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Agh! Get back here! you little! It s not an uncommon scene to find me in the gecko room attempting to coax the juveniles of any number of creatures out of the way during tank cleaning, only to have the discussion take a turn for the comical. One species in particular is notorious for its little ones trying to take off on me Paroedura lohatsara. They re quick little buggers not Phelsuma (Day Gecko) fast, but you definitely have to keep your eyes on them. It helps that they re brightly colored. Hatchlings come out with their distinctive dark chocolate-y brown heads, bodies covered in wide horizontal bands of black and white, and their tails neon orange (they can drop those, be gentle). As they mature, they go from striking to just plain classy. Their bands break up and transform toward a more blotchy spotted pattern that runs vertical along them. The tail tones down to blend seamlessly with the body, and the head lightens up a bit to match the rest. As adults, they aren t a particularly large animal as far as geckos are concerned both genders reach around the same size, with a length of 2-3 from snout to vent, or 5-6 with tail included. As they grow out of the hatchling stage, males will develop a hemipenal bulge between 3-6 months of age, visibly distinguishing them from females. Sexual maturity is reached at approximately one year of age, though gender can be determined far earlier. A nocturnal species, they have vertical pupils which dilate and contract with the ambient light, and when it s bright out you can see the beautiful intricacy of the iris. Their feet are designed for light climbing, slender toes with ridged pads on the tips of each allow them to grip on to the surfaces around them. If you look carefully from underneath, you can see that each toe pad is designed with a split down the center. In the wild, they are primarily terrestrial; they ve been observed skittering along branches and clambering up boulders, but only up to about two meters off the ground. In captivity, young P. Lohatsara s can regularly be seen scaling the sides of their tanks, and poking around in areas
that you would not expect. As they get older though, their size and weight increase, and the adhesion of the toes is no longer sufficient to support them continually along a vertical surface this is when! they begin to lean toward other available areas for roaming about, such as foliage, cork hides, etc. One of the things which has surprised me most in working with them (aside from finding hatchlings sticking to the roof of the enclosure) is the number of different tricks they have up their sleeves as far as defense goes. Every animal has a couple, but these kids pull out all the stops. Not only do they have highly effective camouflage as adults; they can change color (from light to dark and back again), will attempt to puff themselves up to look larger, emit cranky little grunts and squeaks, take off at breakneck speed, bite, drop tails, urinate and poop all over you, and as a last resort play dead. They really have quite a collection of skills in their arsenal when it comes to survival in the wild. That s one reason I keep my hands out of the adults tank as much as possible they re a huffy little group. The juveniles, though, have shown a lot of promise as far as hand taming goes. In working with them slowly, they are all (save for one) starting to relax and settle down during tank cleaning days. (I can tell because I m not hollering at them nearly as often.) These are amazing little animals, and they need our help. P. Lohatsara are endemic to a very specific region of northern Madagascar, a reserve by the name of Montagne des Francais; they have a very limited range within this reserve, inhabiting only the undisturbed deciduous forest between 140 to 320 meters above sea level, and staying clear of any degraded areas. Human encroachment and the financial gain of logging are the biggest threats to this reserve, and thus, to the creatures themselves. The binomial name has two parts, Paroedura being the genus, and Lohatsara. Roughly translated, Lohatsara breaks up into two distinct Malagasy words, loha meaning head, and tsara, meaning nice or good. It s a beautiful name, and I wish it weren t lost on so many. I remember the conversations like they were yesterday. I had recently acquired a couple new animals, and every time I went to talk about them, despite how lit up I had become, as soon as I told people what they were called, I felt like I was reading something out of a text book. Their eyes would glaze over through my excitement and their mouths would begin to drop open just enough that I could tell they wanted me to stop, but I couldn t. By the time I was done, they d just kind of nod vaguely and say, So you got a cool little lizard? Anticlimactic at best. So, I changed my tactic. My name is Kasi Krauss, and I work with a rare species of gecko called Paroedura lohatsara. I call them Party Geckos because it s easy to remember, and I want you guys to remember them. They re important, and they re in trouble. A few people have gotten up in arms (I don t blame them, it s a pretty silly name), but the vast majority love it - it s ridiculous, it s unorthodox, and (with the goofy markings of the hatchlings and their tendency to pass out/play dead when they ve had enough) it suits the species just fine. The best part? Now when I m talking about them, people actually smile. They laugh, they shake their head, and then they say, Tell me more about them. That is exactly what this species, hovering on the brink of extinction, needs a captive audience. It s a very fine line in preserving a species. You need to be approachable by the scientific community, because the connections with ecologists and people who can do groundwork for you are likely to come from serious academic herpetologists. These people are extremely knowledgeable and great at what they do doing the work on the ground, communicating and enrolling other ecologists in getting people where they are needed.
Gathering the necessary means to make headway, though, is an entirely different beast. This is where it gets tricky, in that while the scientific minds are where you re going to find legwork, appealing to the general public is critical! without public funding, very little gets done. It s why you see Save the Whales! buttons, stuffed animal Polar Bears, and Adopt a Sea Turtle pamphlets. It s why a silly name like Party Geckos is effective. The animal needs to garner attention to survive. When human encroachment is the issue, as it is in the case with this species, it is very rare that ecology trumps money. Given the circumstances that are being faced by these animals and the amount of work it will take to save them, it is reassuring to know that they are at least relatively resilient; they can be kept and bred in captivity, and while no reptile is easy, they are not as delicate as some that I have worked with. When I received mine I was given two completely different sets of care instructions, both of which were supporting the growth of beautiful, healthy animals. I found a happy medium between the two opposing suggestions, and have been keeping them with great results. The daytime air temperature in the tank hits the low 80 s with a basking spot that is slightly warmer, and then there is a nighttime drop down into the low to mid 70 s (again with the basking spot remaining a few degrees warmer). For hydration and humidity I mist twice daily, as well as providing a water bowl should they decide they want to use it. Individual hatchlings and juveniles are kept in smaller containers between 8 x8 and 12 x12 in size with plenty of hides, and paper towel for bedding. While the paper towel is certainly not the prettiest, it prevents accidental ingestion of the substrate and allows for easy monitoring of food consumption, waste production and quality, etc. A mixture of sand and peat has also been suggested, and may provide additional benefits for adults who have a tendency to lick substrate. A 10 gallon tank is suitable for either two adult females or a single adult male. I provide my animals with cork rounds and foliage as hides and climbing options, allowing them to feel secure in their environment. While they would feed only in the dark upon initially, as they have grown more comfortable they have become far more bold, not even waiting for the lid to close before tackling their food (my juveniles seem to prefer bugs on the slightly larger side, while the adults like them a little bit smaller). Originally, the animals were sent to me consuming crickets; they converted over with no issues, and now feed on a rotation of primarily calcium dusted Dubia, as well as occasional meals of dusted crickets. To prevent choking or other issues, remember never to let the length of the bug exceed the distance between the gecko s eyes. They re daffy little things, and definitely worth taking a second look at; if we don t get a move on soon though, there may not be any of them left. In order to save these incredible little creatures, we re all going to need to work together - and maybe stop letting them loose in the gecko room.
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