Backyard Zoology · 10 January 2019
2019-01-10T18:09:39+11:00
https://www.facebook.com/backyardzoology/posts/pfbid06J6JD8pWtdWaQJG53NFBcwSCGAybkApnp7RfVUamo2TmYeQuJixdHrUaGCod2S7Nl

We have a few of these little guys around the walls of the house - back and front. They're nocturnal so we tend to forget that they're here; if you're not actually looking for them, it's super easy to miss them. You can always tell when husby has spotted one though...because he goes flying up the stairs, pressed as close to the railing and therefore as far away from the wall loving geckos as possible! 😂 

He had an, ummm 'experience' with one in our bedroom one night. You see, when these guys feel threatened (and having a human chasing them trying to scoop them up and away from the dogs would feel a tad confronting I'd imagine) they do this sort of raspy scream. And when the gecko screams, husby screams and then I scream and no-one wins (except the gecko who was safely removed with its tail still intact).

This one has lost its tail at some stage though and the regrown one is a different colour and doesn't have the spiked texture that the rest of the skin does. They are really well camouflaged for the sandstone rocky outcrops that they love - the skin is speckled with browns and greys and a few orangey flecks here and there. They are really difficult to get a decent photo of though. They position themselves only a few centimetres from the ground, face down, waiting for any unfortunate invertebrates that cross their path.

Southern Leaf-Tailed Gecko (aka Broad-Tailed Gecko)
Northern Illawarra