The Wait is Over!

 It may have taken nearly 3 years to get my license, but, the wait was more than worth it.  Today, we took possession of a pair of Golden Tail Geckos (Strophurus taenicauda triaureus).  They came on a plane from Melbourne and we picked them up at the airport.  This picture is of them still in the container in which they were lovingly packed this morning.

This yet to be named pair are male and female and have successfully bred this season.  Their former owner sold them to me as she is downsizing her collection.  I am completely thrilled at the opportunity this presented me to start keeping geckos with this species and these individuals.  The arboreal Strophurus genus, often called spiney tails caught my eye some time ago, over the more popular terrestrial species commonly kept by enthusiasts.  I like their slender tails and find their markings more appealing to my eyes at least.  Despite often being called spiney golden tails because of their classification, this particular species does not posses the spines often associated with their cousins like Strophurus ciliaris.

Interestingly this species was recently reclassified into three subspecies, hence the triple barrel name of Genus, species and subspecies (Strophurus taenicauda triaureus).  Normally only genus and species are used to classify animals.  The name translated means, turning-tail, stripe-tail, three golden.  This is because not only do these guys have a single well defined golden stripe down the top side of their tails, but, they have one less prominent stripe down either side of their tails as well.  They are commonly referred to as the barred form of golden tails which I assume is because of the neat rows of black and white stripes running vertically opposed to the golden stripes running the length of their tails.  The sub species is also distinct from the two other species in a few other ways, including their amber eye colour.  The other two sub species have red, and white eyes respectively.  If you are interested in reading more, check out the reclassification document on Danny Brown's site GeckoDan.

I must say that I was taken aback when I opened the tightly sealed container and saw these guys in the flesh for the first time.  They are stunningly beautiful and my pictures do not do them justice.  Everything from their amber eyes, black and white markings right through to their golden striped tails is just breathtaking.  I am so looking forward to watching and learning more about these little guys first hand.  With any luck they will breed for me this coming season too.  Another great experience to share with the kids.  For now, they are settling into their new home and I'm trying to think of some groovy names for them.