Mediterranean House Gecko

Native to the Mediterranean region, the "Med gecko" is one of the most successful species of geckos in the world. It has spread over much of the world and established stable populations far from its native range; it holds no threatened or endangered status. It can be found in countries with Mediterranean climates, such as Portugal, Spain, France, Italy, Greece, Israel, Malta, southern Bulgaria, North Macedonia, coastal Croatia (except western Istria), Bosnia and Herzegovina, the Adriatic islands, coastal Montenegro, the coastal part of Albania, Cyprus, Turkey, northern Morocco, Algeria, Tunisia, Jordan, Syria, Libya, Egypt, Lebanon, northern Yemen (the Socotra Archipelago), Somalia, Eritrea, Kenya, southern Iran, Iraq, Oman, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Pakistan, India, the Balearic Islands (Island Addaya Grande), the Canary Islands (introduced to Gran Canaria and Tenerife), Panama, Puerto Rico, Belize, and Cuba. As of 1974, it was known from scattered records in the Southwestern United States, including Arizona, California, Nevada, and New Mexico and more extensively in the Southern United States, including Alabama, Arkansas, Florida, Georgia, Kansas, Kentucky, Louisiana, Maryland, Mississippi, Missouri, North Carolina, Oklahoma, South Carolina, Texas, and Virginia, being particularly well-established in Gulf Coast states in the east. More recently records have been published from several localities in Pennsylvania, and Tennessee. It was also reported from Indiana in 2019 but, it was unknown at that time if the individual represented an established population or not. In Mexico, introductions are known to the states Tamaulipas, Veracruz, Tabasco, Campeche, Yucatán, Baja California, Durango, and Nuevo León.

Sceliphron spirifex]] Mediterranean house geckos are nocturnal. They are also attracted by the call of a male decorated cricket (Gryllodes supplicans); although the males are usually safely out of reach in a burrow, female crickets attracted to the male's call can be intercepted and eaten.

Mediterranean house geckos reach sexual maturity within four months to a year. Male house geckos produce clicking sounds to attract a mate, with the females responding in their own squeaks. They also display copulatory biting, with stronger bites resulting in higher fertilization success. Fertilization is internal. The breeding season is typically from April to August each year and eggs are laid mid-May to August in an average clutch size of two. Female house geckos experience delayed fertilization and can store sperm in a funnel-shaped organ called the infundibulum for up to five months. Because of this, exact gestation time is unknown, but is estimated to be around 40–60 days. Neither males nor females have been observed providing any parental care, with males going as far as to bite the juveniles.

Primary prey of Mediterranean house geckos has been noted to include crickets, grasshoppers, cockroaches, spiders, beetles, moths, butterflies, ants, isopods, and snails. These geckos are visual hunters; prey selection depends on whether it is alive or dead. Mediterranean house geckos are more likely to choose living prey over dead.