Tokay Getaway: A Pet Lesson Learned

Many years ago, when I was just a teenager, was the first time I had kept Tokay Gecko lizards as pets. I had the aquarium in my room. I came from a large family so there were a lot of people running around in the house at the time. Some were relatives and others were friends of my relatives. One day I went to feed the geckos and noticed the lid was part way opened. I realized then that some curious person wanted a closer look at my Tokay Geckos. It could have been anyone, but I couldn’t worry about that because one of them was missing. Fear and worry had now set in. Paranoia was on its way. I closed the bedroom door and started searching.
It could have left the bedroom but I was hoping it didn’t. The gecko I was searching for was about seven inches long. As I was looking under and behind furniture I heard movement. At least now I knew he was still in the room. It felt like I was being forced to play a game that I didn’t volunteer for. Oh well! The game was afoot and since my opponent had toe pads that could stick to anything, he had the advantage. I looked under my bed and saw the end part of his tail hanging down from behind the cover against the wall. I pulled the bed away from the wall. For a few seconds he stayed there, stuck to the wall and stared at me. I felt like a gunfighter in a showdown.
The problem was his equipment is better and faster than mine is. As soon as I moved he vanished under the bed in the blink of an eye. I ducked under the bed and saw him shoot up the other wall behind the headboard. Now I pulled the bed away from that wall. I peaked in front of the bed and saw him stuck to the back of the headboard. This time I thought I had him. I quickly brought my hand over the top to grab him by surprise. I missed! He leaped to the wall and ran up to the ceiling. Then he ran across the ceiling to the other side of the room. I took an old fishing rod out of the closet and used it to chase him down the wall. He ran behind a picture. I slowly removed it and he shot down the wall. Now he was under my brother’s bed. This game was getting frustrating. I guess maybe because I was losing. Not to mention, being a teenager at the time, didn’t help my nerves any. I decided to recruit some help. So, I got my athletic, macho brother Joe to help me. I slid under the front of the bed. The gecko was on the center of the wall under the bed. My brother waited at the end. I chased him towards the end of the bed so my brother could grab him. When the gecko started running that way, I slid back out to assist my brother in the capture. As I stood up the gecko ran on the floor behind the bed. He stopped when he saw my brother. Joe yelled, “There he is”! Then he went to grab him but this time the gecko didn’t run under the bed. When my brother reached for him the little Tokay let out one bark and bit his finger. Joe screamed and jumped back as if an alligator took off his hand. I laughed. It was so hilarious. Here is this big tough guy who “freaks out” from a little lizard bite that didn’t even break the skin.
After that the gecko ran past him and back under my bed. I was now back where I started. This time I pushed the mattress against the wall. I looked under the bed and saw that the gecko didn’t get to the front yet. I told Joe to stand behind that bed and grab him if he gets away from me. He said, “You grab him”! I said, “Hopefully I’ll get him this time”. So I slid under the front of the bed. The gecko moved towards the front bedpost. I stuck my hand out so he wouldn’t get to the headboard again. He started to run along the wall, heading for the back of the bed, but I stuck my foot out and chased him to the front.
Eventually I cornered him down by the floor. Here was the big moment. Would I get him this time or would he somehow escape me again. He stared at me. I stared back. As I moved in closer he started wagging his tail. He had that “are you feeling lucky punk” look in his eyes. I moved in fast! He barked! I got hold of the back of him and he latched on to the palm of my hand. I guess this was a fair trade. His adventure ended and my hand was feeling his loss. Neither one of us was letting go. I crawled out from under the bed. With his mouth stuck to my hand and my fingers holding the end of his body. I walked over to the aquarium.
I lowered my hand in the cage down to the floor and let go of him. For a few seconds he held on as a reminder that he’s a soar loser and I barely won the chase. Then he let go and ran into his hide box. I never wanted to experience this again. Though I figured if I was going to keep reptiles then there would be other challengers in the future.

If anyone reading this decides to keep Leopard Geckos as pets then go to websites like Pet Care Portal http://www.pet-care-portal.com/tokay-gecko-care-sheet.html or Reptile Channel.co http://www.reptilechannel.com/lizards/wild-lizards/look-tokay-gecko.aspx to get information on keeping these lizards.