.answer li {list-style: inside;}.embed-container { position: relative; padding-bottom: 56.25%; height: 0; overflow: hidden; max-width: 100%;} .embed-container iframe, .embed-container object, .embed-container embed, .embed-container video { position: absolute; top: 0; left: 0; width: 100%; height: 100%;}The Long awaited Gargoyle Gecko Book is finally in stock and ready to ship.155 Pages and hundreds of color photo's. Philippe de Vosjoli, Allen Repashy, Frank FastIntroductionAs our original work on the care of New Caledonian geckos,Rhacodactylus, was nearing being sold out, we decided that the firstin the four-volume updated 600-page replacement set would focuson gargoyle geckos. The question that came to our minds was howcan a species with so many great qualities still be so poorly knownand under marketed? Gargoyle geckos achieve a substantial size,are relatively calm and handleable pets, are probably the easiest tomaintain of all the reptiles, and come in a great variety of color andpatterns as well as some variation in form. This book represents ourendeavor to rectify this situation.Gargoyle geckos (Rhacodactylus auriculatus) were the firstmembers of the genus Rhacodactylus to become available tohobbyists. Europeans first acquired them in the late 1970s. The firstcaptive-bred offspring reached the US by the mid-80s and they werefirst bred in the US by Tim Tytle in 1987. The first ones importedwere of the classic reticulated type with tan and brown colors.Limited availability and consequently exposure to the publicrepressed their potential popularity. Another factor was timing.They appeared on the herp scene at a dynamic period when avariety of bright-colored species with more obvious financialpotential (Malagasy day geckos and chameleons, bearded dragons,and blue tongue skinks) became available. Then in 1995, crestedgeckos and other Rhacodactylusentered the market, again divertingattention away from the comparatively drab gargoyle geckos. Itwasn’t until the increased availability of bold-colored orange-stripedand orange-blotched gargoyle geckos in the late 90s and early 2000sthat a few gecko specialists started focusing on this species. Thesepioneer hobbyists realized this was a lizard that could become brightorange or red, possibly the brightest orange/red lizard in the world,and they put effort into selective breeding to increase the amountof those colors. Author Allen Repashy was the first to strive towardcommercial-scale production of this species, acquiring a diversegene pool from both European and American hobbyists. Anexamination of his collection and others, a total of over a thousandanimals, led us to conclude that the gargoyle gecko was a lizard thatcould also become bright pink, bright white, mostly black, or brightyellow. Its eye color could range from a bluish white to near black.It turned out that gargoyle geckos display the greatest variation incolor and pattern of any lizard species, their potential for designerbreeding of living art nearly unlimited. Of course, a reptile maydisplay beautiful coloration but, like many of the snakes, remainconcealed for such extended periods of time that the enjoyment ofkeeping and observing it becomes a very limited experience. Thisis not the case with gargoyle geckos. Although primarily active atnight, they commonly rest exposed on branches or in foliage duringthe day. This feature makes them outstanding display animals innaturalistic vivariums for both hobbyists and zoological institutions.
