In Xcalak you’re guaranteed to see geckos. And these little lizards (crawling across your wall, ceiling, or window) might scare the bejeesus out of you.
Be brave. The possibility of a gecko in YOUR room shouldn’t give you nightmares.
In fact, you should be happy to see them. Here are a few reasons to make a gecko your friend.
The gecko in your room is a tourist, just like you
The cream-colored Common House Gecko – the type you’re most likely to see in your room – might look right at home but here’s a secret.
He’s not from Mexico!
His ancestors came from an island in the Pacific Ocean. Geckos stowed away on ships and once they arrived in Mexico they decided to stay (not unlike some visitors to Xcalak…).
Now they’ve made themselves at home in Mexico, adding their numbers to the population of native geckos already living here.
Do you think that you could adapt to living in Xcalak the way a gecko has?
They naturally stick to almost everything
True, a gecko’s gravity-defying skittering is unnerving. These little guys can almost appear anywhere. They stick to every surface in the world… except for one – dry Teflon.
(Wet Teflon? Pshhht, no problem.)
Are geckos sticky because they’re vessels of black magic come to haunt you? Nope.
It’s the teeny tiny hairs on their feet that make “dry adhesion” possible. It’s a non-scary, natural adaptation that helps them hunt insects on (almost) any surface.
A gecko’s dry adhesion also doesn’t leave behind any gross slime. So you’ll never know if they were in your room or not…
They don’t pack any poison
The Common House Gecko doesn’t have any poison in him, so there’s no need to rush to the emergency room if you happen to touch one.
And getting bitten? That only happens if he’s under a LOT of stress. They’re more of a run-and-hide than stay-and-fight type of creature.
If he does nip you, a gecko’s tiny teeth are too small to break your skin. You’re safe!
They eat the scary stuff
If you find mosquitos scary (or just plain annoying) you should make the gecko your friend.
Geckos eat the bugs that bite you as you lie asleep at night, defenseless. That makes a gecko the last creature you should be shooing out of your room. They’re the good guys!
Geckos aren’t picky eaters.
Besides mosquitoes they’ll eat spiders, centipedes, and even small scorpions (basically if it fits in their mouth, it’s a goner).
Now that’s a friend indeed.
They make cute noises
Some people might call the krrrk krrrk sound annoying when they’re trying to sleep, but admit it – it’s not the worst sound in the world.
The fact that they can make sounds at all makes geckos unique among other lizards, who are silent.
So now – which is creepier?
A silent skittering creature in your room, or one that makes a cute sound telling you where it is?
It willfully drops its tail
Found a gecko tail and wondered where the rest of the gecko is? Don’t freak out – you haven’t murdered the little guy by accident.
Geckos drop their tails when they’re scared.
It helps them get away if a predator catches them by their tail. They’ll also drop it if you scare them really bad (which doesn’t take much because you are about a bazillion times bigger than they are).
Conclusion
So when you’re in Xcalak, instead of screaming in terror when you meet a gecko, give it a thumbs up and let him do his thing. Xcalak may not be very big but there’s definitely room for you and geckos to live together in peace.
A “ghost crab” sounds like it’s a scary creature but (like a gecko) it’s another “friendly”. Meet this Xcalak resident in: 7 Facts on the Ghost Crabs of Xcalak.