With Housing Limited, a Gecko and a Possum Family Became Roommates

Alex Hams was given more than he bargained for when he gave a tour to scientists and volunteers in June. The organization he manages manages the Monjebup Nature Reserve in southwestern Australia. Among the leaves, he found a small, orange-eyed lizard called a western spiny-tailed lizard.

He said that they were climbing all over each other. They were worried about the big human heads that were looking in.

He had never seen anything like it before.

After two weeks, little had changed. The mother and her babies were not just passing through. They shared a room that was eight inches deep and the same length across.

Mr. Hams was one of the people who shared the story of shared animalOccupancy on Facebook. There's a whole family of pygmy possums on your hand.

Many native Australian mammals and birds depend on the natural hollows inside the boxes for shelter. The leaves from nearby trees are used by the Pygmy Possums to build their nest. The interior design is provided by them.

Scientists were trying to understand what they were seeing.

Possums and geckos don't like to eat each other, according to Conrad Hoskin, a gecko expert from James Cook University. The gecko might be getting something from its friends.

He said that the gecko would benefit from being in the warmth of the mammals. The presence of the gecko is thought to be neutral to the animal in question.

The type of habitat that a reptile likes is found in the leaves and twigs of the pygmy possum.

These nest boxes are used to protect Pygmy Possums.

Due to logging, tree hollows have been decimated around Australia. If we stop cutting down trees now, it will take 100 years, and in some cases 150 years, before these hollows form, depending on the tree and the habitat.

Monjebup, which had been farmland for nearly a decade, has been revegetated by Bush Heritage Australia. Two-thirds of the nest boxes at the reserve are occupied by Pygmy Possums. It's possible that this explains why the gecko decided to live with the family.

The nest boxes are prime habitat because the vegetation is so young and undeveloped. There is not much habitat for animals that wouldn't normally cohabit.

It is possible that cohabitations such as this one are more normal than not. "With the advent of modern technology, we're picking up more on these really interesting natural history observations that might have been happening for a long time."