h2g2 The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy: Earth Edition

The closest we have is salamanders, but I haven't seen any of them in decades.

I liked the ones we had in Greece, they were really cute.

I've not seem him/her tonight. Maybe he is out on the town.

I wonder how small the baby ones are when they do hatch out?

I wonder that, too.

The newborns here are tiny, just about an inch long.

I bet they're cute.

Hi folks, just a quick report - the house geckoes are back! There's one without a tail right here in the study with me right now, and another one with tail still intact, in the dining room. The garden geckoes seem to be thriving.

I am glad your companions are back. They'll certainly keep the number of s down.

They're cute enough. I don't know if they could survive in an indoor rock garden during a New England winter.

I'm delighted to hear this Willem. Glad to hear they're all safe and well.

I've not seem mine for ages now. I think they went outside.

This is what the house geckoes here look like:

http://i360.photobucket.com/albums/oo45/WillemvdMerwe/Wildlife%20Photos/Huisgeitjie5.jpg

[IMG]http://i360.photobucket.com/albums/oo45/WillemvdMerwe/Wildlife%20Photos/huisgei1.jpg[/IMG]

Do they see in the dark with those big eyes Willem? Are they more nocturnal than diurnal?

Hi there Elektra, yes, they're mostly active in the evening and at night. And I don't mind spiders actually! These geckoes would catch moths, mostly.

Paulh, do you actually experience freezing temperatures indoors in winter in New England? Over here, I've no heat in the house and we do get sub-freezing temperatures a few nights every winter.

Cool that they catch moths. How many moths do you get inside though? You all do have screened windows surely.

We do get a fair number of moths inside. No screens on the windows.

I'm going to have to find out more about geckos Willem, you inspire me! and while you're there, you must take a look at the new h2g2 Front Page in an hour or so, because we're featuring some of your Entries in the Showcase.

We've had a people recommending your Entries, as well as all us old-timers knowing what a quality writer and Artist we have in you.

I have to cross my fingers now, to get it right, it's still a bit nerve-wracking, because this side of technology is not something I am super confident with.

It's quite hard to type with crossed fingers though.

"Paulh, do you actually experience freezing temperatures indoors in winter in New England? Over here, I've no heat in the house and we do get sub-freezing temperatures a few nights every winter." [Willem]

Not intentionally. I keep my house heated to at least 65 degrees F throughout the winter. Mother Nature is the wuild card. If she sends a storm that knocks out my electricity for long enough, it could get below freezing indoors.

Sorry, I'm coming in late to the conversation.

We've got geckos - and what stunning creatures they are. Most reside in my shed and they are of the rapid 'cuk, cuk, cuk' calling variety. They are mostly translucent and often pink coloured. I did notice some tiny eggshells a few weeks back; do they hatch from these?

The indoor ones are even more impressive. Rarely seen, they appear occasionally from the shutter boxes, look startled and scuttle off back from whence they came. More scaly and with a well-defined body; I'm assuming they are more mature than the shed inhabitants.

There's a giant one on our south facing wall. At two feet across, he's the biggest I've seen. Mind you, we did buy him when we were living in Portugal as a reminder of that particular country.

He's made of tin with hand-crafted embellishments and takes pride of place in our living room.

Yep, I love geckos. And chameleon - we have those too.

You have chameleons on Cyprus? They are weird creatures, their feet amaze me.

I hope my geckos have gone outside to find others, I keep looking for them, but the weather turned cold the other week and it still remains low. Low here is about 23C in the day going down to 15C at night. It's not quite that cold at night yet though, but jumpers and scarves are being worn by the locals who are acclimatised to hot temperatures. So maybe the geckos suffer from the cold too.


Did you all see Willem's meerkat painting on the Front Page? and his other Entries too? We are so lucky to be able to feature this. Thanks Willem

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We sure do.

And, you've just triggered the subject for tomorrows NaJoPoMo. I can't thank you enough - tomorrow was looking to be a 'dry' day, writing-wise and ideas-wise. Now I've got the subject, I can create.

Do check into tomorrows journal, if you get the chance!