The Common House Gecko (Mini Documentary)

My first stab at a wildlife documentary, a closer look at what a Common House Gecko actually is. They are small lizards that like to live in urban environments on walls and near lamps, and provide free population control for the roaches, mosquitos, etc.
It is also known as Hemidactylus Frenatus, Asian House Gecko, Pacific House Gecko, Wall Gecko, House Lizard, Tayoto, Chipkali, Moon Lizard.
The video I mentioned showing them eating rice: • Common Asian House Gec...
The paper I mentioned at the end of the video: www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/arti...
Another paper saying a different thing: sci-hub.hkvisa.net/10.1529/bi...
Interesting paper about the sounds they make: sci-hub.hkvisa.net/10.2307/38...
0:00 Intro
0:28 What's their name and where are they from?
1:10 Eggs and life cycle
1:44 Nocturnal behaviour
3:16 Daytime behaviour
3:40 How do they stay clean?
4:04 Sounds, territorial behaviour
6:21 Defense mechanisms
7:06 Coexistence with humans
7:40 Story time
8:30 More to learn
8:53 The end

[@curiocritters]

Brilliant little piece of work! As a professional wildlife biologist, I loved the ELI5 approach! Hopefully this helps more people appreciate these oft misunderstood reptiles, and give them a place in their homes, if not their hearts. Excelsior!

[@hayabusa1329]

I much rather have these in my house than cockroaches

[@tmplblck]

We accidentally made fast food for geckos. Bugs fly around light because they orient themselves based on light. Usually it’s the sun that’s the brightest thing and that direction definitely always “up.” So what happens is they react to the light as up and end up getting stuck flying around it like ants in an ant mill.

[@xplanthris]

National Geographic needs to hire you

[@adeptusmechanicushyspasist3529]

I'm currently pooping and watching your video, at the same time there is a fat, tan and plump house gecko looking at me right on the toilet ceiling... it so skittish now it run behind the mirror i think.

[@OUUCHH]

I don’t understand why this isn’t bombed with comments, I love these geckos and seeing them in my home means they’ll snap at pests, even better.

[@netman69]

What i don't understand is that I'm seemingly the first that dives as deeply on these friends that are right under so many of our noses, it had to be done :D. They'll even take cockroaches :). I think the video doesn't get much traction yet cause the algorithm is confused with my break from the usual topics, it's suggesting it as related content with tech videos mainly xD.

[@QuantumNova]

So it wasn't a 'ghost bird' making that noise in my house? Mystery solved.

[@zeio680]

I found a whole army of these guys in a vacation house but yeah much prefer them over bugs

[@1minuteofgaming596]

I see them everyday here in Bangladesh. They are in every household and they are absolutely cute and incredible.

[@wrt142]

I came for gecko content and I got gecko content, I will return later for rewatching this

[@RealMasky]

"the egg came first because there is no chicken" hahaha

[@sonyaraman]

One of the most creative videos on this topic I’ve ever watched! Liked your narration so much

[@moss.fernfield]

As a person who lives in a house that is a gecko paradise, I can confirm that geckos do like cooked rice. I’ve also seen geckos eat noodles and seen them drink tea as well as vanilla milk. I cannot explain the food preferences of geckos

[@netman69]

Drinking tea is a new one to me :D. You should film them and put it on youtube ;).

[@KirisuNJSC]

I love the writing and the presentation of this video, it's nothing fancy but it is of utmost entertaining throughout the whole video

[@Ki-ex2wu]

Great video I love these little guys. They're everywhere in Australia

[@xXBUNXx]

I love them too

[@vxdhu3651]

underrated video. love what you're doing

[@Knefiaa]

This was so entertaining I enjoyed every second of it

[@J3R1N]

In our home, there's a highly intelligent gecko that prefers to live under our dining table. It remains hidden throughout the day but emerges suddenly when we put food on the table. We've learned not to leave food unattended because the gecko is quick to seize the opportunity. Occasionally, I catch it peeking its head out from the other end of the table, almost as if it's observing us. It's skilled at sneaking behind objects and using shadows to hide from us. Surprisingly, it has survived for over a year, and we've never seen more than one gecko at a time. Maybe the gecko passes it's secrets to it's successor before dying idk , Sometimes I wonder if it's like a person trapped inside the gecko's body, which can be a bit scary. 😅

[@netman69]

They're surprisingly smart creatures, one of the challenges in filming them was that once they notice you are interested in them specifically they're out of there, and they quite perceptive.

[@J3R1N]

@@netman69 Our gecko behaves similarly whenever it notices us focusing on it, it quickly hides itself🦎💨 But he comes again after a minute thinking we are gone 😂 he is a very determined fellow

[@TheLaughingjj]

Me too thinks so, Souls trapped inside their bodies….keep on hiding and reappearing like a human

[@madeline6221]

second time watching this. i love this lil doc. thank youuu!

[@mistydevillier2197]

Here in south Louisiana, we have tons of these things. They hang out in the garage.

[@walwal6449]

I love them theyre so cute... I used to try and catch whenever they got down close enough as a kid like im sorry but theyre so adorable 😂😂

[@mr.gameplayer5490]

Good video! That begin from the video is so funny

[@Colubread]

I really enjoyed this! informational and fun!

[@DanielBerke]

I have these and gold dust day geckos from Madagascar in my house in Hawaii. The day geckos are clearly wild animals that just so happen to be in your house. The house geckos are like, "Oh, you live here too now, huh? Neat, welcome." I also found one in my toaster...after I'd toasted some bread. 🥵 The poor thing kept burning its toes trying to climb out, but I was able to get it out the bottom of the toaster. I saw it around later and it didn't seem to have any trouble climbing, so I don't think it suffered any permanent harm thankfully. (It had clearly regrown its tail previously and was rather distinctive, so I could tell it was the same gecko.)

[@cmegan06]

When i lived in singapore as a kid we used to count these geckos on the walk home, great way to occupy annoying children

[@mintygreen9877]

I remember catching one of these little guys and it made the most pitiful little squeak 🥺 thankfully it was only out of fear and wasn't hurt

[@netman69]

Hah i had caught one before because it was in a dangerous spot for itself and once it had calmed down it just sat on me for a while, too bad i didn't get that on film 😊

[@pupandsqueaker]

ooo no! kitty got emself a meal... lol the little tippy-taps from the gecko tails! This is a great video net! I'm so happy that it's taking off for you!

[@netman69]

I'm glad you liked it :). Sorry your comment got approved so late, YT put it as "held for review" for unclear reasons.

[@user-dy7tk1nb6e]

Really enjoyed this video lol had a good laugh!

[@GeekyCoderDev]

Great video, well explained

[@pangajamvanaraja8241]

I am Malaysian and im horrified when ever i see one

[@netman69]

Why though? To me they seem so cute and harmless xD

[@MrTNT49]

I love your channel

[@wolfysplat]

this video was amazing thank you !

[@Cocoa_nutz]

You're awesome haha! 👌🏾 I loved the last part with the lottery ticket, you could be on to something. Hope another gecko falls on your head lol.

[@Coffee_lemon]

In India we call them chipkali. (Pronounced as chip-kul-e)... just putting it out there 😂❤

[@antwedding9446]

Awesome freaking video

[@Mila2612.]

Very nice Video! Thank You I also saved an imported wild Hemidactylus Flaviviridis from the cold winter in Germany a year ago. He is currently taking a nap in his terrarium right now.

[@netman69]

Awesome you saved the little bugger! I bet it's quite the challenge keeping them happy in German weather :D.

[@Mila2612.]

@@netman69 Exactly, I have to help him shed his skin and he loves his heat lamps. But he also loves german hairy and particularly fat houseflies, crickets and waxworms, he...

[@Mila2612.]

@@netman69 For four to five weeks, the little rascal traveled from India to the German port in a freight container for mineral raw materials. To save him from being crushed, a mineral packing station had to be stopped mid-operation. I discovered him in sub-zero temperatures on one of the BigPacks that had arrived at the freight packaging station and took him home. He was terribly thin and hypothermic since it was February.

[@netman69]

Wow, I'd never imagine them to be so robust. Does make me wonder how much of these guys come over in summer.

[@MSTA6]

Geckos here love rice I guess. I encountered them chilling in a calderine of rice.

[@jonathanorillo8721]

Old folks tell children in my country to finish their dinner or else the child will become hungry and turn to tiki/geckos in the middle of the night. Geckos found trapped in the pot of rice were believed to be children.

[@vito_keys]

In Indonesia, Hemidactylus frenatus is usually found outdoors. Inside houses, there is a separate but similar gecko species called Hemidactylus platyurus. They make quieter sounds and is often larger. They also have flatter tails

[@netman69]

I had no idea, is this all across Indonesia? All my footage is from Sarawak in Malaysia, but very near to Kalimantan (so close that I could get Indonesian radio on FM :D). Technically there should be Platyurus around also where I was but I rarely if ever spotted one (or did not recognize them when I did), I did find what I am certain are Frenatus ones indoors too. Love learning about things like this, thank you for the insightful comment :).

[@netman69]

After more research I am now in doubt whether most of the geckos I've got on video are Frenatus or Platyurus, they are surprisingly hard to tell apart 😅

[@JustGolight]

​@@netman69 also all over Philippines

[@vito_keys]

I hate it when they fell on my bed while I'm sleeping

[@8LJ8]

New fear unlocked

[@nicobay4512]

Good video and i like your voice,

[@bloop9074]

Noooooo the gecko got munched by c0t :(

[@netman69]

We will never forget our fallen lizard brother, he died for the kitty to have his noms in the great circle of food that life is :).

[@PixedCheese]

Here they're pretty stupid lol, sometimes they fall into right into my head and jumpscared me And sometimes when they tries to eat a bug, they miss every single time till the bug fly away, quite funny

[@netman69]

I've seen them fall and miss bugs, but I'm convinced they are quite intelligent despite their clumsiness. Case in point something I've noticed while chasing them around for this video are that they seem to be quite aware when they're getting looked at, as evidenced by the strategy of only moving while the cat is not staring at them and fleeing me if I approach them with a camera but not when I'm just passing by. Also there was a spot on the ceiling I found they were unable to walk on and i tried herding them there to film one falling and they learned very quickly to avoid that area.

[@MorganTiller]

A friend with family in laos told me about a gecko called something like a gkup ga that made a barky sound. Also they would tell kids to be good or gkup ga will eat your liver?

[@netman69]

I'd love to know more about that! Hopefully they won't eat my liver tho.

[@sarun37823]

Those are ກັບແກ້ or ตุ๊กแก in Thai aka. Tokay gecko in English.

[@melinaribola4339]

I like the dialect , where are you from? and btw it was a very nice entertaining video

[@netman69]

The accent is because I'm from Flanders in Belgium :)

[@coldsteelcollector808]

What state or country was this filmed in? Great video by the way! Very entertaining aloha from hawaii 🤙🏼

[@netman69]

Sarawak in Malaysia :)

[@ArtOfHealth]

We have these little buggers in Florida. Quite cute. 1. How did you end up in Malaysia? How long have you lived there? I have a friend that is completing his Ph.D there. 2. Have you visited any of the very majestic Masjids or Mosques? If so, what did you think? Thank you and I had fun watching this!

[@netman69]

I don't live in Malaysia permanently, but I've found love there so I'm there on and off (and maybe some day I do move there more permanently). I've seen a few really beautiful mosques (around Kuching waterfront area) but I have not been inside, the architecture of them is absolutely stunning though.

[@ArtOfHealth]

@@netman69 Thank you very much. I appreciate your insights. So good to be in love even though it is like a yoyo. Congratulations! Stay healthy and happy.

[@ruin8891]

I saw dozens of them in the Dominican Republic. So are they an invasive species or do they look just so similar?

[@ruin8891]

They didn’t make noises though, at least I didn’t notice

[@netman69]

They are an invasive species in many places, but if the typical noises are absent though it could be another species like the mediterranean house gecko.

[@bodee5653]

great stuff . danke schon

[@cariyaputta]

Why the cat tail got cut?

[@netman69]

It did not actually get cut, he was born like that, it's a genetic defect many (possibly most) cats on the island of Borneo have. He might even have all the bones for a full tail in there, when you fondle it it feels like a small crumpled bunch of bones in there.

[@Invading-Specious]

Luv the Belgium accent!

[@user-pq3mm6vt6x]

I'm Egyptian We have countless species of domestic and wild geckos, and we have lived with them for thousands of years... We live with nature and of course we know a lot about creatures Firstly thanks for your information Below is very important information about local geckos Firstly, the chirping sound is for only two reasons, either to announce the private area or to mate Secondly, the domestic gecko loves salt very much, so it uses it as a treatment for itself, and this is a very important loss for those who have it as a pet. When raising a gecko, try putting table salt with it and you will be surprised by the magic Finally, the domestic gecko is a pest that is both harmful to humans and friendly to the environment. It should be killed or expelled from homes, but left in the environment Incidentally, it specializes in eating an insect called the wood mite Sorry for the translation, I used Google Translate

[@naradmn459]

Why is it harmful to humans?

[@netman69]

@@naradmn459 In some places people believe they are harmful somehow, I think this is merely superstition :).

[@bigmikef.7661]

Is it safe to say that the ones chirping, for either territorial reasons or for mating calls, are male?

[@netman69]

Not quite, the males just do it more often so it's more likely to be one of them. The third of the papers I've linked in the description "Acoustic Behavior of The Gekkonid Lizard, Hemidactylus Frenatus" describes at least a handful of observations of females making this call, referred to as "multiple chirp" or "MC" in the paper, sometimes unprompted and sometimes as an apparent territorial response.

[@idzmanmazlan]

Are u living in Malaysia or germany

[@netman69]

I live in Belgium actually, but the video was all recorded while i stayed in Malaysia.

[@abhi3710]

Excilect video 👍

[@dakotahkingfisher]

We had a house lizard and I cought it it bite me 😢

[@netman69]

He is fond of his freedom I suppose :D. Did it hurt?

[@heheh8877]

these gecko are my childhood, when im eating these fuckers would run around the table and like im playing star craft, but they're cool though

[@kalsukong]

I love this documentary lol

[@chrisV8]

Is that a Flemish accent I detect there?

[@netman69]

da is inderdaad wa ge detecteert :D

[@_kcy033]

They're everywhere in Argentina now, they spawned into existence when our climate started to get more warm in general 😂

[@JustGolight]

They live in warm climates so yeah they are also in my country Philippines

[@mathiasanzola]

Which US state has most common house geckos

[@netman69]

I'm not quite sure, but probably Florida (it has the climate most suitable for them).

[@robert-jamesnagy2886]

I have them all over my house in New Orleans

[@CraftingMom64]

@@netman69 We have them in Broward County. They are friendly and quick! I enjoy seeing them, mostly at night outside or inside the dark closets. They stare at us and eat bugs. Win-Win! Very friendly pest control!

[@xSelenaZ]

Everywhere in Hawaii as well!

[@josselincastaneda1707]

Okay so I’ve noticed for the last three weeks I had two of them waiting for me every night at tge door 😣😭😂(I’m a scaredy-cat) and then one in the backyard (it always sits in my outdoor furniture ) I can see when I open the door the little creature jumping from chair to chair😂 I don’t like them but they funny. Idk if I should get rid of them or just let them be. Not sure if it is a season thing or what bc I’ve been living here for three years and it’s my first time seeing them and not going away

[@morganbruyneel5722]

Oooh, meer docu's aub! Veel interessanter dan wasmachines 🙂

[@netman69]

okee

[@Satya.G-_-]

the eavesdropping myth is said in our region as well...i live in india

[@helicocktor]

Hmm I think it's an Indian thing and I'm gonna bet OP stayed with a Malaysian Indian family. I'm a Malay and never heard of this myth. My gf is Chinese and I've never heard the myth coming from her or her family either. The only time I've ever heard it was when I was over at a friend's who's Indian for dinner and his mom made a comment about the eavesdropping thing when we heard the noise when we were talking.

[@ARCENAULT]

They crap everywhere

[@netman69]

I've never found their crap, it might get eaten by other creatures in short order though.

[@tidaltidaltidal]

absolutely agree. While they're beneficial for the ecosystem and deter insects, they're also the one that makes my place dirty with their crap. I have to spray lizard repellent every evening to prevent them coming inside.

[@Petrolhtf]

6:16

[@Habitat4Exotic]

Hi I had house geckos my Knight Anole had a great lunch.

[@techwizard8214]

Are they safe to touch?

[@netman69]

They are safe to touch but not easy to touch because they're fast and perceptive :D. If you really want to catch one you can use a plastic box to make it easier but I avoid doing that as it's quite stressful for them and you can't keep or handle them for long time as they need to be free to regulate their temperature (but sometimes other people in the house were scared of them so i moved one occasionally). Some people keep them as pets in a terrarium but it is a science to give them an environment where they can survive. The one that I have photo from on my jeans in the video I caught because it insisted on being under my mattress and seemed confused so I was afraid I'd hurt it if I rolled over in my sleep and after it calmed down it'd sit on my hand happily until it decided to jump somewhere behind the furniture, I was too mesmerized manage filming it :).

[@netman69]

Forgot to mention they also aren't vectors for any diseases that people can also get as far as I know, neither are they venomous. In theory they can bite and even pierce skin but in practice they don't just bite unless you REALLY are hurting them and are unlikely to even make you bleed by biting.

[@techwizard8214]

@@netman69 Thanks for the info. Keep making interesting videos.

[@gabx1832]

Great vid! We have a lot of them here in Kuwait. My mom really hates them so she taught me to kill the ones in our house when I was young. I feel really bad now 😭

[@netman69]

Damn, but hopefully my video can convince some more people to coexist peacefully with these creatures :).

[@sara.cbc92]

These things are pests. Their poop are extremely dangerous.

[@netman69]

@@sara.cbc92naaaah

[@user-bc6tq4hd9z]

Plz come to my house too

[@netman69]

Where is your house?

[@putrapratama-sq8hu]

Lmao... dang the animal seems familiar... -Truth-

[@putrapratama-sq8hu]

i dunno laser pointer will work on GECKO lmao

[@netman69]

Yess, I believe they should be around where you live also, going tisk tisk tisk :)

[@Petrolhtf]

6:12 6:14 6:15 6:17

[@mfmr200]

my cat love to kill this creature.

[@egg.007]

Russian dude

[@netman69]

I'm not Russian buddy, guess again :)

[@egg.007]

@@netman69 french?

[@egg.007]

German?

[@goosiechild]

Dutch?

[@Arceus-dicklick]

Asian house gecko, a pest in Australia and the the one that goes *Chuck Chuck Chuck*