Range

Australia is the native home of the barking gecko. Here they are found in the south of the country avoiding the arid and tropical areas in the North. Their range covers every mainland state and territory.

Habitat

Their wide range means they cover many habitats including sclerophyll forests, coastal heath lands, grasslands, shrubland, rocky hills and arid scrublands.

They make their home on the ground and during the day they will seek shelter under rocks, loose bark and logs. Multiple geckoes may rest together in the same resting spot during the day.

Reproduction

Breeding occurs in the wild between September and March though this is variable across their range.

During a breeding season the female deposits between one and five clutches of eggs. Each clutch typically includes two eggs. These eggs have a hard shell. The eggs are laid after a 30 day gestation period and take a further 60 day incubation period to hatch.

While the female is pregnant the eggs can be seen through her stomach.

It will take 18 months for the juveniles to reach adulthood.

Behavior

They are nocturnal emerging at night to find food.

Their name comes from the loud, wheezing type bark that they will make when threatened by predators.

Another part of their threat display is to arch the body and wave their tail slowly while opening the mouth. They will also perform short forward jumps.

If they cannot get rid of the predator they will drop their tail and then grow a new one later.

Every few weeks they will shed their own skin.

Predators and Threats

While their wide range means they have a large population the barking gecko is threatened in local areas by habitat loss and land clearance. They have shown a small tolerance to land clearance as long as some cover remains.

Quick facts

The barking gecko is also known as the thick-tailed gecko.

In some areas this species is kept as a pet.

Barking geckoes have had their scientific classification changed over 20 times since science first recorded them in 1823.