Sword of Spirit
New member
Hello from Saipan
Hi all,
I just moved from the mainland U.S. to Saipan in the Northern Mariana Islands at the end of March. The pandemic has really slowed everything down (getting essential goods and services available) so I feel like I'm still more camping out in my 2-bedroom apartment than moved in, but that's where I am. It's a newly remodeled concrete apartment unit formed from an old ranch style home in the jungle.
And what lives in my apartment here? Geckos!
I'm trying to identify exactly which types I'm seeing. When I first got here the windows didn't have secure screens, and there were some big geckos that I've since identified as Oceanic Geckos (gehyra oceanica). I love little lizards, but these ones were a bit big for an indoor species for me. Apparently the neighbors who also found them in their places agreed, because they were killing them when they found them (one of the kids got a blister from a bite from one of them). Once we removed two or three of them from my apartment and secured the windows, I haven't seen any more of them inside (with one exception that probably came in the front door when I opened it--and showed itself out sometime later when I wasn't looking). Apparently according to the neighbors they have seen them living on the roof. From what I read, they sometimes come into houses to hunt, but don't actually like to live inside with humans. So hopefully those will mostly just stay in the jungle now that someone lives here.
I have identified that I do have some Mourning Geckos! I like them; they seem cool. I'm still trying to figure out their population. I have some typhoon proof windows that have tons of space for things to live in unseen (in addition to the places I can see them at occasionally). That's where all the geckos live. I think the most I've seen recently on a single day was 2 adults (one prefers to live in a certain spot in one window frame), and a hatchling running around. I see a hatchling every couple of days or so, but it's not always (maybe ever) the same one. They tend to wander around the walls of the main room while I'm on my computer in the evening. I'm not sure if they are getting eaten or just leaving (the front door doesn't shut securely enough to keep geckos in or out).
I discovered there are quite a few eggs visible in the "habitats" (window frames). There could be dozens I can't see. I've also seen a few eggs elsewhere. I don't know how many of the eggs are Mourning Geckos, how many are Oceanic Geckos, and how many might be another species entirely.
This is all really new and exotic for me. I'm trying to work on finding a balance between preventing ants and such from overrunning my peace, while not poisoning the food supply of the Mourning Geckos or driving them out through lack of food.
And I don't know when I'll get to the point where seeing a lizard right there on the wall when I go into the bathroom or elsewhere won't send me some micro-stress. I like having them here, but I have anxiety and my ideal inside environment has no lifeforms at all except me and selected other humans in it. So it will be an adjustment, one way or another.
Hi all,
I just moved from the mainland U.S. to Saipan in the Northern Mariana Islands at the end of March. The pandemic has really slowed everything down (getting essential goods and services available) so I feel like I'm still more camping out in my 2-bedroom apartment than moved in, but that's where I am. It's a newly remodeled concrete apartment unit formed from an old ranch style home in the jungle.
And what lives in my apartment here? Geckos!
I'm trying to identify exactly which types I'm seeing. When I first got here the windows didn't have secure screens, and there were some big geckos that I've since identified as Oceanic Geckos (gehyra oceanica). I love little lizards, but these ones were a bit big for an indoor species for me. Apparently the neighbors who also found them in their places agreed, because they were killing them when they found them (one of the kids got a blister from a bite from one of them). Once we removed two or three of them from my apartment and secured the windows, I haven't seen any more of them inside (with one exception that probably came in the front door when I opened it--and showed itself out sometime later when I wasn't looking). Apparently according to the neighbors they have seen them living on the roof. From what I read, they sometimes come into houses to hunt, but don't actually like to live inside with humans. So hopefully those will mostly just stay in the jungle now that someone lives here.
I have identified that I do have some Mourning Geckos! I like them; they seem cool. I'm still trying to figure out their population. I have some typhoon proof windows that have tons of space for things to live in unseen (in addition to the places I can see them at occasionally). That's where all the geckos live. I think the most I've seen recently on a single day was 2 adults (one prefers to live in a certain spot in one window frame), and a hatchling running around. I see a hatchling every couple of days or so, but it's not always (maybe ever) the same one. They tend to wander around the walls of the main room while I'm on my computer in the evening. I'm not sure if they are getting eaten or just leaving (the front door doesn't shut securely enough to keep geckos in or out).
I discovered there are quite a few eggs visible in the "habitats" (window frames). There could be dozens I can't see. I've also seen a few eggs elsewhere. I don't know how many of the eggs are Mourning Geckos, how many are Oceanic Geckos, and how many might be another species entirely.
This is all really new and exotic for me. I'm trying to work on finding a balance between preventing ants and such from overrunning my peace, while not poisoning the food supply of the Mourning Geckos or driving them out through lack of food.
And I don't know when I'll get to the point where seeing a lizard right there on the wall when I go into the bathroom or elsewhere won't send me some micro-stress. I like having them here, but I have anxiety and my ideal inside environment has no lifeforms at all except me and selected other humans in it. So it will be an adjustment, one way or another.
