Trivia question for Nov-07-2011

Olivia and Carter have had the opportunity to hold plenty of these guys at the various educational outreach programs they have hosted.  Olivia loves these guys which is why she picked them for her trivia.  These are small lizards which thrive in Africa’s Namib Desert, despite energy-sapping temperature extremes.

These guys use various clicks, squeaks, croaks, and other sounds to frighten attackers. The second defense is to break off its tail like all other geckos and flee to safety.  Sometimes, when they shed its skin it will eat the dead skin. During breeding season the female lays about two eggs that are the size of a bean. The eggs take eight weeks to hatch.

So here are Olivia’s questions:  Tell us what this cute little guy is called and what is so special about their feet?  Also, these guys can survive fierce desert heat.  Tell us what their average body temperature is?

Good Luck 😉

Answer:

Well Olivia is all smiles again as we had no one get the trivia correct.  The cute little reptile we featured is the Web-footed gecko.  Web-footed geckos, in the genus palmatogecko are two species of Gecko that live in the Namib Desert. They have webbed feet in order to move more easily across desert sand. They don’t possess eyelids so they must lick their eyeballs clean in order to keep them moist.

Although the gecko can survive fierce desert heat, its ideal body temperature is similar to that of humans. Here is more on these speedy little guys: Web-footed gecko

Thanks for playing along 😉