# 'Stunned' lizards **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [February 17, 2005, 10:04am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stunned-lizards/290504 "2005-02-17T10:04:42Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Aankh](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/ebca7d/32.png) [@Aankh](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Aankh)\ **Post date:** [February 17, 2005, 10:04am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stunned-lizards/290504/1 "2005-02-17T10:04:42Z")
A few days ago, my friend found a [common house lizard](http://www.thaiworldview.com/animal/jpg/animal07.jpg) in his kitchen sink. It didn’t move when he clapped loudly right next to it. It didn’t even budge when he poured water on it and poked it with a spoon. Just stayed put for two whole days, as though it was dead. Finally, my friend decided to chuck it out. He got a pair of chopsticks and tried to pick it up. Voila! The dead lizard suddenly came back to life and scuttled away somewhere. Fast-forward to today, and one of the selfsame critters is currently recumbent on my kitchen floor. It has been for the last 3 hours. I’ve flung a tumbler of water at it. I’ve nudged it a few times with a broom. I’ve rolled an onion right at it. I’ve gotten on my knees and prayed for it to go away (why yes, I _am_ a weenie!). Nothing doing. It just lies there. I _know_ it’s alive and waiting to jump at me the second I get the guts to actually go near it. Damn lizard. Questions: Do all lizards do this? Why, if yes? And, most importantly, what can I do to make it go away?! I need to start cooking dinner! ---
**Author:** ![Mangetout](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mangetout/32/19_2.png) [@Mangetout](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mangetout)\ **Post date:** [February 17, 2005, 10:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stunned-lizards/290504/2 "2005-02-17T10:09:50Z")
Is it cold in Lah lah land right now? Lizards become torpid if their body temperature drops. ---
**Author:** ![Aankh](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/ebca7d/32.png) [@Aankh](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Aankh)\ **Post date:** [February 17, 2005, 10:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stunned-lizards/290504/3 "2005-02-17T10:16:44Z")
Cold in Singapore… ::snort:: Must be about 30C (~86F) right now, so that’s probably not it. Unless the water I chucked at it made it freeze. ---
**Author:** ![Mangetout](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mangetout/32/19_2.png) [@Mangetout](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mangetout)\ **Post date:** [February 17, 2005, 10:20am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stunned-lizards/290504/4 "2005-02-17T10:20:46Z")
I didn’t know your location was Singapore, of course, or I wouldn’t have asked. Maybe the lizard is dead; so another lizard stayed still for several days, then came back to life; this one might not. Why not just pick it up and put it outside? I take it we’re not talking about a slumbering Komodo Dragon here? ---
**Author:** ![Aankh](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/ebca7d/32.png) [@Aankh](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Aankh)\ **Post date:** [February 17, 2005, 10:26am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stunned-lizards/290504/5 "2005-02-17T10:26:02Z")
I didn’t mean to sound snarky. Just amusement that came out sounding like snark. Of course you wouldn’t know what I meant by ‘lah lah land’. As for moving it, I’m too chicken. Someone else will be along in a while to help me out. I’ll post here if the lizard turns out to be alive. Thanks for the input, **Mangetout**. You’ve been helpful in more than one of my GQ/CS queries. ---
**Author:** ![Mangetout](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mangetout/32/19_2.png) [@Mangetout](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mangetout)\ **Post date:** [February 17, 2005, 10:35am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stunned-lizards/290504/6 "2005-02-17T10:35:33Z")
Couldn’t you sweep it up with a dustpan and brush or something? It won’t hurt you. ---
**Author:** ![Desmostylus](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/c57346/32.png) [@Desmostylus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Desmostylus)\ **Post date:** [February 17, 2005, 11:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stunned-lizards/290504/7 "2005-02-17T11:34:34Z")
> [@Mangetout](#): > > Couldn’t you sweep it up with a dustpan and brush or something? It won’t hurt you. I agree with **Mangetout**. It’s just a gecko. It isn’t poisonous, don’t have big sharp teeth, or anything like that. ---
**Author:** ![NutMagnet](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/ea5d25/32.png) [@NutMagnet](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/NutMagnet)\ **Post date:** [February 17, 2005, 12:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stunned-lizards/290504/8 "2005-02-17T12:00:41Z")
> [@Desmostylus](#): > > I agree with **Mangetout**. It’s just a gecko. It isn’t poisonous, don’t have big sharp teeth, or anything like that. Yeah. Ask it some questions about Gieco. ---
**Author:** ![mks57](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/b9bd4f/32.png) [@mks57](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mks57)\ **Post date:** [February 17, 2005, 12:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stunned-lizards/290504/9 "2005-02-17T12:09:56Z")
He’s pinin’ for the fjords. ---
**Author:** ![Biffy\_the\_Elephant\_Shrew](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/e47c2d/32.png) [@Biffy\_the\_Elephant\_Shrew](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Biffy_the_Elephant_Shrew)\ **Post date:** [February 17, 2005, 2:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stunned-lizards/290504/10 "2005-02-17T14:18:34Z")
> [@Desmostylus](#): > > I agree with **Mangetout**. It’s just a gecko. It isn’t poisonous, don’t have big sharp teeth, or anything like that. At least it’s a real animal that could conceivably deliver a tiny (harmless) nip. Yesterday I witnessed the IT tech at my office (who I think hails from the same Lah Lah Land) refuse to touch a computer until someone removed the plastic fly-in-an-icecube that was sitting on the monitor. Creeped her right out. ---
