Are Typical Thai "Tokay" Lizards Dangerous? If not, then WHY are people so afraid of them?

[Acharn]

There's a fascinating book by a Prince Damrong Rajanubhab, one of Rama V's half brothers, who was very important in reorganizing the Thai government along modern lines. The title in Thai, phonetically according to the American way of reading the Latin alphabet, is Nithan Boraan Kadi. I find it hard to translate, because elsewhere Boraan Kadi means Archeology, but I suppose it might be "Tales from Long Ago." It's kind of a memoir, and one of the stories is about a trip he made to Nakhorn Sri Thammarat when there was a man-eating tiger killing people down there. Anyway, he had the same question, why are Thais afraid of Dhokhae. This was in the 1890s, mind you, and he was not able to find a reason. There is no case recorded of anybody ever being hospitalized due to the bite on one of them. Eventually one of the natives down there just kind of shrugged and said maybe the ones they have, living in the jungle, are different from the ones living in farmland around the Capitol. You know, there's also a superstition that if one of the little JingJoks chatters at you ("greets you") as you're leaving the house, you are going to meet disaster, so you should not go out. A little bit like having a black cat cross your path, I guess.

Edited July 24, 2021 by Acharn

[Kanada]

48 minutes ago, toofarnorth said:

I hate even the look of them , almost a natural instinct , the millipedes I can pick up and full grown ones I will ride my pushbike round, Here's one I met earlier. But is the other pic half a millipede ?

The second picture is a very neat little guy ….100 legs that almost seem to move around him but if you scare him he’ll roll into a perfect armored circle like a marble and wait for you to go away.

You find them laying on the ground all rolled up in a ball because they heard you coming. Take him to a flat spot and give him some space and he’ll unroll and start moving…he’s almost like a hovercraft somehow!

About 1 1/2 “ long …maybe 2”s…I’ve seen a dozen or so now that I know what to look for….very shiny

[Kanada]

44 minutes ago, chilli42 said:

These are they lizards I I really stay well away from.  Nose to tail, this guy is close to 2 meters long.

Water monitor I think….they get really big but not particularly dangerous in a way where they look for trouble.

 

[MayBeNow]

1 hour ago, chilli42 said:

These are they lizards I I really stay well away from.  Nose to tail, this guy is close to 2 meters long.

They are so cool!!! In 2010 i was traveling for a few weeks on Borneo. On Sapi island of Kota Kinabalu there is a very nice little beach with dozens of fat 2 meter monitor lizards roaming around. I made a ton of close ups, no clue were i stored them. To my ignorant surprise the lizards were very 'mellow', just looking around for food scraps, not threatening at all, which i thought they would be. 

Edited July 24, 2021 by MayBeNow

[canthai55]

Millipede - OK

Centipede - No Way

We have both in our garden, along with black scorpions

Friend in Korat has a King Cobra living under his house - no problems with dogs coming into the yard !

[pacovl46]

12 hours ago, GammaGlobulin said:

OK...  but...  as I mentioned...

 

a.  Duke

b. Jinjok

 

Two types.

 

OBVIOUSLY, the Jinjok will never bite you, obviously.

 

However, the Duke, when they get quite large, then one might think they have some potential to bite.

 

SO....then why are all my Thai friends so fearful of them????  They must know more than I do about this.

 

The reason I ask this question is because....  In this past, I had always been quite pleased to have them around me, while I was outside studying at night.  However, after listening to so many "stories" from my Thai friends, who should know, then I have become somewhat fearful of these lizards, as well.

 

HOWEVER, if I could be sure that my original thinking about these lizards is correct, that they are just very beautiful and pose no risk to me...then...I could just go back to being more comfortable with having these creatures around me, and enjoying their presence. 

 

This is the reason for my original question.

 

Such beautiful animals, as I guess anyone should be able to easily see.  So, maybe it is a local sort of myth that they might pose risk, if one were to just study with them, at night.

 

Tks for your reply.

 First of all, the name is tokay gecko. Secondly, due to their large head they have quite the jaw muscles and therefore a powerful bite that will cause immediate bleeding. They’re also aggressive and territorial. Now I’m not saying it will come after you, but if cornered it will definitely defend itself. If you take into consideration how some people freak out about much smaller lizards and geckos, it shouldn’t come as a surprise that people don’t want that fairly large gecko hanging from their fingers and are afraid of it. Then there’s the fact that any animal bite has quite the potential to get infected, which in the days of yonder where antibiotics weren’t available, yet, might have caused some people to lose a finger, which would have definitely contributed to people being afraid of them. 

 

Having said that, if you leave them alone there’s really no reason to be afraid of them at all!

 

 

Edited July 24, 2021 by pacovl46

[rwill]

What I have heard is if they do bite you they don't like to let go.  I have been rather close to them with no problem, within a foot or so.  But I imagine if they feel threatened with no easy escape they are going defend themselves.

[siftasam]

These guys are nice.

 

U to 8-10 inches. Thank God Thailand is not Vietnam!

[siftasam]

 

Us soldiers in Vietnam War. Picture on the left is reckoned to be 'fake' (forced perspective).

