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San Diego Banded Gecko
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- Order: Squamata (scaled reptiles)
- Suborder: Lacertilia (=Sauria; lizards)
- Family: Gekkonidae (geckos)
- Subfamily: Eublepharinae (geckos with eyelids)
- Genus: Coleonyx (banded geckos)
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| Also known as: Western
banded gecko (generic name for all subspecies of Coleonyx
variegatus); coastal banded gecko |
Scientific Name: Coleonyx
variegatus abbotti Klauber, 1945 |
| Habitat: Rocky areas,
cliffs, washes, and dunes. |
Koleos="covered," onyx="claw,"
variegatus="of different colors," abbotti
in honor of former San Diego Natural History Society president
Clinton G. Abbott
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| Length: to 6 inches
total. |
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| Food: Small insects
and spiders. |
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This picture is of one of three male San Diego
banded geckos given to me late June 2003. It's the only one
I have that still has its original tail--the tails readily
"break off" as a defense mechanism. They were
initially collected as feeder lizards for captive snakes.
The picture was taken the day after I received them. One
gecko died 8 months after I acquired it for unknown reasons. |
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| The two remaining geckos
currently inhabit individual Rubbermaid storage boxes furnished
with play sand substrate, a rock, a bottle cap for standing water
(they also get misted), and a hiding spot made from a small
plastic tub with lid (a hole is cut in the lid and the tub is
filled with damp sand to increase the humidity). The picture
at right is of the other two geckos (note the shorter,
not-quite-as-pretty regrown tail), and my hand for comparison
shows that these geckos don't get very big. |
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