My subject tonight is dear to my heart - geckos. I am in no way an expert on these adorable little creatures, but I've learned a lot about them since moving here a year ago. About all that I knew about them before I got here was that they are cute little critters who eat bugs and run very fast Their racing around amuses the child in me. When I walk down the sidewalk outside my front door, dozens of them scurry around, racing to hide in the flower beds from the two-legged giant. For right now, every time I see them running away, I think of Trent. He was so sweetly indulgent with my declarations that I felt like Godzilla because geckos flee before me! As I walk down the sidewalk alone, I think of those moments and chuckle because I want to say, "That's right, geckos, flee before me!" I daren't say it aloud, though. I'm a resident of Orlando, not Crazy Town. I do think they're both in Florida, though.
Something I didn't know about geckos is that they seem to have a compulsion to get indoors. I don't really know why, because it's not like there's anything indoors for them. Maybe they're just intrepid explorers embarking on the gecko version of international travel. They may not speak the language, but they are excited for the sights they may encounter. The tragic thing is that this international gecko travel is an almost certain death sentence. The environment indoors is too dry for the little creatures and they end up dessicated. Yes, like someone stranded in a desert, they die of thirst. Even though I freely admit to being The Second Meanest Woman in the World, I don't generally mention that under this hard exterior lies a core of soft marshmallow. It really makes me sad to think of these little creatures suffering.
My own first experience with this came when I spotted a very large bug on the floor next to my living room wall. I remember thinking something along the lines of what the heck kinds of crazy bugs do they have in this state? I was on edge, because I do not like bugs, and this thing was bigger than a quarter. I saw it wasn't moving, and went closer, to see something that looked almost like a frog. But it had an itty-bitty tail. It was a dried out gecko. Not many days later, I walked into the bedroom and spotted a gecko on the wall. With the help of a plastic drink glass and a stiff piece of paper, I was able to capture the gecko and release it in a flower bed. This movie has played several times, and while it may be a tiny thing to save a gecko, it's a big deal for the gecko.
In the time leading up to Liz's visit in July, I happened to notice something skittering around on the floor. After my Raiders of the Lost Ark moment ("Indy? Why does the floor move?") I was determined to capture this super tiny baby gecko. I followed it as it ran around the bed, cup in one hand and paper in the other. I kept saying in a soft voice that I wanted help it, not hurt it. It stopped for a moment, and I put the inverted vessel down on the floor. Right on the little guy's teeny-tiny neck. I felt horrible. I tried to tell the little guy (and myself) that at least its death had been a swift one, but that didn't make me feel any less like a murderer. When Liz brought me home at the end of her visit, there was a tiny gecko in my kitchen sink. She asked if I could just catch it with my hand, and I remember telling her to go for it. She learned that day about the lightning fast reflexes of these critters. I did manage to save this one, so I did feel a bit of redemption.
This morning, I was in the bathroom thinking, when I saw the floor move. Another baby gecko on his backpacking trip through Europe. Surprisingly enough, he listened when I told him not to go anywhere. After I washed up and went to the kitchen to get my trapping supplies, he was still waiting on the bathroom floor. I was still a bit nervous after the Notorious Gecko Murder Incident, but I managed to catch him in record time. In less than a minute, I had finished my rescue mission. I'm glad I was able to save the little fellow, and glad that I was able to feel better about myself at the same time. Run, little gecko, and eat lots of tasty bugs. And quit breaking into people's houses, it's dangerous in there!
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Fabulous and funny.
ReplyDeleteHow fun! And thank you so much for rescuing pest-eaters. It's a public service!
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