 

Is the one on the right real?

 

Thank God Vietnam is a million miles away from Thailand!

 

 

[Kanada]

39 minutes ago, siftasam said:

These guys are nice.

 

U to 8-10 inches. Thank God Thailand is not Vietnam!

Sorry but lots of these in Thailand ????  We have them here in Samoeng

[flexomike]

8 hours ago, IvorBiggun2 said:

I caught this a couple of months ago. A young Tokay probably undergoing its first skin shedding. It was hiding under the microwave.

My buddies

[Gandtee]

When they are threatened they open their mouths in a wide gape which is red inside, as if ready to attack.. I have them on my house and most evenings when I close the windows due to the threat of rain there is one that I have to nudge off. A local told my wife that a Tokay bit the end of her young daughters finger off. True? I don't know, but I'd be wary about trying to catch one. I like them. My wife hates them. snakes like them too. I watched a Golden Tree snake devouring one that had discarded its tail. The snake then ate the tail which was still twitching Obviously the Tokay's defense mechanism didn't work..????

[flexomike]

2 minutes ago, flexomike said:

My buddies

 

[Kanada]

9 minutes ago, Gandtee said:

When they are threatened they open their mouths in a wide gape which is red inside, as if ready to attack.. I have them on my house and most evenings when I close the windows due to the threat of rain there is one that I have to nudge off. A local told my wife that a Tokay bit the end of her young daughters finger off. True? I don't know, but I'd be wary about trying to catch one. I like them. My wife hates them. snakes like them too. I watched a Golden Tree snake devouring one that had discarded its tail. The snake then ate the tail which was still twitching Obviously the Tokay's defense mechanism didn't work..????

Our two year old Bangkaew pup loves to chase lizards of any kind but doesn’t seem to like the taste so she usually ends up with just the tail!

What few nervous and tail-less lizards are left the cats get but no one eats them…the dog rolls on them and the cats torture them and deposit at the back door.

we are a couple km’s from closest neighbour so the decision for them to move is a tough one!

Haven’t heard a tokay calling for couple of weeks 

Edited July 24, 2021 by Kanada

[Thingamabob]

They do much more good than harm. Can't find a Thai who can explain why they are disliked by so many people here. Nothing like as many in East Asia as, for example, in West Africa. Personally I value them and I enjoy having them around.

 

[BE88]

Also very resistant, I had one that had taken refuge in the external air conditioner, I had heard some strange knocks that came then opened it and I found one inside that you could not decide to go out then with a broom I let it out then my cat I picked it up and brought it inside as a new release and now it is quietly on the outside wall in the meantime my cat has disappeared.

[Stevemercer]

11 hours ago, GammaGlobulin said:

Which reminds me:

 

Although I have never been bitten by the Tokay,

 

Several months ago, while eating Kao Pad Gai late at night at a streetside food vendor, I was bitten on the toe by a rat.

 

Just a small bite, and only a tiny drop of blood.

 

However, I did visit Ram Hospital, just to seek medical advice.

 

I had thought that, normally, a rat bite should not be cause for concern.

 

And so, I was rather surprised when the doctor at Ram told me that I must have a series of Rabies vaccinations.  Fortunately, the hospital had a good supply.

 

Rodents (rats) don't carry rabies. Maybe the hospital was being super cautious. Reptiles don't carry rabies of course. Their poos sometimes have salmonella (gecko poo can drop into cold foods left in open bowls/plates from the ceiling and cause food poisoning.

 

I was bitten by a Tokey once. It was a hard pinch, but didn't break the skin on this occasion). It let go after a few minutes. Tokey don't have much stamina and are easy to catch if they don't have a hidey hole nearby. They are surprisingly strong and twisty and can latch on even when you grab them by the body.

Edited July 24, 2021 by Stevemercer

[IvorBiggun2]

15 minutes ago, Thingamabob said:

Can't find a Thai who can explain why they are disliked by so many people here.

Google is yer friend.

 

 

Quote

 

Superstition About Tokays

A number of superstitious Thais believe that big house geckos are reincarnations of their grandparents, who have come to protect them. If a tokay makes sound during the day, it's a warning that bad luck may come to one of the family members who lives in the house.

 

 

[Aforek]

Speaking of centipedes, I have seen a video on Youtube, of a woman ( don't remember the country, but somewhere in South east Asia ) , who, naked feet, was searching centipèdes in the ground, to eat them;  many in the grass :  in one second she catched them, not afraid, smiling , and put them in a basket ( a lot of them already in the basket ) ; very impressive !

[Bangkok Barry]

I've had a group of them living in a space at the back of the house between an outdoor cupboard - one of those silver metal things with lethal edges on the doors - and the wall. They've been there for years, with numbers varying from two to five. Interesting that when it gets cold in the winter they disappear until it warms up, obviously finding somewhere warmer and possibly inside the house.

 

We do often find one in the house and we try to get them out, mostly because I'm afraid they won't find anything to eat. Sometimes we manage to catch, sometimes not. I find them far less obtrusive than the more common jing joks, because they never sh** down the walls as the others do. Easy to clear up after them.

