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Review
In the summer, a small animal may often appear under the eaves and on the screen windows. They crawl quickly on their nimble limbs and use their long tongues to hunt flying insects attracted by the light, and if you try to catch them, you are likely to get a wagging tail.
That's right, that's talking about geckos. Maybe many people don't think that this little life is anything terrible, and even catch it alive and play with it. But in Chinese tradition, the gecko is one of the five poisons! So, do you know where it is?
Magical geckos
Geckos are a kind of reptilian animals, scaly, gecko family, their body is small, generally only a few centimeters to more than ten centimeters long, most of them can be placed on the palm of the hand.
Geckos come in a variety of body colors, common ones are gray, brown, etc., and some have spots or stripes, and these colors can help them camouflage and protect themselves in different environments.
Geckos have large eyes with bright pupils that can be seen clearly at night, as they are mostly nocturnal animals, hiding in tree holes, stone crevices or under eaves during the day, and only come out at night to forage and move.
The most amazing feature of geckos is their toes, which have five fingers spread apart like the palm of a human hand, and can walk freely on various surfaces, even hanging upside down from the ceiling, just like Spider-Man.
This is because they have tiny hair-like structures on their toes, called nanohairs, which can use van der Waals forces and capillary action to create an attractive force with the molecules of various substances, thus achieving adhesion.
In this way, geckos can crawl freely on various materials such as walls, glass, wood, metal, etc., in search of food or to evade enemies.
Their diet is mainly small insects, such as mosquitoes, flies, moths, etc., which can be quickly caught and swallowed with their tongues, and for humans, helping to eradicate pests and reduce the spread of diseases is a great benefit.
Another amazing feature of geckos is their tails, which can break off on their own and regenerate, a kind of adaptive evolution of self-preservation.
When geckos are in danger, such as being bitten by a predator or caught by a human, they wag their tails vigorously to break them off from the cartilage septum and run away.
The severed tail will continue to writhe, attracting the attention of predators and giving geckos time to escape.
This behavior is called self-cutting in zoology. However, geckos do not dock their tails at random, they will choose the right angle and position according to the situation, so that the energy consumption of the tail is minimized and the regeneration efficiency is the highest.
After docking, the gecko's tail will slowly grow, but the regenerated tail will not be exactly the same as the original tail, because the tail is completely made of cartilage and connective tissue, without nerves and bones, and the color and shape may also vary. Such a tail is not perfect, but it is enough for the gecko to continue to survive.
Why is gecko also one of the "five poisons"?
In traditional Chinese culture, five animals, the centipede, poisonous snake, scorpion, gecko and toad, are classified as the five poisons, and they are believed to be poisonous and ferocious, capable of harming humans and animals, and even deadly.
Therefore, every Dragon Boat Festival, people will take various ways to avoid the threat of these animals, such as pasting the five poison maps, eating five poison cakes, drinking realgar wine, etc., all to pray for peace and avoid evil.
It is true that the gecko is counted among the five poisons, which is a bit wronged. They are not inherently toxic and pose no threat to humans or livestock. On the contrary, they can also help to get rid of some nasty pests, which is a very beneficial animal. But why is it classified as one of the five poisons? There are several reasons.
First of all, gecko's body fluids are irritating to the human body. Their urine and semen contain special chemicals that can cause irritation and inflammation and even cause blindness, deafness or ulcers if they come into contact with a person's eyes, ears or skin. Therefore, the ancients believed that geckos were poisonous in their body fluids, so they should not be touched or eaten.
Secondly, geckos may have parasites or germs in their bodies, and if humans eat geckos by mistake or are bitten, they may be infected with some diseases, such as malaria, typhoid, hepatitis, roundworms, etc.
Therefore, the ancients felt that geckos were harmful and should be kept away or eliminated. Finally, the gecko's tail shutting behavior was also very strange in the eyes of the ancients. Because the severed tail can still move on the ground.
Moreover, the gecko's tail can grow again, which is a manifestation of their strong vitality in the eyes of modern people. But in the eyes of the ancients, this regenerative ability is tantamount to demonic evil, so it needs to be careful or reverent.
Cute geckos
In addition to the common wild geckos, there are also some species that can be kept as pets because of their cute or beautiful appearance. Among them, the leopard gecko is a very popular species.
The spots or stripes on their bodies are bright and eye-catching, a bit like leopards. Moreover, geckos of this breed come in a variety of different variants and colors.
Although they are not very large, generally only 15 to 25 centimeters long, their tails are quite beautiful, more than half the length of their bodies. Moreover, they also have a long lifespan, which can live up to 15 to 20 years.
Keeping leopard geckos is not a hassle, and they don't require special light or heating. As long as they are provided with the right temperature and humidity, and equipped with a clean and comfortable terrarium, they can be healthy and happy.
Their diet consists mainly of a variety of live insects, such as crickets, wax worms, and earthworms. Of course, care needs to be taken to add calcium powder and vitamins to them to prevent malnutrition or skeletal deformities.
There is also Shougu, an ancient and mysterious gecko that dates back to the Cretaceous period more than 100 million years ago and is known as a "living fossil".
They display distinctive black and white stripes, a head with large eyes, and a rather short tail, some of which are none. They are relatively small, usually only 8 to 12 centimeters long, but they can enjoy a lifespan of about 10 years.
However, it is not an easy task to maintain the palace. They have high environmental requirements, requiring a warm and dry living environment, as well as adequate space and shelter.
Morinomiya do not like to be disturbed or touched, and when they feel disturbed or injured, they will make a high-pitched cry or whip their enemies with their tails.
For food, they feed mainly on small insects such as ants, mosquitoes and fruit flies. During the maintenance process, fresh water needs to be provided regularly and the terrarium needs to be cleaned to avoid the growth of bacteria or parasites.
epilogue
The presence of geckos reminds us that life is diverse and magical. In the process of exploring nature, we can not only learn more knowledge, but also cultivate a sense of respect and protection for ecological balance.
Perhaps, it is this rational cognition that allows us to live in harmony with creatures like geckos and build a better natural world together.
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