Common name: Yellow-bellied House Gecko

Scientific name: Hemidactylus flaviviridis

Family: Gekkonidae

Size:

SVL: about 9.5 cm

Total length: about 20 cm

Identification:

A medium-sized gecko with a flattened body, a wide head and large eyes with vertical pupils. The upper body is covered in small scales with no enlarged tubercles. The toes are broad with strongly expanded pads. The slender tail is about 1–1.2 times the snout–vent length, segmented, with a row of pointed tubercles along each side. Males have 4–14 femoral pores under each thigh. Colour is variable and changeable: yellowish-white at night, and darker grey or brown with five wavy dark crossbands by day. The underside is yellow or whitish.

Habitat:

In and around houses, buildings and other man-made structures in towns and cities, on walls both inside and outside. In the UAE photographed on house walls in the Orban area.

Status in the UAE:

Introduced, not endemic. Originally from India.

Diet:

Insectivorous — feeds on insects, especially moths, and other arthropods.

Behavior:

Mainly nocturnal but also seen by day. Gathers around wall lights at night to hunt. An agile climber that moves quickly even on smooth walls and ceilings, and runs for cover if disturbed. Not venomous. Females lay 2 hard-shelled eggs that hatch after 5–7 weeks.

Conservation status:

UAE National Red List: Not listed

Global: Least Concern (LC)