I suspect either a BOYNES GECKO or a native GEHYRA GECKO

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kingofnobbys

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4am :
I think I just saw him on kitchen benchtop under the electric frypan when I shined my LED headtorch over there , he saw me (the bright light actually) coming and disappeared.
 

kingofnobbys

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3 July 11pm, he's now in the bathroom , responded immediately with some churping when my wife turned on the light in to go in there. Was spotted disappearing behind the cistern.

He really gets around in the house …. surprising how loudly he can churp for such a tiny gecko.
 

kingofnobbys

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CooperDragon":2r96upsf said:
What does his chirping sound like?

Nearest similar sound is that of frog.I have since found this scholarly article about gecko vocalisations : https://pdfs.semanticscholar.org/de88/aa1aceb18f57034fe876e27d4fa2a02f8852.pdf


I'll see if I can find an audio file that sounds similar. I've heard a similar churping coming from the general direction of the kitchen often at night for years right though the seasons, I have ring tailed possums around and I thought it was them , or maybe flying foxes (we have them here too) in the backyard and in my tree (front yard) , but I now think it's geckos who are living in my house .

I have spotted a velvet gecko on my tree trunk sometimes at night if I happen to outside at night and just happen to hear something moving and shine my torch at the right moment at the right spot.
 

kingofnobbys

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Just saw Godzilla ( or one of his little gecko gang ) climbing up the inside surface of the glass in our kitchen window …. turned the kitchen light on and there he was , didn't stay there long , as soon as moved towards him he leapt off and scurried away .

Meanwhile my handyman brought a little skink to me that he disturbed when he was digging the other day , not injured , very cold so I've opted to give it a home until the work in my backyard is all done .

This little skink is a about the same size as Godzilla and is a delicate garden skink : Lampropholis delicata
https://bie.ala.org.au/species/urn:lsid:biodiversity.org.au:afd.taxon:58f6d1ae-e9c4-42cb-b321-d506e83abb7e
and has settled in very nicely in Godzilla's little tub, and has proven a great insect hunter, making very quick work of weenie woodies and weenie crickets I've given it each day (about 6 per day).

I have at least three colonies of these little skinks living on my property , one group lives in my shed, one group lives in the little shrub garden next to my greenstrip, and the bigger group lives under my house.
 

CooperDragon

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It's so cool that you have these colonies living around your house. Godzilla is part of one of the local gecko colonies?
 

kingofnobbys

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CooperDragon":3l2416hk said:
It's so cool that you have these colonies living around your house. Godzilla is part of one of the local gecko colonies?

I believe so - I wouldn't be surprised if there are several dubia geckos living inside and under my house , and I'm pretty sure are a few velvet geckos living on my big gum tree (because I occasionally see their eye's glowing back at me at night if I go out on my front patio late at night and I've saw one on the bark on the trunk one night a few years ago).
Now we know Godzilla is in the house , we have become more alert to the chance spotting him - he seems to get around a lot in the house, not in the same for more than a few nights at a time.
 

kingofnobbys

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Here are pictures of Little T

P7130417.jpg

a 2" plastic petri dish is a great bath and soaking pool for Little T.
P7130418.jpg

P7130412.jpg


Little T is a great eater. !!!
 

kingofnobbys

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I wont ever be ordering woodies again !!!

I thought crickets were quick little buggers !! but woodies make them look like slowcoaches.

I was separating the adult woodies from the babies and juveniles today to gut load and make it easier ( ha ha !! yeh right ! ) to get woodies out to feed Cleo , Caesar , George and Mildred , and to feed the juveniles to Fluffy , and the weenie woodies to Itchy ( Little T ) and Scratchy ( the two rescued delicate skinks ) .

I must have had a few dozen small and weenie woodies escape and I know I had maybe 5 adult woodies get away from me.
If the wild water skinks wake up soon and come inside they'll sure have a feast !!! and I know Godzilla the gecko is still about (back in the kitchen) as I heard him churping last night (several times ( until I turned off the lights , I think he was protesting about it being too bright).
 

kingofnobbys

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P7210461.jpg

Itchy the juveniles standing up (on the hunt and exploring).

P7210448.jpg

Scratchy eating cricket under hide.


scratchy-bluetongue-seen1.png

scratchy-bluetongue-seen.png

Looky …. a little blue tongue licking lips.

Itchy in petry dish water pond for a drink
itchy-drinking.png


And a bath
P7220469.jpg


I've always liked this species of skink, grew up catching them in my family home's front and back yards at Mayfield NSW, and my granddad's yard ( Waratah) and around the school as a kiddie , and in the local "bush" and on Ash Island . And I've always had a healthy colony of them on my property here.
One of the most common skinks around here - they are literally in every yard if there is no cat in residence.
 

CooperDragon

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It looks like they're having a good time. They are very cool skinks. I've only seen them in a zoo.
 

kingofnobbys

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Yes they are , but as far as I know , no one here in Australia actually breeds them in captivity, which is very sad , as they are really active and charming little skinks who are full of character.
And you could easily set up a breeding colony in a very modest tank as they are so tiny even when fully grown.

Almost a right of passage for most little kids to catch them and keep them as short term pets.

PS : Godzilla was churping just a few minutes ago.
 

kingofnobbys

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Itchy has been very active today , trying to get my attention, just checked and discovered a pill sized white egg has been laid . There I was thinking that she was just overfed and getting chubby.

P9090612.jpg

and egg #2 laid a few minutes ago
P9090617.jpg


Here's mum :
P9090615.jpg

Not so keen to go back into the tub, but she sure seems to like the warmth of my hand and arm.
I think there are still some eggs inside her judging from her lumps and bumps.

Such a big egg from such a small skink …. will be interesting to see if she lays any more eggs and if they are fertile.
Fortunately I'm in their natural range as a species , and I should be able to get away with just ambient room temperatures ( 24 degC to 26 degC ) to incubate the egg(s).


Since she's using calcium to make eggs, I've added a drop of CalciVet to the water dish to help her replentish her calcium levels.
 

CooperDragon

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Do you think the eggs will be OK at ambient temps indoors? Do they need to be hidden or buried/insulated or anything?
 

kingofnobbys

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CooperDragon":34yrt923 said:
Do you think the eggs will be OK at ambient temps indoors? Do they need to be hidden or buried/insulated or anything?

3 eggs now.

I've not got any pearlite on hand so I've a tiny piece of absorbant paper towel dampened and simply placed the eggs on this and folded over so the eggs remain "damp"

A Guide to Australian Skinks in Captivity (D.Brown) suggests the species Lampropholis delicata typically form communal nests between stacked bricks or pavers or in the holes in bricks or concrete blocks and 1 to 8 eggs each and sometimes the nest will have up to 160 eggs from several breeding females all incubating in the cavity. (Seems not really necessary to bury their eggs, acid test it seems will be if the eggs swell over then next two weeks.)
The temperatures in my house will be fine.
(p 325 - 329).

I've not got any pearlite on hand so I've a tiny piece of absorbant paper towel dampened and simply placed the eggs on this and folded over so the eggs remain "damp"
The moist paper towel will have to suffice for now as I'm not set up to incubate reptile eggs.
Once she stops laying, I'll likely move the eggs to a spare silkworm egg hatching tub and wait to see if any hatchlings emerge in 33 to 42 days.
 
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