News

Stolen Gecko Returns Home

By Cheri Cheng | Update Date: Dec 27, 2013 10:16 AM EST

After half a year of living in some foreign place, a small gecko has finally returned to his home. The male African fat-tailed gecko was taken from his wildlife rehabilitation center in Delaware. With the help of "wanted" posters, the gecko has finally been located and returned.

The gecko was stolen back in July. The burglar had taken him from the nonprofit Delaware Wildlife Rehabilitators Association and left behind a monetary donation. The workers at the center believed that the gecko had died. However, they distributed posters of the little lizard, hoping that a miracle would occur. A few days before Christmas, the center was shocked to hear that a woman had dropped off a gecko in a pet store nearby. The staff members from the pet store noticed that the gecko looked identical to the "wanted" posters, which they had plastered on their walls for months.. Shortly after, the gecko was returned to his home.

"The odds of him turning up again were one in a million - or less," wildlife rehabilitator Hilary Taylor said reported by USA Today. "It's a Christmas miracle."

Taylor and her husband, Charles, were surprised to find that brown-banded gecko alive after all these months. Geckos need a lot of care and have a strict nutritional diet, which composes of live crickets, mealworms, vitamins and calcium. On top of that, they need the right living conditions, which include good heating and lighting.

"They shed like snakes," Taylor said. "And if they're not warm enough, if they don't shed, the skin builds up and it cuts off their circulation, so they can lose their toes."

The rehabilitators stated that the unnamed gecko is in good condition except for some weight loss. When he was placed back into his heat-lamped habitat, "he went straight to his little house." They are extremely happy that the gecko has survived the ordeal. This particular gecko is extremely popular amongst young children because the pattern on the other end of his six-inch body resembles a second head. At the center, people were allowed to hold and pet the gecko.

This robbery was the first crime to occur at the center since the place opened in the 1960s. The state police are looking into the crime.

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