‘I didn’t even know what a reptile was’

Guelph woman’s interest in geckos became full-scale breeding operation
November 19, 2008
Rob O’Flanagan
Mercury Staff

GUELPH

What has sticky fingers, drags its belly on the floor and licks its own eyeballs?

Betty Miskie knows the answer to the riddle, and it’s not a plump bear that just dipped its paw in the honey jar.

The Guelph woman is among a growing number of local reptile fans raising geckos for fun and profit. She has several species of the popular reptile flourishing in glass tanks in the basement of her Victoria Road North home.

Her Gecko Brothel business exports the fascinating beasts across the country, and she is part of the close-knit southern Ontario gecko admiration society. Guelph is also home to Royal City Reptiles and other gecko breeders.

Miskie would probably tell you straight away that gecko appendages are not actually sticky, but rather have highly adhesive microfibres on them. Those sophisticated gripping fibres give the four-legged creature its most endearing characteristic — its ability to walk on walls and ceilings.

“This used to be a daycare,” said Miskie, as she surveyed her gecko empire — a series of stacked cages, each one furnished with a junglelike environment. In some, live grasshoppers scurry about, soon to be residents in those low-flung gecko bellies.

Miskie took time off from the daycare business when a member of her family took ill. She was familiar with geckos because her son had pleaded with her to buy one some years earlier. She reluctantly got one for him, being a bit squeamish of reptiles herself. That one gecko grew to a few, and soon Miskie was a dedicated gecko fan. When she needed an alternative source of income, she tailored her gecko hobby into a business.

“It just took over,” she said. “If someone had said to me, ‘Someday you are going to be raising reptiles in your basement,’ I would have thought that was ridiculous. I didn’t even know what a reptile was.”

Now, Miskie knows most of what there is to know about geckos, and the market for them. Ever since an American insurance company began using a personable gecko as a corporate mascot in its TV ads, the popularity of the reptiles has soared.

There are more than 1,000 species of geckos. Miskie raises just a few of those species, including the crested, viper, day, chahouas and fat-tail geckos. They range in price from roughly $60 for a bright-green day gecko to more than $500 for an especially handsome full-grown crested.

Geckos are unique among lizards in that they appear to communicate with chirping sounds in interactions with other geckos. The name gecko is derived from an Indonesian work “gekok,” which is the sound the creatures make. Most geckos have a transparent membrane over their eyes instead of eyelids, which they clean by licking.

Among the reptiles’ more original qualities is that many species expel a foul-smelling material and feces onto their aggressors. The fat-tail’s tail will actually detach when it is attacked from behind, only to grow back later.

“I generally sell to wholesalers, from British Columbia to Newfoundland,” Miskie said. “Some of those dealers sell to places as far away as Japan.”

A young friend of the family came up with the name Gecko Brothel.

“I thought it sounded pretty catchy and I went with it,” said Miskie, who has plans to set up a secondary gecko breeding operation in B.C.

roflanagan@guelphmercury.com

HEY THERE, GECKO

Costs for getting started:

A plain crested gecko costs about $75, and a glass terrarium is also about $75. Artificial plants will do to create a living environment and cost about $10 at a discount store. Real plants cost about $100. Food can be made or purchased. Insects are a staple of the diet, but a “smoothie” of blended mango, pear, banana and yogurt is a good alternative.

Gecko facts:

Most geckos are nocturnal, so are most active and most colourful at night. The reptiles generally don’t need special climate controls — room temperature will do. Their eggs don’t need incubation either. Some geckos bite. For more information visit www.geckobrothel.com.

Your new best friend – the humble gecko

Vanessa Farquharson, Weekend Post  Published: Saturday, November 01, 2008

Ever since insurance company Geico adopted a little green gecko as its mascot, this reptile has become a popular pet — and for good reason. After all, who wouldn’t want a creature that can lick its own eyeballs? Betty Miskie of Guelph, Ont., has been breeding crested and fat-tail geckos for the past six years through her company Gecko Brothel. She originally bought one for her son, but soon realized she wanted her own.

“They really grow on you,” she says. “It’s an addiction. We jokingly call it ‘Geckos Anonymous.’ Just this year, I probably produced maybe 300 to

Ranging in price from around $75 for a buckskin morph to over $500 for a red Harlequin, lizards of the family Gekkonidae can be found at exotic pet stores and specialized breeders. The average lifespan is around 15 to 20 years, depending on how well they’re taken care of — different geckos need different levels of heat and require various-sized tanks. As for food, only serve these guys live crickets and fresh produce.

“You can’t give them fruit with pesticide on it,” says Miskie, “so make sure it’s organic. I make my own mango, pear, banana and yogourt smoothies with calcium and D3 supplements.”

Keeping crickets in the house can be a pain, but according to Miskie the gecko’s quirky personality more than makes up for it.

“Some are really crazy,” Miskie says. “They’ll jump out of their tank, and they lick their own eyeballs instead of blinking. They can also stick on glass because they have lots of sticky, suction-like things on their toes.”