But yes, you really don't want them to bite you. It's usually my wife who, if we can't chase them out with a broom, manages to pick them up using a small towel and holding their neck. They don't like it and hiss loudly while she returns it to the great outdoors.

[DrPhibes]

1 hour ago, siftasam said:

These guys are nice.

 

U to 8-10 inches. Thank God Thailand is not Vietnam!

That's not a centipede (knife), THAT's a CENTIPEDE

 

 

Edited July 24, 2021 by DrPhibes
grammer

[IvorBiggun2]

 

[toofarnorth]

58 minutes ago, Stevemercer said:

Rodents (rats) don't carry rabies. Maybe the hospital was being super cautious. Reptiles don't carry rabies of course. Their poos sometimes have salmonella (gecko poo can drop into cold foods left in open bowls/plates from the ceiling and cause food poisoning.

 

I was bitten by a Tokey once. It was a hard pinch, but didn't break the skin on this occasion). It let go after a few minutes. Tokey don't have much stamina and are easy to catch if they don't have a hidey hole nearby. They are surprisingly strong and twisty and can latch on even when you grab them by the body.

Your last sentence , outside before bedtime I go for a look round and quite often a Tokay will be coming down the wall , I could grab one but not worth the risk of a bite.

[Skeptic7]

there are several reasons why you don’t want to get bitten by your Tokay gecko.

It hurts. It’s not that painful but it hurts. A full grown Tokay gecko has a powerful jaw and it holds tightly on your skin. Usually, they won’t let go of the bite unless you submerge them in water. Pulling them off your skin will only cause the gecko to bite harder. So if you’re holding your gecko and it bit you, loosen your grip and relax. They can feel it. So if they feel that there is no longer a threat, they would let go voluntarily. A gecko’s bite is hard enough to draw blood in your skin.

 

Above excerpted from:

 

https://tokaygeckoguide.com/why-you-dont-want-to-get-bitten-by-a-tokay-gecko/1603/

Edited July 24, 2021 by Skeptic7

[ericthai]

13 hours ago, sezze said:

Salmonella vs rabies , not at all the same beast . Rabies you die , salmonella you go toilet . And US and healthcare are a joke , 1200b a piece in Europe would be crazy expensive.

I wouldn't say healthcare in the USA is a joke, I found the care to be excellent! However. very very expensive!! (even with insurance)

[DBath]

3 hours ago, Gandtee said:

When they are threatened they open their mouths in a wide gape which is red inside, as if ready to attack.. I have them on my house and most evenings when I close the windows due to the threat of rain there is one that I have to nudge off. A local told my wife that a Tokay bit the end of her young daughters finger off. True? I don't know, but I'd be wary about trying to catch one. I like them. My wife hates them. snakes like them too. I watched a Golden Tree snake devouring one that had discarded its tail. The snake then ate the tail which was still twitching Obviously the Tokay's defense mechanism didn't work..????

There's a video (I'll see if I can find it) of a Tokay getting the better of an argument with a golden tree snake. The snake ends up all bloody and dead.

[JonnyF]

2 hours ago, Thingamabob said:

They do much more good than harm. Can't find a Thai who can explain why they are disliked by so many people here. Nothing like as many in East Asia as, for example, in West Africa. Personally I value them and I enjoy having them around.

 

What good do they do? Serious question by the way. I can understand why they are disliked. I've found all they do is wake me up in the middle of the night with their incessant DToooKaaeee noises and leave big poo deposits everywhere. They can also make you jump out of your skin during a 3am trip to the toilet. Plus they are no doubt crawling all over anything that's left out to dry at night like cutlery etc.

 

I also believe that they are very attractive to snakes, therefore bringing even bigger critters to the house. 

 

What are the positives? 

[DBath]

40 minutes ago, ericthai said:

I wouldn't say healthcare in the USA is a joke, I found the care to be excellent! However. very very expensive!! (even with insurance)

I grew up in the US, I'm 65 now...between the commercialization of care, medical malpractice law suits, big pharma continuously pushing the latest drugs, less than stellar care I received from doctors and nurses who thought they knew my body better than I did, infections from blood draws by inept staff, them trying to make a research project out of my youngest son who was born with meconium asperation - oh, and recommending heart surgery to my aunt who passed away during the procedure last year... Is it any wonder why I hold a very dim view of the medical profession/industry? 

 

Medicine in the US has become so commercialized that doctors make way less money than I did as a management consultant. They're afraid to prescribe and diagnose for fear of being taken to court and tend to offer little more than "drink plenty of fluids and get plenty of rest". I realize these are people who attend way more college and endure tons of stress over the course of their profession, but seriously?

 

I expect so much more.

[sawadee1947]

21 hours ago, GammaGlobulin said:

, I have never seen one come inside my house.

My own experience: they like to stay with you in one room! 

And they are not easy to catch. 

I got a local, he grabbed him behind his head. 

But I can't tell you about the taste.. ????

[sawadee1947]

20 hours ago, RichardColeman said:

Have these near my house, never seen an animal move so fast

You should have seen me after my last encounter when the husband came home. ..????????????