I was going to write a whole long story about where these guys came from and who they were, but I decided it was easier and less painful to just show them. So here you go: a bunch of reptiles. I apologize for the quality of the photos. My camera doesn't like the confusion of a busy background, and it decided to make the details of the tanks super sharp rather than the faces of the geckos. Alas. I'll set up a light box one of these days.
This first one is Greel, Andrew's first. He's a male reticulated gargoyle gecko, about 2 years old now.
This is Anonymous ("Nonny" for short). We bought her as an adult from someone in the area. She's about 3-4 years old (we're guessing), a female striped gargoyle gecko purchased as an eventual mate for Greel. She's ginormous, however, so Greel has some growing to do before he gets any action.
The next set are the Harem of Cresteds. They share a tank, because for some reason 3 or so females and 1 male get along quite nicely.
Atropos, the male crested gecko. He was purchased because of an insanely good deal on a trio (hence the Fates name scheme) of tailless cresteds. Best deal ever. (By the way -- crested geckos can never grow their tails back once they're lost.)
Clothos, female crested gecko. She's a little weaker than the others, definitely the omega of the pack.
Lachesis, female crested gecko. She's got gorgeous dalmation spots, a trait she has passed on successfully to her babies.
Cevynne was a late addition to the pack. She was called Cevynne ("seven") because -- and this is brilliant, guys -- she was the seventh (and latest) addition. She's about 4-5 years old, we think. You can't really tell in these pictures, but the whole reason we bought her is because she is a GORGEOUS dappled green and yellow when she's calm. Plus, unlike the others, she still has her tail. She's also the biggest and fattest and most mellow, the little dragon of the tank. (She's "my" gecko.)
This last one has nothing to do with geckos. He's a 5-foot 2006 Trans-Pecos Rat Snake, a gift to myself (with Andrew's help) to keep me company when I first moved up to Berkeley. He's extremely mellow and well-mannered and usually a pretty good eater as well. I didn't take him out of his tank tonight to take this photo because he's on the prowl, waiting for me to give him his weekly rat. Warm fingers are easily mistaken for food. :p
Here is what happens when geckos get confused and try to run away:
Don't worry. It was only about a 3 inch drop. :p Guess gecko toes don't stick as well to tree byproducts as they do to the trees themselves. Hah.
