G'day, What I am observing is that the Leaftail Gecko, Saltuarius cornatus, are all at the same height on any particular night. This might be 2 -5 metres, 5 -10 m, 10 -15m, etc up to more than 25 m. I don't recall seeing them above 35 m. This may be that they do not go above this height or that it is just too difficult to find them. There is also the issue that unobstructed vertical trunks, their preferred hunting position, are fewer. These geckos hunt by waiting face down for invertebrates. Geckos below 1 metre or on the ground I have assumed were changing trees. They display some site fidelity but not much except for one which likes to hunt from a smaller stem with a vine and rattan on it. THE QUESTION IS HOW AND WHY DO THEY MANAGE TO CO ORDINATE THEIR HEIGHT. I suspect it has something to do with invertebrate activity but have not been able to establish a pattern related to the weather.
The other species, Chameleon Gecko, Charphodactylus laevis, also know as the Carrot-tailed Gecko, is a ground dwelling species which only climbs to half a metre. They are called chameleon because of their funny, can't make up their mind type gait. While their usual colour is grey or brown with white bands around the tail, if original, I see one which is hot pink with black bands. Both geckos average about 200 mm long but behave very differently. I have not spent a lot of time observing behaviour as this would require low intensity red light. When I get a night without customers I tend to spend it at home or out owling. There are three Tyto spp and three Ninox spp in the forest and one more Tyto near by. The Papuan Frogmouth, a type of nightjar, is another I like to chase to learn more about. There is a Saltuarius cornatus on my web site, you might like to take a look. Regards, Alan Gillanders Alan's Wildlife Tours www.alanswildlifetours.com.au On the beautiful Atherton Tablelands 145* 33' 25"E 17* 16' 40"S _______________________________________________ Global Gecko Association http://www.gekkota.com Classifieds http://www.gekkota.com/cgi-gekkota/classifieds.cgi gecko mailing list [EMAIL PROTECTED] http://lists.gekkota.com/mailman/listinfo/gecko
