Martin, the Geico Gecko is alive and well and hiding out in our garden at Coccoloba … with friends!

About a year ago, I caught a glimpse of a large, poison-green streak against the brownish-gray trunk of a palm tree, just outside the French doors where I was standing. Looking closer, I was fascinated to observe a lizard, about 8 inches long, with neon orange-red spots on its back. Much larger than the ubiquitous anoles we see skittering about by day and the geckoes to be found catching their dinner near the lights beside the garden gate at night, this fellow was strangely self-confident (perhaps it was as curious about me as I about it). It allowed me to ease open the door and approach it for a closer look. It was unlike any other lizard I’d observed. This strikingly beautiful and out-of-place visitor was definitely a newcomer.

A few months later, another was spotted on the soffit of one of the casitas near the pool. At first I thought it must be the same one, but this one was less elongated and its spots slightly less pronounced.  Now I was really curious.

A little internet research revealed that they are Phelsuma madagascariensis grandis: Giant Madagascar Day Geckoes (– yes, just like that cute little Cockney-accented guy you see on TV, selling insurance)! They are called day geckos because they are diurnal — active during daylight hours.  A species occasionally seen in the exotic pet trade, “ours” have presumably either escaped or been released, and find our garden inviting.

Native to Madagascar, an island in the Indian Ocean, male specimens can grow to 12 inches. They are not a threat to humans, feeding on arthropods and nectar. And they are reputed to love honey.

Typically found in rural areas, such as coconut plantations and mangroves, in 2002, a study produced sightings on Grassy, Big Pine, Plantation, and Little Torch Keys. I’m here to tell you that they have now moved to town!

They are territorial and non-social, so I am wondering about the significance of having at least two adult speciments living in such close proximity in the garden. Could we have an established pair?

In recent months, sightings of the Madagascar Day Gecko in the garden at Coccoloba have become more common, and now there has been the addition of a mysterious new night sound. When I first heard it, I assumed it was a frog. But night after night for a long time, now, it has been there, in the same place, emanating from an invisible host.

The sound is distinctively two syllables, though it varies slightly in tone and clarity. Maybe it’s an old-wives tale, but I’m told that geckoes get their name from a kind of chirping they make by clicking their broad tongues against the roofs of their mouths. It sounds like “gec-ko, gec-ko” – or something of that sort.

Could this be our Madagascar Day Gecko? If so, while it is active in the daytime — and chirping away at night — when does it sleep? Does it chirp in the daytime, as well, but the sound goes unnoticed among ambient noises? Anyone out there reading this, feel free to share your knowledge!