tim armstrong Posted May 18, 2011 Share Posted May 18, 2011 We have several resident 'tookays' around our house and nearby trees. One has taken to scaring the life out of a paying guest by attaching itself to the outside wall of his cabin and making its mating call in full on, drawn out Pavarotti style 'singing'. At other times it sounds like it's saying 'f--- off'. Someone else some weeks ago made the same observation. We don't think this is a devious plot by jealous neighbours, but we would like to know how to get rid of it. It's hard to locate at night and probably even harder to catch. All suggestions appreciated. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
F1fanatic Posted May 18, 2011 Share Posted May 18, 2011 (edited) Why would you want to get rid of it? They're lovely animals and their 'fuc_k you' call always makes me laugh! I speak as someone who has many around her house, and enjoy them. Edit - Explain to the guest that its just a gekko - nothing that he needs to be afraid of..... Edited May 18, 2011 by F1fanatic Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mrjlh Posted May 18, 2011 Share Posted May 18, 2011 You mean you want to get rid of one of these beautiful critters? They eat a lot more than you think. Bet you don't have a lot of cockroaches around. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mrtoad Posted May 18, 2011 Share Posted May 18, 2011 I'm sure I know someone who once claimed that they had the ability to talk to Tookays I'll need to find their number, and I'll PM you Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Atmos Posted May 18, 2011 Share Posted May 18, 2011 we have one that lives in the garage - it's an echo chamber and amplifies the too-kay to quite a volume. Maybe we should pay him as 'security' - has scared me a few times. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
F1fanatic Posted May 18, 2011 Share Posted May 18, 2011 (edited) we have one that lives in the garage - it's an echo chamber and amplifies the too-kay to quite a volume. Maybe we should pay him as 'security' - has scared me a few times. Know what you mean. I have a water tower about 5 metres from my bedroom, and there's a 'family' of tookays there. I assume the adult gets out and about before calling (I hear them frequently), but one of the kids has just discovered their voice... V funny as its high pitched and echos in the water tower. Edit - by the way - mrjih is right, I haven't seen any cockroaches! Mind you, every now and again I get a fright when I get up (half asleep) and almost put my hand on my 'kitchen tookay when turning on the light'! Edited May 18, 2011 by F1fanatic Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dean999 Posted May 18, 2011 Share Posted May 18, 2011 My wife says your house is lucky if you have them. I asked her if people eat them; should of seen her face. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
F1fanatic Posted May 18, 2011 Share Posted May 18, 2011 My wife says your house is lucky if you have them. I asked her if people eat them; should of seen her face. Not only do they eat them, but they are v expensive! You should know better, the Thais eat EVERYTHING. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jimbeam1 Posted May 18, 2011 Share Posted May 18, 2011 My wife says your house is lucky if you have them. I asked her if people eat them; should of seen her face. Not only do they eat them, but they are v expensive! You should know better, the Thais eat EVERYTHING. I think I have a recipe somewhere. jb1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
F1fanatic Posted May 18, 2011 Share Posted May 18, 2011 My wife says your house is lucky if you have them. I asked her if people eat them; should of seen her face. Not only do they eat them, but they are v expensive! You should know better, the Thais eat EVERYTHING. I think I have a recipe somewhere. jb1 Yum, gorgeous with chillis.... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tonto21 Posted May 18, 2011 Share Posted May 18, 2011 (edited) I think there great, for a while when I first got here I thought the f…..u call was a bird. I have three around my house and bungalow; they each have their own sound, style and intensity. The three at my house are OK, not to loud, but at my friend's house they have one who, we think has invested in a megaphone to get his point across, he must be massive. Edited May 18, 2011 by Tonto21 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
