strange-looking tokay

aquamentus_11 · #1 11-16-2011, 12:28 AM

are there subspecies of tokays? i'm aware of the morphs, but those are coloration variations. in looking at pictures, i've noticed that most tokays have the long, broad head that i'm familiar with. i've also seen a few pictures of geckos that look slightly different with a common grouping of traits that include relatively larger eyes, thicker and shorter heads and tiny, pointed snouts. anyone know anything about this?

here's a "variant". it appears to be fully grown, but looks more compact than the appearance i see more often (below)

i don't think that age or size has anything to do with this, though i've only ever seen the "variant' appearance in older animals. the difference seems too drastic to be simple variation between individuals and the pattern of traits always seems to appear together. i realize how dorky this is, but i need the distraction.

**Riverside Reptiles** · #2 11-16-2011, 12:56 AM

There's tons of variation in tokays which may, in the future, be determined as subspecies. Most are currently considered locale specific variations and/or "morphs".

aquamentus_11 · #3 11-16-2011, 07:39 AM

very cool to see. it'd be interesting to see if anyone has mapped out the various morphologies by location. with as much interest as people seem to have in this sp., i'd think someone could scare up some grant money somewhere. i wish it was me....

aquamentus_11 · #4 11-16-2011, 07:56 AM

on a different note, i've seen a few papers on the retinal structure of Gekko spp. and there seems to be some evidence that they actually can "see" UV light. this is weird considering i've also read that their retinas contain only rods (which contain only a single photopigment) and, conversely, that they see in the green and blue spectra, as well. if anyone knows more about this, i'm really interested, but don't have time to sift through articles

billewicz · #5 11-17-2011, 11:18 AM

Hello,

Your stock reference photo is typically what came through the pet trade from Malaysia some years ago. Now, most Tokay are coming from Indonesia and occasionally from Vietnam.

The diversity coming out of Indo is staggering. The 'normal' coloring is a more gray background with orange spots. They also tent to have two different color spots like yours. The light powdered blue or green background appears in both a patternless animal and ones with colored spots like yours.

The Tokay Morph thread has a fare amount of discussion as to where we are in proving out some of these traits. Feel free to read through that thread for some insight into the magic of Tokay, enjoy.

aquamentus_11 · #6 11-17-2011, 10:00 PM

Nice. I'll check it out. I was wondering about the structural differences more than the coloration. Any insight on that?

billewicz · #7 11-17-2011, 10:10 PM

I would guess that structural differences exist between locales that have been separated by water for a few million years. Also, big males can get a bit chubby in captivity distorting the look a bit.

Here's my version of your Tokay, enjoy.

aquamentus_11 · #8 11-17-2011, 10:33 PM

haha, i had wondered if it was just a chunker. yours looks great; can't wait to get mine bulked up. yours looks pretty relaxed with you....i also can't wait to work on that. health comes first though.

billewicz · #9 11-17-2011, 10:39 PM

I've noticed both in Leo's and Tokay that the big males seem far more relaxed when being handled.

As for health, I wish Tokay could enjoy a hamster wheel. The loose ones I have in each reptile room for cricket cleanup, cruise the entire room all night long.

aquamentus_11 · #10 11-18-2011, 07:53 AM

wish i could do that for him, but i have a cat who likes food