S'porean man befriends house gecko, touches & plays tug of war with it

Cute.

Ashley Tan | August 16, 2021, 02:50 PM

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House lizards are regarded as pests by many, with home owners balking at the sight of the creatures.

One Singaporean, however, defies convention by going as far as to touch and play with the lizards in his house.

Friends with the lizard

A Facebook post by one Sin Han recently went viral, receiving nearly 600 shares.

In it, he shared photos of himself interacting with a house gecko.

In contrast to the lizards that typically scuttle away when spotted, this critter appears completely at ease in Sin's presence, even letting him gently touch the tip of its nose.

Photo from Sin Han

Sin told Mothership that this lizard in particular used to live in his house, and would appear whenever the lights in the room are switched on.

Sin simply places his hand near it and the lizard allows him to touch it.

Photo from Sin Han

The lizards in Sin's house even feel comfortable enough to climb onto his hand.

Photo from Sin Han

Game of tug of war

The lizard also has a curious habit of holding rubber bands in its tiny mouth.

Sin guessed that the lizard could have been hungry, or was playing with the rubber band as an odd sort of toy.

Photo from Sin Han

The pair even had a friendly game of tug of war, following which Sin eventually won and took the rubber band away.

He shared that after playing the rubber bands, the lizard would simply "throw one side".

Photo from Sin Han

House lizards biting onto rubber bands is strange, but not an undocumented phenomenon.

Other homeowners in Singapore have previously noticed similar occurrences, where they find rubber bands discarded in random areas around their house.

It is still uncertain why the lizards engage in this activity, but some people have theorised that the texture of the rubber resembles the food they feed on.

All animals are "lovely and cute"

Some Facebook users had a more averse reaction to Sin's post.

However, others found the interaction and the lizard itself adorable.

Some netizens even shared that seeing Sin play with the critter had helped to alleviate their own fear towards lizards.

Sin feels that all animals, not just lizards, are "lovely and cute", and he believes that he has a certain affinity for these creatures, and that they like him too.

He recalls a previous incident where a bat flew into his home, and he cared for and fed the bat.

As friendly as man and lizard might be to each other though, Sin doesn't consider the lizards a pet. After all, these creatures "belong to nature", and Sin is happy to merely let them live under the same roof.

He does however, wish the lizards were bigger.

Top photo courtesy of Sin Han