F1fanatic Posted May 18, 2011 Share Posted May 18, 2011 I think there great, for a while when I first got here Ithought the f…..u call was a bird. I have three aroundmy house and bungalow; they each have their own sound, style and intensity. Thethree at my house are OK, not to loud, but at my friend's house they have onewho, we think has invested in a megaphone to get his point across, he must bemassive. I used to have a v loud tookay next to my house, but I haven't heard him for a while - I suspect the Thais have 'had' him for a meal . Fortunately, I've still a couple left that hang around inside the house and I've learned not to turn my outside lights on.... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rgs2001uk Posted May 18, 2011 Share Posted May 18, 2011 My wife says your house is lucky if you have them. I asked her if people eat them; should of seen her face. Not only do they eat them, but they are v expensive! You should know better, the Thais eat EVERYTHING. A few weeks ago a taxi driver offered me 30,000 baht for the one in the house, and yes it was headed for the cooking pot. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
F1fanatic Posted May 18, 2011 Share Posted May 18, 2011 My wife says your house is lucky if you have them. I asked her if people eat them; should of seen her face. Not only do they eat them, but they are v expensive! You should know better, the Thais eat EVERYTHING. A few weeks ago a taxi driver offered me 30,000 baht for the one in the house, and yes it was headed for the cooking pot. I hope you told him to 'go away' or more offensive words to that effect! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Macx Posted May 18, 2011 Share Posted May 18, 2011 Ask around the village. There usually is someone who will be glad to get rid of them for you. They either sell them or raise them at their own house. The nose at the end of a pole is the usual method for catching them. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
F1fanatic Posted May 18, 2011 Share Posted May 18, 2011 Ask around the village. There usually is someone who will be glad to get rid of them for you. They either sell them or raise them at their own house. The nose at the end of a pole is the usual method for catching them. Great. In the few years I've been here I've noticed that the tookays are not as populous. I've no doubt that they will soon join the other species here that are non-existent. Its obviously better to kill them off rather than explain to the guests that they are just a big gekko. There used to be monitor lizards here (your guests would have been terrified )- now they are few and far between. I fear the tookay is heading the same way.... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tutsiwarrior Posted May 18, 2011 Share Posted May 18, 2011 (edited) I had my first encounter with a tookay in a south Jakarta bar/restaurant in Ciputat in 1993...minding my own business per usual and drinking beer he emerged from under the thatched awning with the '<deleted> you' call...I thought: 'hmm; a disrespectful lizard, what will they think of next?'... 10 years later, I settled in rural Thailand and every evening a lizard emerged announcing himself with the familiar call and I was compelled to engage him in conversation: 'if it is true that this is a '<deleted> you' arrangement please explain your reasons so that I can make a meaningful contribution'...'<deleted> you, <deleted> you...'...'um, yes; I admit that there is no merit to the US invasion of Iraq...' etc... he's been gone for about a year now and I miss him... Edited May 18, 2011 by tutsiwarrior Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tw25rw Posted May 18, 2011 Share Posted May 18, 2011 A lot have been caught for use in Chinese "medicine" over the last couple of years. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tutsiwarrior Posted May 18, 2011 Share Posted May 18, 2011 A lot have been caught for use in Chinese "medicine" over the last couple of years. those that slaughter for medicinal purposes that endanger species should face the same death and analytical scrutiny...with prejudice Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
IanForbes Posted May 18, 2011 Share Posted May 18, 2011 I like them and their call, but then I'm crazy. I also like cobras. I had a tookay on my extra pillow on the bed one night that woke me with its call. That WAS a surprise. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Beetlejuice Posted May 18, 2011 Share Posted May 18, 2011 We love the tookays. Sometimes their calls sound like peoples names we know. Any animal that chooses to make it`s home on our property is guaranteed a safe haven, including snakes. I have a Dutch acquaintance who always kills them because he says they poop all over the place. Over the last year he has been suffering from all sorts of health problems. Perhaps there is some fact in what dean999 wife says; that these reptiles do bring luck into the home and maybe will have the opposite affect on those that harm them. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Atmos Posted May 18, 2011 Share Posted May 18, 2011 mentioned 'our' one in post 5; last night remembered I had not locked up the motorbike, soon as I set foot in tookay territory his alarm went off, unsure if it was a 'hello' or a 'go-away'; maybe the time of year/season but seems a lot more vocal lately. Lonely? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
