Guest Blogger: Did You Know
Leopard Geckos E. macularius gained popularity in the industry around the late eighties when they were originally imported for the captive reptile industry by Ron Tremper. Later in the nineties they exploded in popularity due in part to their ease of care and maintenance. Since that time, Leopard Geckos E. macularius have been a staple species in the industry and are still rated by most reptile industry sources as the number one reptile pet for anyone beginning in the hobby. Leopard Geckos E. macularius take their name from Leopards this is an obvious name given their black spots on a yellow background.
But the similarities don’t end there. When they become excited or are hunting their insect prey they will actually twitch the tip of their fat tails rapidly back and forth. Today, through the captive breeding efforts of many herpetoculturists there are varying colors available as well as giants of the species. Originally, the new colors known colloquially as morphs in the reptile industry, could cost somewhere in the hundreds of dollars. Today many of these morphs are common enough to make them much more affordable.
Guest Blogger John F. Taylor writes at
www.reptileapartment.com.
highly recommend that those of you who have any interest in reptiles check out http://www.reptileapartment.com where you can see the depth of John Taylors knowledge and learn alot about reptiles.
[...] case you missed it our very own John F Taylor is Guest Posting over at http://www.natgeomuseumblog.org He is doing three separate posts for their Gecko exhibit thats currently ongoing. So we are [...]
So nice to see some attention being given to geckos, which are among my favorite lizards. I had no idea that leopard geckos had only been popular here for such a short time! Interesting info!