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I have an area in the pen that we set up last year that was going to be for Chip but now it's going to be my baby box pen within the pen.
Yesterday evening I was raking out the old dead leaves when I saw something running.. I took a closer look & could not believe it!
No time to get a quarter, but it was about 1 & 1/2 inches long. We barely had time to grab the camera but thanks to this little cutie we did figure out how to use the macro setting.

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PHRatz

I knew that these geckos are not native to TX but I also knew 10 years ago that they are all over San Antonio.
My TX field guide is getting old, it was published in 1994 & the map shows how far they've spread since they were introduced who knows how many years ago but they didn't reach this far west.
4-5 years ago the kids in my summer reptile class started bringing these little guys in for show & tell saying they were catching them around their houses, but I had never seen one around my house.
We were thrilled to see it!
I planted a dozen or so potted flowers in the pen yesterday so either the geckos are going to live in the pen with the cover of flowers or they're going to be turtle food.. one or the other.
It's so cute!!
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PHRatz

It looks like Hemidactylus turcicus, the Mediterranean gecko. They have spread all over the SE. I can find up to a half a dozen on the side of the house in the summer. I live near Montgomery, AL. I have a friend who lives in Fairhope, AL and he has dozens on his house in the summer. Since they're nocturnal they really aren't competing with other lizards for food.

>>It looks like Hemidactylus turcicus, the Mediterranean gecko. They have spread all over the SE. I can find up to a half a dozen on the side of the house in the summer. I live near Montgomery, AL. I have a friend who lives in Fairhope, AL and he has dozens on his house in the summer. Since they're nocturnal they really aren't competing with other lizards for food.

Oh yeah that's what it is, I didn't say that in the post did I?
I looked online at a TX herp site & their map shows them in the south-south east but not this far west. However their map is dated 1999.
For the past 5 years or so my sister in the DFW area has been finding them around her house. They have spread out since the 1999 map was published.
I looked yesterday, the baby was still in the same place. We had put the bricks & a cover back after raking the leaves so it'd have cover, I guess it's going to stay there for a while.

Now I wonder.. where's the parents? Must be living here & we don't see them since they feed at night.
I'm happy to have them here.
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PHRatz