WAYNEandAEI Posted May 18, 2011 Share Posted May 18, 2011 I'm sure I know someone who once claimed that they had the ability to talk to Tookays I'll need to find their number, and I'll PM you Try calling 1800insane.. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Heng Posted May 19, 2011 Share Posted May 19, 2011 A lot have been caught for use in Chinese "medicine" over the last couple of years. those that slaughter for medicinal purposes that endanger species should face the same death and analytical scrutiny...with prejudice Are they endangered? Some guy cleared our antiques warehouse of them a year or so ago for 3,000 to 5,000 Baht each (depending on size and weight). Some new ones have since moved in in their place. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jackr Posted May 19, 2011 Share Posted May 19, 2011 Amazing creatures, and no they're not endangered and are spread far and wide, both in the jungle and in the human habitat. The Chinese only have the big uns for medicinal purposes, though they also take the little ones, eviscerate them, dry em and eat em. On the call, they only do it at a certain time of the year, which is now, when the girls are on heat and also to ward off other males in the area at this time. At any other time the males like to be on their own. Leave em be, op; they won't do you any harm and won't call all year. They have a bugger of a bite but won't use it on you arbitrarily unless you try to corner one, and then only as a last resort if it can't escape. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Heng Posted May 19, 2011 Share Posted May 19, 2011 Yeah, I didn't have an issue with them personally, although I did have an issue with their rather large piles of excrement all over the warehouse. Yes they were eating insects, but they were doing this outside the warehouse, again, not a problem, and them coming inside to live and crap everywhere. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tim armstrong Posted May 19, 2011 Author Share Posted May 19, 2011 Thanks everyone for the replies. I don't have an issue with tookays either, and this is our first guest that has. He has taken to wearing earplugs, which seems to help a bit. I have explained that the f--- you is not personal, so he's Ok about that. Curiously he was more concerned about the tookay than by our itinerant resident monkey that we've renamed Morris Laden because of his very occasional raids into the kitchen looking for fruit. FIL's dog scared him off recently while he was doing us a favour by nonchalantly munching flying ants in the garden. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
seriouseats Posted May 19, 2011 Share Posted May 19, 2011 Anything that makes sure i have 0 spider in my home is welcome to shit on me and scream as long as it wants all night. These little geiko's are a <deleted> gift for heaven. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dean999 Posted May 19, 2011 Share Posted May 19, 2011 (edited) My wife says your house is lucky if you have them. I asked her if people eat them; should of seen her face. Not only do they eat them, but they are v expensive! You should know better, the Thais eat EVERYTHING. I was wrong about Tookay. I was talking with the wife about this subject last night and I relised i was talking about gegkoo's, not tookay's. I have spelt that wrong i think. Anyway, lots of people eat Tookay but she says its bad luck to eat gegkoo's and good luck to have them in your house. Edited May 19, 2011 by dean999 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mrjohndub Posted May 19, 2011 Share Posted May 19, 2011 Used to have monitor lizards? Hell, I've got at least 3-4 within a stone's throw of my home. And I live in a mid-sized city...one's a about as big as a car. They're not scared of people at all. Was eating at a restaurant by the khlong once, looked down, and there was one just chilling out. Scared me to death. Tokay geckos are totally cool in my book. But, as someone mentioned, they will bite and nothing will make them let go. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
.png.3b3332cc2256ad0edbc2fe9404feeef0.png)
Recommended Posts
Create an account or sign in to comment
You need to be a member in order to leave a comment
Create an account
Sign up for a new account in our community. It's easy!
Register a new accountSign in
Already have an account? Sign in here.
Sign In Now