Wednesday, December 24, 2008

Chippy from Chi Phat

Chippy from Chi Phat
Okay, he wasn't as big as the fella who sits on the outside wall of the Rising Sun pub in Phnom Penh (he is huge), but Chippy was a big 'un nonetheless and occupied his perch, upside down, on the ceiling of my guesthouse in Chi Phat near the strip-light. Solitary creatures, unless they have the urge to mate, Chippy is a Tokay Gecko who are famed for their ability to adapt to human habitation in their nocturnal search for insects and bugs. Chippy is a male and brightly coloured and if he's lucky he could live for fifteen years or more. But it's not a good idea to get too close - if they bite they often won't let go for hours at a time though you could try submerging him in water if it should happen. They are spread throughout Southeast Asia and have a distinctive and loud 'tokay' call, hence their name.

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3 Comments:

Anonymous Anonymous said...

Andy, that is one scary-looking tokay (gecko). a rare specie, perhaps?

December 27, 2008 1:59 AM  
Blogger Andy Brouwer said...

I reckon its a regular tokay, which can be found all over Cambodia in varying sizes. The pigmentation colours seem to change with each individual as the larger one at the Rising Sun in PPenh is very different under flashlight.
Andy

December 27, 2008 2:54 AM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

Andy, i'm interested in this photo. Could you tell me a little bit more about gecko and its color? Thanks before hand.

From your friend, land leech.

October 7, 2009 12:18 AM  

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