The Tokay

I was planning on doing a house/ neighborhood tour on the blog today but that will have to wait for another time. Something far more interesting happened this morning. I was drying my hair in our extra bedroom, as usual. After I finished, I needed to get something out of my suitcase that was stacked against the wall, which required moving them. I expected to find a bag of corn starch but instead, I found this not-so-lovely creature staring at me.

After much screaming and swatting, my roomate Kriston came to the rescue. We tried to scare it so we could trap it and let Ibu Wasti dispose of it tomorrow, but he was a fast little guy!

He ran across the room and hid behind the wardrobe. Can you spot him?

We're not quite sure where he is now, so for the time being, we opened the window for an exit route and locked the door. We called for reinforcement to make sure that he wasn't dangerous. I learned that he is a species of gecko called tokay. Although they are not poisonous, their bite is quite powerful, as their jaws lock and cannot be open. Apparently the best way to remove them is to get it to bite a stick and lock its jaw on that to take them outdoors. Alternatively, they can be fed and raised to be sold in the exotic animal market. Dealer's choice.