Sticky Fingers: The Gecko

October 20, 2012 By Creedence

Popularized by an animated character known for hawking car insurance, the gecko is one of the most beloved of all lizards. Well-known in warmer climes of the world as an extraordinary and charming creature, it is featured in artworks and cultural pieces of many tropical nations. These lizards are unique among their reptilian brethren for their ability to climb and adhere to any surface with their specialized toe pads, defying gravity as they scamper up walls and across ceilings with ease. Another unusual characteristic of the gecko is its inability to blink due to a lack of eyelids, instead using its long tongue to continuously wash dust and debris from the thin membrane that protects its protruding eyeballs. They are some of the planet’s most colorful animals, and some can even change colors at will for very effective camouflage. Because they subsist on a steady diet of small insects, like mosquitoes, geckos are traditionally welcomed into households, rather than run out of town like a pest. They are frequently kept as pets, and looking at this gallery makes it very easy to see why people are enamored with these adorable little chirping lizards!