Asian House Geckos

Geckos in Brisbane   Photo: Steve Wilson

Hemidactylus frenatus   Photo: Steve Wilson

Red gecko mites   Photo: Steve Wilson

Queenslanders are fast becoming acquainted with a new addition to their households: the Asian House Gecko (Hemidactylus frenatus). These exotic invaders resemble many native geckos, but they are much more 'talkative'. Their 'chuck, chuck, chuck' call is distinctive. Asian House Geckos also have characteristic, slightly enlarged spines scattered over the back and arranged in bands around the original tail, while native house geckos are smooth.

Asian House Geckos first appeared in Brisbane in the early 1980s. Those early colonists probably arrived in container shipping. By the early to mid-1990s, the Queensland Museum was receiving countless reports from the Central Business District of Brisbane, the city's outer suburbs and from towns along the east coast of Queensland.

Asian House Geckos are true urbanites. Even in their native South-east Asia, they live almost entirely on buildings. They have been hugely successful as stowaways among cargo, thanks partly to their round, hard-shelled eggs that resist moisture loss. Asian House Geckos are 'on the march' worldwide, mainly in tropical regions, and now have the widest range of any lizard in the world.

Asian House Geckos have displaced some native geckos in disturbed areas. While largely dependent on human environments, they have spread into bushland reserves in the Northern Territory where they could pose a threat to other native species.

Another hidden problem may lie with hitch-hikers they carry. Two species of red gecko mites, Geckobia bataviensis and Geckobia keegani live on the toes of Asian House Geckos. Microorganisms carried by these sorts of mites have the potential to cause debilitating diseases in native Australian lizards.

The impact of Asian House Geckos competitors and as potential carriers of pathogens is clearly something that requires monitoring. They may be cute but we cannot assume they are harmless.