Exotic Pets - Geckos

Most people are scared of animals like lizards and geckos. However, some of us absolutely adore these creepy crawlers. Others even keep them as pets. Taking care of a gecko isn’t as hard as it sounds like. Here are a few pointers on how you can take care of them as a pet.

First, you need to make sure you get your gecko from a good pet shop or a certified gecko breeder. You want to get a healthy, disease-free gecko. You can also get them online, just make sure the site you get them is reliable.

Get a 10 to 20 gallon aquarium that has a safe screen lid. Geckos can still climb the glass, so make sure you keep the aquarium covered at all times. Never place sand at the bottom of their aquarium, this can actually end up getting into their stomachs which stays and hardens there. Instead, use reptile carpet, paper towel, cabinet liners, tile, or slate tiles.  Place a reptile shelter like a rock cave or log inside as well.

Since geckos originally live in areas with warmer temperatures, you’d need to place a heat pad under their aquariums to keep a steady, warm temperature.

Keep your geckos well fed with meal worms, roaches, wax worms and crickets. Before you give these bugs to the gecko, dust them with calcium and vitamin D powder to help keep their bones healthy. Don’t leave the crickets hopping around the aquarium since they can bite your gecko. Also, leave clean water for swimming/drinking. You should also mist the inside of the aquarium with water every other day to keep it moist.

Tattoosday Goes to Hawai'i: Reston's Expansive Ink

I've alluded, in previous posts, to a trip to Ala Moana Center, during which I was astounded by the amount of tattoos I saw, much more than I recall seeing on my previous trip, five years ago.

I was in the expansive food court section of the complex when I met Reston and his uncle. I was first intrigued by the work on his left arm:

but then, in one of those rare Tattoosday moments in which I see much more than I anticipated, his uncle convinced Reston to show me his back, which revealed this wonderful work:

For Reston, his tattoos are tributes to his heritage. The large Buddha on his back acknowledges the Buddhist faith that can be found on his father's side of the family. The tiki and tribal patterns are in honor of his mother's Pacific Islander lineage. This is apparent from the merging of the two styles (and the names "mom" and "dad" at the top of his back:

In addition, Reston shared this cool lizard on his left shoulder:

Actually, in Hawaiian tattoo styles, this is referred to more specifically as a mo'o, which can be defined (source here) as a "spirit guardian (lizard) that protects a resource, such as a fishpond, from overuse and other abuse". Mo'o are also referred to as geckos.

There's a lot going on with Reston's personal canvas, but you can see the geographic shapes of the mo'o design jumping off the skin.

  All the work was done in California. The Buddha back piece was inked by Jon Highland, owner of 12 Monkeys Tattoo in Tracy, California. The majority of the tribal/Polynesian work was tattooed by Orly at Humble Beginnings Tattoo Studio in San Jose.

A hearty mahalo to Reston for being bold enough to remove his shirt in the Ala Moana food court so we could all get to better appreciate his ink. We here at Tattoosday thank you for your contributions to the site!