The lesson of the New Caledonia Crested Gecko

[BonsaiNut]

For those of you curious about the power of the pet trade to positively impact the environment, let me share a nice story with you.

First described in 1866, the New Caledonia Crested Gecko was considered extinct until a few individuals were discovered on the Isle of Pines off the coast of New Caledonia in 1994. A few were exported for study and captive breeding. Through conservation and careful management, breeding lines have been established in both Europe and the United States, and the crested gecko has become one of the most widely kept and bred species of gecko in the world (in only 16 years!)

Within it's native distribution, it is being assessed for CITES protection and endangered status. The primary danger is not due to the pet trade, but rather to the introduction of the little fire ant (Wassmania auropunctata) to New Caledonia. The fire ant kills and feeds on the geckos, as well as competes with them for food.

Fortunately, due to the popularity in the pet trade, the future survival of the crested gecko is no longer in question.

 

[terry4505]

I own one, I thoroughly enjoy him. Glad to hear that keeping him is doing some good. He was captive bred.

 

[BonsaiNut]

He was captive bred.

They are ALL captive bred. Exporting from New Caledonia is no longer allowed - even for scientific research. They are wrestling with a lot of environmental issues due to non-native species introductions.

The good news is that a species that was considered extinct for 125 years has now been brought back from the brink and is available in large numbers - due to the pet trade.

 

[wdt2000]

I hope that we will see more and more geckos from New Caledonia having the same success as the crested.

 

[merkurmaniac]

Where I livei n Houston TX we have had a quiet invasion of the mediteranean Gecko. I grew up here, and we used to catch tons of local lizards and put them in fish tank terrariums with tree branches. I think one time, we probably had half the lizards on our street in a cage of probably 50 or so. I was in second or third grade then. These are the brown or green colored lizards that do push ups to impress their mates and have a red dew lap under their chin.

Now, we have these mediteranean geckos that have the little padded toes, have the gecko shape you'd imagine, and bodies that almost look translucent at night. I am seeing a lot fewer of the green and brown geckos. I think this new one is pushing out the old one. So.....

I did some reading and think that the "old" one may have been an invader as well. Best I can tell, it is a green anole and its from the carribbean. are any of yall Lizard guys that would know, or have any of you lived in Houston ?

 

[crsaz]

kinda crazy they went from being cosidered extinct to being considered being a "pest", I have a friend in the reptile business who has about 25 groups all breeding prolificly, He produces much more than he can sell so he uses the ones that arent perfect as feeders for troublesome eaters, lizards and snakes(mostly newborn babies or wild caughts)

 

[mcginnisandrew]

I have one of these guys, he's great.
However, I was under the impression that the crested gecko was never even close to extinction. I could be wrong though.
Crested geckos are arboreal and nocturnal. During the night they will go up into trees to look for food and other stuff. During the day they bury themselves in the soil/ground or under leaves and foliage. From what i understand, they were determined "extinct" because people simply couldn't find them anymore, and apparently nobody had really been looking too hard.
I remember hearing, when i first got my crestie, that they were rediscovered in 1994 and in healthy numbers.
However i could be wrong, since i wrote all that from memory.
The pet trade probably has benefited them and ensured the continued protection and health of the species, but i don't think we really brought them back from near extinction.

If they were thought to be extinct for 125 years, and then all of a sudden there are just "a few" of them around (probably a several hundred, but still), that doesn't seem too likely to me. I don't think they could possibly reproduce that slowly. It just doesn't seem likely.

and also i thought green anoles were native to all of the southern united states and the Caribbean, but I'm not sure. I used to have a few of them as well.

Please correct me if there's something i missed! Like i said, i could be wrong about some/ a lot of this

 

[merkurmaniac]

Yep, a quick google shows green anoles to be Native. ah ha. Makes more sense.

 

[crsaz]

here is some more detailed info.
http://www.globalgeckos.com/crested_gecko_spotlight.html

 

[andrewk529]

Where I livei n Houston TX we have had a quiet invasion of the mediteranean Gecko. I grew up here, and we used to catch tons of local lizards and put them in fish tank terrariums with tree branches. I think one time, we probably had half the lizards on our street in a cage of probably 50 or so. I was in second or third grade then. These are the brown or green colored lizards that do push ups to impress their mates and have a red dew lap under their chin.

Now, we have these mediteranean geckos that have the little padded toes, have the gecko shape you'd imagine, and bodies that almost look translucent at night. I am seeing a lot fewer of the green and brown geckos. I think this new one is pushing out the old one. So.....

I did some reading and think that the "old" one may have been an invader as well. Best I can tell, it is a green anole and its from the carribbean. are any of yall Lizard guys that would know, or have any of you lived in Houston ?

You seem to be describing the North American "Anole".

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Polychrotidae

 

[badguitarist]

I love these geckos, I had a group of five (1 male, 4 females) in two years I produced over 40 babies. as many things go, it got to the point where it was more work than I had time for so I sold off all of them my parent colony and the remaining babies, this was about 3 years ago. I have always said when I have kids I will probably get a pair as they are quite the educational tool and unbeleivably handleable!

 

[frankpayne32]

They are ALL captive bred. Exporting from New Caledonia is no longer allowed - even for scientific research. They are wrestling with a lot of environmental issues due to non-native species introductions.

The good news is that a species that was considered extinct for 125 years has now been brought back from the brink and is available in large numbers - due to the pet trade.

Very true but keep in mind that the gecko was not considered extinct because it was rare on the island but because of a lack of study. They turned out to be quite common. Although, I agree that at least their survival in captivity is more or less guaranteed at this point.

 

[frankpayne32]

Where I livei n Houston TX we have had a quiet invasion of the mediteranean Gecko. I grew up here, and we used to catch tons of local lizards and put them in fish tank terrariums with tree branches. I think one time, we probably had half the lizards on our street in a cage of probably 50 or so. I was in second or third grade then. These are the brown or green colored lizards that do push ups to impress their mates and have a red dew lap under their chin.

Now, we have these mediteranean geckos that have the little padded toes, have the gecko shape you'd imagine, and bodies that almost look translucent at night. I am seeing a lot fewer of the green and brown geckos. I think this new one is pushing out the old one. So.....

I did some reading and think that the "old" one may have been an invader as well. Best I can tell, it is a green anole and its from the carribbean. are any of yall Lizard guys that would know, or have any of you lived in Houston ?

I too am originally from Houston and caught tons of green anoles (Anolis carolinensis). However, in most populations in the south the carolinensis are being outcompeted by the brown anoles (Anolis sagrei) not geckos. Different ecological niches.

 

[Cerastes]

Nice to see the pet trade held in a good light. But if you really want to assure the survival of a species figure out a way to make it taste good!

 

[muttley000]

Nice to see the pet trade held in a good light. But if you really want to assure the survival of a species figure out a way to make it taste good!

LMAO:spin2: