Singapore Expats

Hello everyone,

I was just wondering if anyone else has little lizards that come out at night in their condo? They're pretty harmless but I can't help but think they are a bit unhygenic and I'd like to erradicate them if possible.

What do other people do about them?

Thanks
AC

So how long have you been living in Singapore?

4 minutes? 6 minutes?

a) You won't be able to eradicate them.

b) Why would you want to? If they are in your house it means they find stuff to eat in your house, aka, "bugs". If you actually did eradicate them you'd find that your bug population would rise.

c) Other than occasionally finding one fried in the toaster or laser printer, they really are harmless.

SE you forgot to mention the occasional very slow moving one in the fridge as well!

When I living in Seletar Camp all those years I found you could actually befriend them. I used to have several that would eat a grain of rice off my fingertip.

Are you about a gecko talking here? Harmless, kind of fun to watch and listen. They go pretty flat when they're shut in a door, too!

When one made their calling near our bed at about the same time the alarm was to go off, I couldn't figure out what was wrong, when I hit the buzz button and the thing was still making a noise. Later I realised later that it must have been the gecko!

their staple diet is mosquitoes - If you give me the choice of which one I want in my home, I take the lizard (chit-chat) anytime - freindly and harmless

First time i ever saw one was in my first countryside apartment in Hong Kong and had no idea........ got my floor brush and hit a nice "7-iron" shot with it out the main room and over the balcony for it to land on the roof of the building next door.

Saw it scurry inside after the daze wore off.........

Since i found out they are more helpful than anything i now just try to push them somewhere i can't see it....... the red eyes still freak me out.

Well actually, the unhygenic part I was referring to was the droppings.

So basically no-one bothers about them or any food that they might be eating or the droppings...

ok. Thanks for the help.

i shoot them down with rubber bands.

My pet lizard comes out at night, quite dazed I must admit, after being locked up all day, the wife thinks its a bit too much to every night god bless her!

Although its the bloody cat i have to watch, it jumps onto anything that moves, and their tails are all over the place, except in the bedroom that is! I'd rather not get circumcised this late in life so the cat is banned, when lizard wants out, oh well, sleep tight and mind the lizards don't bite.

Wait for the big ones to arrive, with the long creepy nails, my cat had one, cornered about 8 inches long it was, snarling like a wild animal, god knows what, it was, but it wasn't a giant gecko, that's for sure. I had to gently persuade my kitty, to let it go, and for a Singaporean drain creeper, she wasn't to pleased about it. Sport is sport in her eyes.

I just killed my house lizard. He was hiding behind the aluminum foil you place behind the stove. The foil was pulling away from the wall so I gave it a good strong push to reattach it and CRUNCH. Never knew what hit him. I kinda miss the poor little bugger.

The only Gecko I don't like near my home is the blasted Tokay Lizard. These are the loudest Gecko's I've ever heard. When they sound off you can hear them for about half a klick. They are about 6-8" long and are grey with orange or reddish-orange spots. The get their name from their call "TOKKK- Kaaaaaaayyyyyyyy.

The ones ksl are talking about are the crested tree lizards around 6-10 inches long and look like little dinosaurs. Seletar is full of 'em where I lived for 15 years.

The worst are the monitor lizards. If you find one of these guys in your house you really have a problem! These fella's are often found in monsoon drains as well as in stream, lakes, rivers, swamps and ponds. They are as adept at swimming as they are at climbing trees (they have talons like an eagle) and they get upwards of 2m long. I caught two in my yard while living in Seletar (one about 1.4m the other about 1.8m - that one went the the Zoo). You can see lots of monitor lizards around Changi Airport ring roads often on the side of the roads near canals. Sungei Buloh has a huge community of them out there.

I have an irrational fear of geckos thanks to my mother (call it conditioning in the early years). Nowadays we can coexist in the same room provided they stay on the walls/ceilings and leave me the floor =P

One humane way of getting rid of them (albeit temporarily) would be to use a laser pointer to lead them out of the room. They appear to enjoy chasing the light spots. If you don't have that kind of time and patience, leave it to the kids. Hours of endless fun.

ksl wrote:I must admit, after being locked up all day, the wife thinks its a bit too much to every night god bless her!

Are you another Josef Fritzl!!!?

how you gonna get a cellar in a HDB!