WEEK 8 ALREADY!!! Time is flying by! This week is the highly desirable Naultinus grayii!

The Northland Green Gecko a.k.a Naultinus grayii comes from the northern tip of New Zealand's North island. A very elusive species not only due to its excellent camouflage and secretive nature, this species is another live bearing gecko known to produce 1 or 2 babies in the summertime, 2 being the norm. Being known to live for numerous decades they are productive for a very long time. These beautiful creatures eat not only insects but fruit mixes as well and live almost exclusively in manuka trees (tea tree) in their native New Zealand. A cold climate gecko that cannot tolerate heat well and is more comfortable in colder rather than warmer temps. It is known to continue to feed occasionally when temperatures are in the 40's! (I have witness this!)  New Zealand's geckos are known to be some of the most fascinating and unique of all reptiles, and some wild populations are diminishing due to poaching, as well as from the introduction of invasive rats which are known to prey on these geckos.

Week 7! The golden tailed gecko-Strophurus taenicauda! One new herp a week for 1 year!!!

The strophurus taenicauda is in the Strophurus genes which technically stands for 'spiny tailed gecko'. Despite not having any spines on its tail, this gecko is mosaically patterned with a beautiful yellow or orange section on the tail which can run all the way up its back in certain individuals. A very impressive gecko to say the least, it has red eyes which are incredible if seen in full detail. As of recently there has been a genetic 'morph' of this species which has greenish or light color eyes opposed to its standard red eyed counterpart. This animal loves the heat and will devour any small type of feeder insect and relishes the experience of eating hatchling geckos. A very very cool and relatively rare specie in captivity.

WEEK 6! Starting out the week with the beloved Nephrurus Amyae (Centralian Knob tail gecko)

Ok, it was obvious that these beauties were going to make it into the countdown, the question was just when? One of my personal favorites, these geckos hail from a relatively small section of desert in the central Australian outback. They are the most massive of all the Australian geckos, and therefore they produce very large eggs. They can range from light yellow to deep orange to brownish in color. A very robust species of gecko with rosette spines located all over their bodies especially on their limbs. For their size they have large heads to enclose their strong jaw muscles which enable them to devour anything that will fit into their mouths; such as insects of all types, small reptiles, small rodents, and even scorpions! They are aggressive feeders whose small tails come to a perfect spherical knob at the tip making this genus very unique. There is still little known as to why they have this type of tail, and how evolution played it's part in regards to it. A gecko that on a good season will produce 4 clutches of eggs this animal is somewhat pricey, always sought after, and yes, it is readily available here at raw dog reptiles.  Check back next week for another crazy species!

WEEK 5, Straight out of New Caledonia comes the giant gecko (Rhacodactylus leachianus)

This gecko is a favorite amongst Rhacodactylus lovers, and pretty much gecko lovers world-wide. This species was recently studied and brought over from the mainland and several other surrounding New Caledonian islands. All different types of 'locals' (location specific phenotypes) of this gecko exist and each has its own distinguishing features whether being their size including weight and girth, color, snout size and formation or blotching and pattern. These beefy geckos can reach in excess of 1 pound (!) and feed mainly on figs and other fruits in the wild, but being opportunistic they will eat most adequately sized insects or juvenile rodents without hesitation. These geckos reside under bark or in tree hollows in the wild, and 'locals' include but are not limited to Nu Ana, Nu Ami, Brosse, Kanawha, as well as mainland varieties (which are the largest)ie. mount kogus, poindemie etc. etc, and other area's which have been charted and others which have not. This gecko is one of the largest geckos in existence and its sheer mass is sure to impress.

WEEK 4! Coming to you live from China is the Shinisaurus crocodilurus aka the Chinese Crocodile Lizard!!!

This rare lizard comes from the Dayao Shan mountain range of east-central Guangxi Province, and the Kwangsei province of China. This is the only animal in its family, and is rumored to contain as little as 2,000 specimens in the wild. This live-bearing lizard is classified under CITES II, and is known to bear from 2 young to as many as 20+ in very rare circumstances. Here are a few pictures of these magnificent creatures, just look at the coloration!