542 



Observations on a few Species of Geckos. 



[No. 5, 



disturbed. That this liquid is capable of producing sores on a tender 

 skin, I doubt not ; for when my ringers have been touched by it 

 on several occasions, I have felt an unusual caustic sensation and even 

 a tingling at the tips, which after the lapse of a few minutes entirely 

 passes away. 



In & gecko toucktay brought to me at Moulmein, and which had 

 been put alive into a dry bottle, I was astonished to see the amount of 

 moisture collected in the bottle in a few hours, as well as the water which 

 seemed to be coming through the pores of the skin ; for though the 

 greatest portion had been passed during the night, moisture was still 

 passing through the pores of the skin in the morning. 



I find whenever my specimens of the gecko tidoe are (in bad health 

 or about to die, a gradual wearing away is visible ; the neck becomes 

 very thin and dilated, the head looks unusually large, the lips swell 

 and become sore, the eyes much projected ; particles of dust also adhere 

 to the transparent, immovable eyelid, and about the corners of the 

 mouth, which latter often fills with dust ; when this occurs they seldom 

 or ever recover.^ The presence of dust on the immovable eyelid, is in 

 itself a marked indication of approaching death, for geckos constantly 

 lick it with their tongues, and keep it scrupulously clean when in 

 health./ The living animals in the same box do not in any way seem 

 to shew repugnance at the presence of a dead companion, but move 

 about it, or cluster around it precisely as if it were alive. The 

 clustering of these animals, when not confined in a box, is not 

 unusual, for I have found several concealing themselves in the same 

 crevice, where they sometimes lay one over another. In my glass cases 

 this is a frequent occurrence. 



I have already remarked on the constant casting off of the skin, on 

 the part of the Gecko chameleon, and although it is less frequent with 

 others, still they all cast their skins often, and in the glass boxes this 

 would appear to occur more frequently than elsewhere : the confinement 

 may perhaps in some measure influence the act, and promote a more 

 rapid change; before it takes place, the animal becomes unusually 

 languid and of a grey slate colour, appearing in certain lights of a 

 whitish hue. As the time of casting approaches, the grey colour becomes 

 darker and duller, all markings disappear, and the skin begins to crack and 

 fall off, either in one or several long pieces ; that of the tail being the last, 

 whiph slips off like a long sheath. Other Geckos in the same box ? attracted 



