This is Waldo, as in Where's Waldo? He's a Mossy Leaf Tailed Gecko, and though he was captive bred, he's originally from Madagascar, along with our Gold Dust Day Gecko who lives next door. Waldo's living in the 28 gallon vivarium I'd originally set up for poison dart frogs, but for now I'm going to pass on the frogs because the fruit fly husbandry is not practical for me now, but maybe someday... they are really cool...But then Waldo's really cool, too. He's a juvenile now and will get maybe 8 inches long as an adult. What sold us on his breed and getting him now was that we were paying for the juice to keep the vivarium going when it was unoccupied, and it got to where I knew we weren't going to get frogs now, but I didn't want to unplug the tank and lose the vivarium, so I found a lizard that could go right in as it was and not need another heating element and would appreciate all the freakin' hard work that went into the tank. The leaf tail is perfect! Plus we can handle him, a plus over a day gecko who would've stayed on the glass and looked at the plants but not sat on them like I'd like to see.
He is a master of disguise, too. His skin is actually rough and mossy with a mottled color scheme that's beautiful, greens, yellows grays and browns, plus he can change colors like a chameleon, too. And his head is unique, too, almost like a crocodilian, and those big eyes help him hunt at night when he's active. His first night was a hoot, he was frozen, unmoving then the lights turned off and it was like a flip of a switch and he was off exploring. At least we'll see him posing for the day, since he's a "hide in plain sight" lizard.
So, Welcome Home, Waldo!