**Author:** ![Aankh](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/ebca7d/32.png) [@Aankh](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Aankh)\ **Post date:** [February 17, 2005, 3:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stunned-lizards/290504/11 "2005-02-17T15:15:27Z")
Actually, it isn’t the possibility of being bitten that scares me. It’s that geckos are ugly and creepy and crawly and brown and sqooshy and generally oogy. Anyway, turns out my lizard was dead. Only, it crawled to the center of my kitchen before leaving this earthly plane. I guess that was more considerate than popping off somewhere at the back of my kitchen storeroom behind all the jars, anyway. Mods, unless there are reasons other than a drop in temperature for why lizards suddenly become sluggish, feel free to consider this thread over and done with. Thank you all for responding! I don’t at all get what **NutMagnet** is on about, and all I have to say to **mks57** is - 😛 ---
**Author:** ![bordelond](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bordelond/32/150_2.png) [@bordelond](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bordelond)\ **Post date:** [February 17, 2005, 3:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stunned-lizards/290504/12 "2005-02-17T15:27:33Z")
Actually, **aankh** , I am interested in the gecko that stood still for two whole days. I am assuming that was also in Singapore, so could something else have been in play besides body temperature? ---
**Author:** ![Aankh](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/ebca7d/32.png) [@Aankh](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Aankh)\ **Post date:** [February 17, 2005, 3:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stunned-lizards/290504/13 "2005-02-17T15:34:35Z")
> [@bordelond](#): > > Actually, **aankh** , I am interested in the gecko that stood still for two whole days. I am assuming that was also in Singapore, so could something else have been in play besides body temperature? It was indeed in Singapore, and I really have no clue why it lay motionless in the sink for two whole days. ---
**Author:** ![bordelond](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bordelond/32/150_2.png) [@bordelond](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bordelond)\ **Post date:** [February 17, 2005, 3:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stunned-lizards/290504/14 "2005-02-17T15:36:10Z")
Any herpetologists in the house? ---
**Author:** ![Anonymous\_Coward](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/94ad74/32.png) [@Anonymous\_Coward](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Anonymous_Coward)\ **Post date:** [February 17, 2005, 4:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stunned-lizards/290504/15 "2005-02-17T16:16:47Z")
House lizards actually sounds kinda neat. Of course my cats would likely kill them and I’d end up with lizard parts strewn about. I present you all with a pic of a [Happy Gecko](http://img220.exs.cx/my.php?loc=img220&image=ahappygecko4xh.jpg). ---
**Author:** ![Amazon\_Floozy\_Goddess](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/779978/32.png) [@Amazon\_Floozy\_Goddess](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Amazon_Floozy_Goddess)\ **Post date:** [February 17, 2005, 4:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stunned-lizards/290504/16 "2005-02-17T16:24:23Z")
> [@Mangetout](#): > > Couldn’t you sweep it up with a dustpan and brush or something? It won’t hurt you. Unless it was a Tokay gecko. Then you’d be sorry for touching it. Very very sorry. I had a friend’s Tokay latch onto my hand once when I was 12. We had to hold it underwater to make it let go. Luckily, from your pic, it’s not a Tokay. Go ahead and poke 'im. 😃 ---
**Author:** ![Khampelf](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/8e7dd6/32.png) [@Khampelf](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Khampelf)\ **Post date:** [February 17, 2005, 5:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stunned-lizards/290504/17 "2005-02-17T17:15:11Z")
The ways of my minions are many and mysterious. They will lull you into a sense of false security, then attack from behind. Best to placate them with offerings of fresh baby crickets. ---
**Author:** ![Muffin](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/muffin/32/4341_2.png) [@Muffin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Muffin)\ **Post date:** [February 17, 2005, 5:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stunned-lizards/290504/18 "2005-02-17T17:52:10Z")
> [@aankh](#): > > It didn’t move when he clapped loudly right next to it. It didn’t even budge when he poured water on it and poked it with a spoon. Just stayed put for two whole days, as though it was dead. Finally, my friend decided to chuck it out. He got a pair of chopsticks and tried to pick it up. Voila! The dead lizard suddenly came back to life and scuttled away somewhere. Sounds a lot like a clerk I used to have. Took an entire day to convince her that yes, she was fired. ---
**Author:** ![NutMagnet](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/ea5d25/32.png) [@NutMagnet](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/NutMagnet)\ **Post date:** [February 25, 2005, 7:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stunned-lizards/290504/19 "2005-02-25T19:30:07Z")
> [@aankh](#): > > I don’t at all get what **NutMagnet** is on about… Check out: [http://www.geico.com/](http://www.geico.com/) ---
**Author:** ![Pullet](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/edb3f5/32.png) [@Pullet](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Pullet)\ **Post date:** [February 25, 2005, 9:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stunned-lizards/290504/20 "2005-02-25T21:09:29Z")
It is kapu to hurt the little geckos! Besides, they eat the winged termites. Since it was already dead, might I suggest this [book?](http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/tg/detail/-/1880188791/qid=1109366673/sr=1-1/ref=sr_1_1/002-8768767-0477601?v=glance&s=books)