Facts About House Lizards, or the Common House Geckos

A house lizard is also called a gecko (or Asian house gecko). Native to the southern Asia, house lizards are named so because they are found mostly on the ceilings and walls of human home.

These small geckos grow to a length of about 7.5 to 15 cm and live for about 5 years. It has a concave forehead with a long snout. Geckos also have large eyes but without eyelids. They have broad padded toes without webs and an elongated tail that tapers toward the end. The color of their body varies between grayish white to pale yellow.

They are found in Indonesia, Thailand, Nepal, Sri Lanka, Bhutan, Mauritius, Andaman Nicobar Island, Taiwan, Bangladesh, Somalia, Polynesia, Phillipines etc. It was introduced to other countries like Brazil, Mexico, Australia, United States, Eastern Africa etc.

Geckos may be nocturnal but these small lizards rely on light – they eat insects that are attracted by light. They like to stay motionlessly under artificial light in order to hunt down insects.

They can withstand cold climate, they can even withstand hotter months as well. House geckos like to take shelter around structures in crack and crevices.

House geckos are considered by many as friends, not foes. They keep our houses safe from spiders, cockroaches and other insects. They are also harmless and are not venomous. In fact, in Spanish they are called “housecleaners”.

When they feel threatened, geckos will run back to their shelter. Like many geckos, this species will leave its tail when alarmed or grabbed by the tail – it does this as a defense mechanism. A new tail then grows back later.

When gecko drops its tail, the tail will keep wriggling around on the floor so that the enemy can be distracted while the gecko makes its escape. They also produce a high-pitched call or squek when alarmed.

Geckos have several hundred thousand fine hairs on their toes which allow the animals to ‘stick’ to most surfaces including glass and mirrors. And for that reason a house gecko can impressively walk along walls and the ceiling to hunt down insects.

Teflon is the only known surface to which this small lizard cannot cling.

These species will usually attain their sexual maturity in one year. In order to attract the females for mating, the male geckos will produce a sound.

Common house geckos are popular among pet owners because these animals are very small, inexpensive, harmless, and relatively easy to keep in captivity.