WEEK 12 Pachydactylus rugosus

Another week, another beautiful specimen, and this beauty no doubt falls into that category.    The Pachydactylus rugosus, originating from the deserts of South Africa, Namibia, and Botswana takes us into yet another genus, and yet another continent all together. Nocturnal, and some say they are terrestrial by nature, but I have seen them scaling smooth surfaces and spending serious amounts of time elevated off of the ground; which makes them somewhat different from either classic terrestrial or arboreal species in my eyes. P. rugosus aka the rough scaled gecko feeds on 'the usual suspects' ie. spiders, and other small invertebrate insects.  This gecko has tiny spikes that come from it's scales giving it a very curious appearance. At a glance this gecko is just simply stunning, and upon further inspection of it's habits, and behaviors this gecko just seems to be an incredible, and impressive animal in all perspectives. Enjoy.........

WEEK 11, The Nephrurus levis levis!!!

So here we go, number 11 on the countdown is the smooth knobtail gecko (Nephrurus levis levis). This gecko is fairly widespread on the Australian continent, another knob tailed gecko on the list, but this variety is of the smooth skinned type. Typically living in small burrows, this carnivore feeds on invertebrates of all types, anything that can fit into their mouths, and be physically dominated. A very pretty, big eyed individual, prefers to reside under spinifex grasses or in unused insect burrows. Nocturnal by nature, this animal can vary greatly in it's appearance and has two other subspecies: the nephrurus levis occidentalis, and the nephrurus levis pilbarensis, with the latter having a albino population in captivity which is just spectacular in its' appearance. Here they are.....

WEEK 10 Another beauty from Madagascar bringing you the largest species of chameleon, is the Parson's chameleon aka Chamaeleo madecasseus!!

This beauty is the largest, and most massive of all the chameleon species. This chameleon breeds once every 2nd year and is capable of laying up to 25 eggs that can take up to 20 months of incubation before they hatch!!! Yea, that being said, these chameleons are known to be extremely difficult to reproduce in captivity. Like other chameleons they change colors to camouflage themselves.  Usually solitary except for the breeding season, the parson's chameleon eats large invertebrates as well as small vertebrates and is diurnal.

WEeK 9?! We now have The Eurodactylodes Viellardi, definitely one of the coolest geckos to hit the scene in a while!

The Eurodactylodes viellardi is one of the most unique gecko specie that I can think of because of its' prehistoric appearance and slow movement. This gecko does not get as large as its close cousin the Eurodactylodes Agricolae which is just as interesting of a captive as this weeks animal. The one small difference between the two cousins is that in the viellardi the mouth slit travels all the way to the ear canal; where as in the agricolae this slit does not venture as far as the ear. Minor difference technically, but the agricolae is more robust, gets substantially larger, and generally has less pattern than the viellardi which can display some very impressive reticulated patterns which almost look like 'cracks' on the gecko. "Eury's" originate from New Caledonia, and are opportunistic eaters feeding on both insects and fruit similar to other gecko species from New Caledonia. Now the question comes up. When is that incredible third specie of Eurodactylodes going to hit the scene???