Tookay - The Rudest Creature Alive!

[Bill97]

They have a nasty bite. Leave them alone and they will leave you alone. When confronted they generally retreat. Just be careful if you try to grab one. No need to get hostile.

[T_Dog]

Ooh! Do they bite? We have several that live in our ceiling, but I've always had a tender harmless regard for them. If they bite though, I might be more hostile...

If they do bite you, there is a good chance they will not let go immediately. Try not to panic and take them somewhere where you can force them underwater, like a fish pool or toilet bowl. They will let go right away. (That's what the locals tell me anyway.) If that doesn't work, try beating them to a leathery pulp.

[Daffy D]

I don't understand why the OP thinks the Tokay's are saying "<deleted> you - <deleted> you!! - Does he perhaps have bilingual Tokay's and being the clever little creatures they are express themselves in English for his benefit, though I can't see this being any benefit to attracting local Tokay ladies unless they too are bilingual.

[eek]

Would really like to save that Tookay sound to my pc, but I only have the free general quicktime player which wont let me. Any one know of another option? Tnx

edit..im an idiot. I just worked it out. Saved to pc now. Doh!...

Edited April 25, 2009 by eek

[sceadugenga]

The little guys are fairly keen on a bit of mating as well.

[eek]

Hmm..I recall seeing an advert which had tookay love in it...

..ill have a hunt around youtube.

[eek]

Found it! (not a tookay tho..but anyway..):

[Heng]

How to get rid of them? I have them living under the stairs (wooden) of an old building we own. A way to catch and release would be preferred, not terminate.

In confined spaces it is hard. Pin them against a wall with a piece of bamboo, grab them behind the head so they can not bite you, bag them and release far far from your place or they will return. If they are in a confined space, try to draw them out at night with a light on a wall. They often come out to feed on bugs attracted to lights.

You can also get them to move around by prodding with a piece of bamboo to get them to where you can pin them down or try the noose on a pole previously mentioned on this thread. Sometimes folks just grab them.

Some Thai villagers will catch them for you but usually eat rather than release.

Thanks. Looks like I'll have to go with glue traps then.

[Ulysses G.]

I don't understand why the OP thinks the Tokay's are saying "<deleted> you - <deleted> you!!

If you read about Vietnam, the GIs always called them, "<deleted> you lizards". The first time I ever heard one in Samui, I thought that was a human being yelling, "<deleted> you ", in the middle of the night, but when it continued, I realized that it was one of the famous "<deleted> you lizards", underneath my bungalow.

I have always been told that the small ones (Geckos) are not the same species. Is this not correct?

Edited April 25, 2009 by Ulysses G.

[Bill97]

Thanks. Looks like I'll have to go with glue traps then.

Let us know if that works. I have tried rat glue from a can a few years ago but never caught the tookay in it and I placed it in a couple of his favorite spots.

Edited April 25, 2009 by Bill97

[rrose070]

Tookay Sally, Tookay Sam, something something something in Tookay land...

It's definitely mating season. Caught 2 geckos at it this morning...

[helitool]

For those of you who want to get rid of tookays an ounce of prevention is worth a ton of cure. First close up all of the holes that they might make a home in. If this is not feasible and the perp has a favorite hole that he always darts into when you chase him do the following.

1. get a pair of those fake sleeves the Thais wear to cover their arms that can be removed like gloves when they go inside out of the sun.

2. sew their big ends together and tie a knot in one end.

3 wait until the tookay is out doing his thing and use a stick to push the sleeves all the way into his hole.

4. Staple or tape the open end of the sleeve to the edges of the hole.

5. chase tookay back into his hole and tie a knot in the open end of the sleeve.

6. Pull the tookay up to the opening and leave the rest of the sleeve dangling outside the hole.

7 eventually he will crawl out into the outside part of the sleeve and the sleeve will drop to the floor with him inside.

