Photos of Hawaii Lizards and Geckos from Kailua-Kona

My knowledge of Hawaii lizards and geckos is not as vast as it probably oughta be, so I have been studying these creatures.  Ubiquitous in Sacramento these are not. In fact, I rarely spot any crawly things in Sacramento, unlike Hawaii. I also feel an urge to identify my surroundings. My late Aunt Dolores was like that. She could name every tree, flower and bird she came upon, and I can see why it’s important. Necessary. Maybe I got it from her.

Knowing what things are connects you to your environment. I honestly cannot chance upon an unusual tree without wanting and needing to know its name. So I have done my best to identify these Hawaii lizards and geckos for you.

Believe it or not, every single one of these creatures lives in our yard. The photo above? That’s green anole lizard. Check out its long skinny toes.

This little guy is a Gold Dust Day gecko with his original tail. He is sitting on our loveseat cushion, basking in the sun. Without a care in the world. Looks like he just finished lunch and perhaps should have skipped the desert.

The next in the line up of photos of Hawaii lizards and geckos is indeed a lizard. It is called a brown anole. Anole always look like they are concentrating very hard on an answer for a quiz. The other unusual aspect of anoles is the white zipper down the back.

I believe this gecko is Norton, whom I shot a few days ago when shooting photos of geckos in my yard. He has a new tail. They can simply detach their tails when they are threatened. Grab my tail, sucka, and I’ll just leave it in your hands.

OK, not 100% sure on this lizard, but fairly certain it is a brown anole that has morphed almost into black. From what I’ve learned about brown anoles, they can change colors. They can’t turn green, but they do turn different shades of brown and can blend in with their environment. Like a chameleon.

My brother John who died a few years ago from sarcoma raised chameleons as a kid. Once it got out, and we couldn’t find it for days. It had turned green and attached itself to our green drapes in our green living room.

Do you like the close up of this green anole head? It is so danged lizard like. Almost alien. If you have not seen Shape of Water, you should probably go see that movie. This lizard head reminds me of the alien in that movie.

Another Day gecko. This guy is pretty chubby. I call him Jelly Belly gecko.  Fat chubby little legs. You will notice he is also not very long, and he, too, seems to have a replacement tail. They are territorial and typically hang out in pairs. Although they do not seem to like each other much. This one seems very attached to the underside of our lanai where the security camera and external receptacles are located.

When I see them fight, the geckos usually have a conversation about it first.

Big gecko: Don’t you come over. I’m warning ya. This is my space, don’t cross it, buddy.

Little gecko: I can’t help it. I’m so curious. I won’t do anything. I just wanna walk over there.

Big gecko: Don’t you come over here. I told you not to do it. Don’t do it.

Little gecko: I’m just gonna grab a short cut. Don’t look at me.

Snarl, pounce, Big gecko bites Little gecko.

Big gecko: I tried to warn ya.

Little gecko runs far away and dives under the siding.

Of all the photos of Hawaii lizards and geckos, this is really creepy like. It reminds me of a salamander, if a salamander was an alien from Mars. The first time I spotted it, all I could see was its eyeballs. It barely poked his head out from under the siding. So weird to feel these tiny eyeballs studying me.

Very small, too. Not bigger than my little finger. It took me a long time to identify this gecko. It is a Hawaii Locale Mourning gecko. Every time I clicked my camera, he perked up at the clicking sound and would begin to emerge. He got about this far and then dove back under the siding.

If you have enjoyed my photos of Hawaii lizards and geckos, you might not forget this last photo. I am about 80% confident that this is a house gecko that looks like a Japanese horror movie lizard. He looks like this, I suspect, because I found him inside my grill. I wouldn’t swear to it, but I think he got grilled. Or, he could just be some weird gecko I haven’t yet been able to identify.

He did not move when I first spotted him. But soon as I shot a photo, he ran away. So maybe he will be OK.