#Lepidodactylus lugubri

[squishyfauna]

Sapphic gecks 🩷🤍🩷🤍🩷🤍🩷

Mourning geckos are a (mostly) female species! They reproduce by cloning themselves via parthenogenesis, they don’t need a mate for this in any way, but mourning geckos are often seen performing mating behaviours anyway! Occasionally there are males but they’re essentially useless to the species so they will just die out. So in the herp community they’re often known as lesbian geckos ✨

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[neechiegeckos]

Mourning Geckos (Lepidodactylus lugubris) are incredible creatures. Nearly every member of this species is female, and they reproduce via parthenogenesis. This means that instead of reproducing sexually, each individual will produce tiny clones of themselves!

Despite not needing to mate to produce offspring, the all female members of this species do prefer to copulate before egg production.

Yes that's right, it's an entire species of lesbians!!

Male animals are produced on occasion, but are incredibly rare, and don't generally take part in mating or reproduction.

Mourning Geckos are social animals and do best in groups, so if you pick one up be sure to get her some company ♡

This species is an absolute joy to keep, they're active and vocal, easy to care for, and have wonderful, curious personalities.

They are quite small and fast, so care should be taken when handling or rehousing.

I adore these beautiful little lesbian lizards ♡♡♡

[reptiphoric]

Went to an expo today specifically in search of these little gals - everyone say hi to Barbie, Barbie, and Barbie! :D

Let the lesbian clone gecko army commence. 😈

[armentarius]

New life 🦎

[moniquill]

[jenisis]

Lil miss Kainé has made herself quite at home inside this cholla wood

[sixquarksinatrenchcoat]

Hello tumblr, today I am going to teach you about one of my favorite species of gecko - the Mourning gecko (Lepidodactylus lugubris). This species exhibits a trait known as "parthenogenesis", wherein an animal produces viable offspring without needing to combine gametes with another individual of the same species. the trait is named after the mythical birth of the greek goddess Athena, often given the epithet Athena Parthenos (translates to "Athena the Virgin". this was not the roast in ancient greece that it is today) (this is also where the name of the Parthenon in Athens comes from). She is said to have sprung forth from her father Zeus' forehead, fully formed.

In mourning geckos, they lay eggs which develop and hatch into genetic clones of the mother. Almost the entire species is clones, with males being incredibly rare and short-lived. Even more rarely documented.

But what fascinates me most about mourning gecko parthenogenesis is that they don't just spontaneously pop out eggs willy nilly. Two mourning geckos must stimulate each other to produce eggs through a process known as "pseudocopulation" for its resemblance to the act of copulation in sexual reproduction.

Imagine. A whole species of lizard. All of them roommates.

good for them

[psittacined]

Hi! I know it’s a long shot, but if you’re in the WNC area and are looking for mourning geckos, I have some juveniles I’m selling!!! I’ll give a discount to anyone on here :-)

Dm me for info!!

[fimbry]

Accidentally put so much calcium in the feeding cup, this poor mourning gecko couldn’t climb out lol. She was okay though, loving her fruit flies.

Lepidodactylus lugubris

[tmgeckos]

[tubpuppy]

Eggnant!!!!!!!

[neechiegeckos]

Yellow Belly Mourning Geckos!!

[reptiphoric]

Caught Barbie and Barbie hanging out :D

[platycryptus]

new year children

[rainbowsnakes]

Can you show/describe your mourning gecko setup? I am so interested in these guys and I love how you setup your enclosures.

Hey anon, 

Sorry for the delay on this. Its pretty simple and rather overgrown and messy right now but here you are!  Eventually I’d like to have the colony in Drea’s exo terra when she gets her upgrade. 

It has a drainage layer and is bioactive with some leaf litter (though CUC is just springtails and dwarf white isos at the moment).  

you can actually see some eggs in the corner of the tank… they were laid under the glass lip of the tank.  Normally they lay their eggs in one of the many bamboo tubes they have, which I rotate in to the nursery tank (which is their old tank theres some pics of it on my blog somewhere i think). 

They are basically cryptids.  I hear them way more than I see them but they do come out to bask under the UV light ( Arcadia 2% compact bulb on the outside of the screen top) or to lick water drops off things after they get their spray down.   

Theres also have an 8watt Jungle dawn for plant growth and a heat mat on the back of the tank which is attached to a matt stat. 

They are pretty entertaining ! 

[jenisis]

Meet Gideon and Harrowhark