8. Take him a minimum of 2 kilometers from your house before releasing.

This works very well as long as the hole is large enough to accommodate the sleeves. If not go to Rimping Market (if you are in CM) and get a package of the 10" Square plastic glue trays for mice and use two sided mirror tape to tape one of these outside his hole so that he has to step on it when leaving it. Unfortunately the glue on these traps is not water soluble and since lizards absorb chemicals through their skin very quickly using solvent to release the tookay will probably kill him.

[sceadugenga]

The trouble is they're territorial and always making moves on some other guys turf, so if one disappears his neighbor immediately moves in.

[chiangmaioldhand]

Not surprisingly for this forum, most of the replies have ended up about how to KILL these essentially harmless and useful mosquito-eating creatures.

   My only question is how did they come into being?

   How could being rude be beneficial to 'survival of the species'? How could '<deleted> you' have become a mating call? If you are a believer in Evolution then there must be a logical explanation.

   I wanted to ask my vicar but I am too afraid of my local Tookays playing up whilst we're sipping tea to invite him around, so maybe some of my fellow believers could answer my question from the Creationist viewpoint?

    By the way, if you don't know, don't use the standard cop out of ' The Lord moves in mysterious ways'. I don't buy that one. I am having a crisis of faith so useful answers only, please.

Edited April 25, 2009 by chiangmaioldhand

[Thaddeus]

Isn't the bigger question, how did they learn to be profane in English?

[Rasseru]

My question is this .. why would a creature have such an offensive call?

If you are a Creationist then you would have to question the motives of a Superior Being creating such a hideous foul-mouthed beast and if you believe in Evolution you would still have difficulty in explaining how such rudeness could increase your odds of survival - quite the opposite, I'd have thought?

Any ideas or theories?

No, a Creationist would not have to do any such thing as question the motive of God in creating a hideous foul-mouthed beast. God, being God, has an infinitely broad sense of humour, one that encompasses even the most wacky jocularity, and the tookay is simply one more manifestation of that.

Edited April 26, 2009 by Rasseru

[sbk]

Couple of tokay things to add here. First off, they are very useful creatures eating cockroaches, beetles and mice, yes mice! We had a good sized tokay eat a mouse. Go Tokay!

Secondly, I was always of the understanding that the Tokay is saying 'tup gay" which means "old liver" as there is a belief that when a tokay gets old a small snake will enter the tokay's mouth and eats part of his liver. He then regenerates a new liver. Nice trick, I'd like to see that one

And finally, a tokay story.

One of our friends was staying at a resort in Samui when he heard some drunk tourist come back in the early hours next door. The tokay called and the tourist came out and yelled "<deleted> you too" and went back in his room. Little bit later, Mr Tokay calls again and the man comes out and yells "I know you are out there and I am not afraid of you, <deleted> you too!" This went on for the rest of the evening. Tourist checks out the next day complaining about these Thai guys he'd had a problem with following him back to his resort and shouting "<deleted> you" at his bungalow all night.

Most sober people who are new to Thailand think its a bird

[eek]

Was listening carefully the sound last night, but still couldnt apply "<deleted> you" to it. At a push I could maybe interpret it to be, just ever so slightly, a <deleted> you in a strained, high-pitched, Liverpudlian accent.

Loved the resort story tho. Funny.

Edited April 26, 2009 by eek

[Texpat]

I take great pleasure in pulverizing the harmless little shits into a greenish puddle of goo -- after they've interupted my sleep over a period of months.

They remind me of a certain subset of TV posters. Never know when to <deleted>.

[Gonzo the Face]

Gecks == Tookay == Iguana == Komodo Dragon

Next time you have the urge to swat a gecko,,,,,, remember there is always a bigger relative

You see the size of the one who inhabits the Book store.?????

My Pet

Edited April 26, 2009 by Gonzo the Face

[Blinky Bill]

Leave the little guys alone. They're harmless apart from a little noise.

What's wrong with you guys from the vast wilderness of foreign realms. A little lizard over there pissed on you're Cornflakes?

[dave2]

blinkey bill.

nahh...... coz i keep my cornflakes bowl in the fridge overnight

enjoy .... dave2

[Rasseru]

. . . you're Cornflakes . . .

Yeah, well, you're just a pile of muesli!