Wild Fact #671 – Midnight Stalker – Texas Banded Gecko
Photo from Wikicommons
I have a hunch that I will have very few American readers today as they will all be out getting the best deals during Black Friday. Either that or they will still be trying to roll themselves off the couch after an amazing Thanksgiving dinner. I am not going to lie to you, this American holiday really messes with me. You have no idea how much I wanted to stay home today and just watch football. In honour of the Dallas Cowboys making a comeback to cover the spread (and ruin some gambling hopes in the process) we are going to learn about the Texas Banded Gecko today. No this isn’t a mascot of the Cowboys or anything like that but they both live in Texas so that has to count for something, right?
The Texas Banded Gecko are small, terrestrial reptiles residing in southwestern United States and parts of Mexico. They are only about 10 cm (4″) long and have some pretty snazzy alternating coloured bands running down their body. These bands usually alternate between yellow and brown (or pink) and will mix in some nice black speckling for fun. These little gecko’s are nocturnal and can often be spotted on the road late at night. So be careful driving through their territory when the sun goes down (I guess you should be careful when the sun is up as well but for different reasons).
Photo by James Dowling-Healey
The Texas Banded Gecko has a pretty unique defense mechanism. Whenever they become alarmed they will do their best impersonation of a scorpion. I didn’t think they looked like a scorpion either but that doesn’t stop them from trying to fool their “not to bright” predators. This gecko will curl its tail up over their head and emit a faint but high pitched squeaking sound. If this method doesn’t work, well then the Texas Banded Gecko is in big trouble.
Although they are tiny in stature these little guys will feed on a variety of arthropods. They will eat anything from small insects such as termites, to spiders and any other small insect-like animal. To find their food the Texas Banded Gecko will lick the ground in order to pick up scent cues their prey has left behind. Once they get on the trail this gecko is surprisingly talented at stalking their prey and attacking when the time is right. So if you see a gecko licking the ground and following you then you need to be prepared for an attack.
I hope all of you folks are enjoying your Friday and will have a nice relaxing and restful weekend. See you on Monday!
