How to Evict a Gecko from the Toilet

Today was a pretty normal Saturday, except for the gecko in the toilet. When I woke up this morning, there he was in the ensuite. Not a teensy little gecko either.

BTW, many bathrooms in Mexico don't use toilet seats. My guest bath has one, if you come to visit! And yes, I have another bathroom, so was able to leave the little guy in peace until help arrived.

Marissa came early to help set up the Dog Agility Club equipment. Ha ha. Little did she know there was a gecko to evict. Luckily she's a vet student, and I was hopeful she could help. She did help, sort of, eventually. She also said that if it had been a frog, she'd have run screaming. Evidently, Marissa is not going to be a frog vet.

We had a large empty yogurt container ready, but the little guy took one look at us and high tailed it up into the air pocket in the turn in the tubing.

Yup.

Now, if you grab a gecko by the tail, it breaks off. No harm, no foul; he grows a new one. But you aren't going to get him out of a toilet by grabbing his tail. Flushing would be cruel, and he was big enough to block the pipes even if I was a mean gecko-flushing person. And by the way, geckos bite.

We decided to turn out the light, close the door, and hope he was gone by the time the Agility Club was over. Avoid and conquer!

The Club was totally fun, as always. One little amiguita even brought me flowers. 

She's a sweetheart, and did more than her share of putting away the equipment when we were done.

Two hours later, back to the gecko. Luckily, when we returned to the bathroom (tiptoeing) he had had enough of the pipes and was again basking in the toilet bowl.

Whew! Marissa donned gloves and made a preemptive strike!

Success!

You can't squeeze a gecko too tightly, but at the same time he's a wiggly little sucker. We raced to the front yard, battling three very interested leaping dogs. No way would the gecko have survived in the backyard.

The little guy was happier outside, and we were able to get a better look. Our own little reptile! Then Marissa put him down.

We weren't sure at this point how well he had survived the ordeal. My house is fumigated every three months  (I'm not a bug person), and we didn't know if the residual poison would have harmed him. Luckily, he was fine.

He immediately took off and ran a few meters to the edge of the grass. Whew! Mission accomplished.

I wish I could come up with some lovely Law of Attraction moral to this story. If there is one, it hasn't occurred to me. It was just a fun morning adventure that I thought you might enjoy sharing.

We're getting pretty good at this photo essay thing, eh? (I lived for 27 years in Canada, y'all!). First, how to make a practically free dog agility jump, and now how to rescue a gecko from your toilet bowl. We're the how-to gals of blogdom. And such practical stuff too!

Wishing you all a fun and gecko-free rest of the weekend! If you'd like to chat, I'm here. Any gecko adventures to share?

Check out these related posts:

• Dog Agility: Homemade and Fun!
• How to Build a $5 Dog Agility Jump in 10 Minutes