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04-12-2006, 11:55 AM
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#1
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Wild sighting of leos in Afghanistan
I have never posted here since I am more of a snake person but wanted to share a story with all of you about wild leopard geckos sightings while I was in Afghanistan. I was on patrol one day in Kandahar, Afghanistan and saw a yellowish colored lizard out of the corner of my eye so I went to investigate. I flipped over a large rock and sure enough, there sat a big ol male leo! I was so shocked at seeing one in the wild I was jumping around like a little kid! The other soldiers couldn't understand why I was freaking out about seeing what they called "just a stupid little lizard". I didn't get the chance to take a pic of him but I picked him for one quick second (took a bite to the thumb and the skin between my thumb and pointer finger) and let him go on his way.
Anyway, just wanted to share that.....
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04-12-2006, 12:02 PM
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#2
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That is so cool! I am always excited just to see local wildlife around here, but to see one of these guys in it's natural habitat must have been a real thrill. It's hard to even think of them as being wild sometimes... sort of like hampsters, LOL
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04-12-2006, 12:05 PM
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#3
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Fantastic! Could you please describe the terrain where you found the leo in detail? This would help soooo many of us determine what 'naturalistic' means and make better substrate decisions. Thanks!!!
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04-12-2006, 12:13 PM
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#4
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Golden Gate Geckos
Fantastic! Could you please describe the terrain where you found the leo in detail? This would help soooo many of us determine what 'naturalistic' means and make better substrate decisions. Thanks!!!
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That's what I was wondering if you good do too.
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04-12-2006, 12:16 PM
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#5
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The terrain was like everything over there..... sandy!!!! I found him in one of the largest cities in Afghanistan, Kandahar. He was scurrying along the side of a building and then went under a large rock between the buildings. When I turned the rock over, it looked as if he had dug a small burrow just big enough for him to squeeze into. It was a lot cooler under the rock because it was about 105 that day. The ground in the cities is primarily hard packed sand (I mean very hard!) This was early morning too so I am sure I caught him going back home after hunting bugs all night. He had a nice fat tail and was about 10" long so he was apparently very healthy. He was missing 2 toes on one foot though.
So lets see: Early morning very hot; under a large rock in a tight fitting hole; hard packed sand on the ground.
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04-12-2006, 12:22 PM
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#6
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Thanks for the information. Sound prety much like what we've all heard. Sand is not loose, but hard packed. Great.
And Ronald, THANK YOU for your service to our country!
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04-12-2006, 12:25 PM
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#7
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Quote:
Originally Posted by BalloonzForU
And Ronald, THANK YOU for your service to our country!
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No thanks necessary. I do this because I love it! Believe me, it was my pleasure and has been for 15 years!!!!!!
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04-12-2006, 01:34 PM
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#8
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Very cool Ronald! Thanks for sharing. I think most of us here on the leo forum would go crazy if we could see some leos in their natural habitat. Also, thank you for your service to our country.
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04-12-2006, 03:03 PM
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#9
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Hey Ron,
Thanks for the post and good to see you got back safely. I haven't been to Afghanistan yet, but like you, I've still got a few years left before retirement.
Are you keeping any geckos now, or only snakes? Christina and I still have a few of the leos we had when you and I first met in Washington.
Take care,
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04-12-2006, 04:18 PM
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#10
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Thank you for posting that Ron. Like most anyone here, I would love to have a wild caught leopard gecko with locality data in my collection. I would love even more to be able to see one in it's natural habitat! Great story.
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