Marbled Gecko

This gecko was waiting at the front door in October.

This gecko has three to four possible subspecies with lots of variations between species.

Phyllodactylus marmoratus marmoratus

Its length from snout to vent is approx 70mm.

Occurs in humid to semi-arid southern Australia including many off shore islands such as Rottnest and Garden islands and north to Shark Bay in Western Australia. These gecko's in Western Australia occur in limestone and granite rocks where they shelter. They also occur in gardens in some older suburbs of Perth.

Like all gecko's, dragons, legless lizards and monitors or goanna's this gecko lays eggs and not live young. This gecko lays two brittle-shelled eggs that are placed in sand. These nest can be shared by females where 40 eggs can be found in one nest.

This young gecko was seen in Willetton in May climbing on a limestone wall. I have also seen young geckos in April.

This gecko was seen in my front yard in early May climbing a small bush.

This gecko was photographed after entering my home in February. It was 40mm in length from snout to vent. You can see the new tail re-growing. Some geckos have different places along the tail where it can drop depending on how much tail it needs to drop to escape being a meal. The less amount of tail it needs to drop the better for the gecko as the tail stores fat and helps to balance it when climbing. Other species of gecko will drop their tail at the base.

When this same gecko was taken back outside it started to change to a lighter colour. This is the same gecko as in the photo above.

Go here to see our video of this gecko licking its eye.

The underside of a marble gecko

Phyllodactylus marmoratus alexanderi

This species of gecko is slightly smaller at approx 60mm in length from snout to vent. Occurs from Israelite Bay in southern Western Australia east across the Nullarbor Plain. Both species occur in woodlands, coastal heathlands and rock outcrops.

Update;

While doing a slow drive at Lane Poole Reserve near Dwellingup at night in November we came across this gecko.

This Marbled gecko was seen during a dark wet day out on a Marri tree at Bungendore Park off Albany Hwy Perth in September.