 

The expanded ends of the digits do differ between the two genera. The scales covering the distal expansion of the digits in _Christinus_ are significantly larger than the rest of the digit; the distal edge of each digit (expansion) is heart-shaped; there is a claw on all digits but they seldom stick out clearly beyond the toe pad or above it (often can only be seen readily from below. In _Gehyra_, the scales covering the distal expansion are the same size as those covering the rest of the digit; the outer edge of the end of the digits is circular in shape; the claws jut above and beyond the toe pad and are readily seen, except for the first digit which lacks a claw. 

I would agree that as a general rule _Christinus_ have a proportionately loner tail, However, both species are particularly variable in this respect: 90% to 130% of S-V length versus 90% to 140% of S-V length, respectively. From personal experience I find that _C. marmoratus_ has a flatter and broader tail that tapers slowly to a point while _G. variegata_ has a more rounded tail that tapers much more quickly. The short coming here are that the descriptions are relative and that body fat storage influences tail shape.


fugawi,

That particular specimen of Marbled Gecko is all but identical to the Variegated Dtella in markings. You get both species throughout the area that you mentioned. They are ecologically analogous. Brian Bush et al. have noted that on granite outcrops _Gehyra_ tends to displace _Christinus_, whilst in standing timber it’s the reverse. There also appears to be some differences in micro-habitat tolerances. Interesting stuff. That aside, next time you are up that way take a hand lens and have a look at the features of the feet on a few different individuals. That will confirm for sure what they are, unless, of course, you have already done that. In which case, ignore me and continue to enjoy their antics as you have.

Blue


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