New Caledonian crested gecko (Rhacodactylus ciliatus)

Personal Information
There are two crested geckos here at the zoo. Both were born in May 2005, and arrived here in 2007. Their names are Crazy-Eye and Hopscotched, named for a joke between the keepers about silly animal names that happened to fit them and stuck!

Status in the wild
This species was once thought to be extinct. It was rediscovered in 1994 and is now listed as endangered.

Habitat
These geckos are native to the island of New Caledonia, in the southeast Pacific, east of Australia.

Diet
The new Caledonian crested gecko feeds on a variety of insects and fruit.

Crested geckos are capable of changing their color slightly to better blend in with their surroundings and for communication.
Darker color often indicates stress.
This reptile has no eyelids and uses its tongue to clean its eyes.
These geckos can lose their tails to avoid predation. Most adults in the wild no longer have tails.
This is now one of the most widely-kept and bred species of gecko in the world, and they are illegal to export from wild habitats.