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Arlo recently went missing in the library, but he's back now! He escaped from his temporary tank while his vivarium was being renovated, and he was gone for several weeks. (We think he wanted to have an adventure in honor of our Summer Reading Program.) Eventually he reappeared one morning on a staff member's desk. We wonder what fun he got up to while he was gone.
Arlo is a crested gecko (Correlophus ciliatus). Crested geckos are naturally found on the islands of New Caledonia, located near Australia and Fiji.
Thought to have been extinct until a storm blew through their island home in 1994, crested geckos (also called eyelash geckos) enjoy warm, humid environments. Arlo's vivarium—a tank with both plants and animals—is kept at temperatures of 72–76° Fahrenheit and humidity levels around 95%. He drinks water droplets from the leaves and glass, and he eats a premixed powder food 3 or 4 times a week. His favorite meals are the crickets he gets once a month! Arlo also enjoys soft, ripe fruit on occasion.
Arlo’s birthday is March 4, 2016, and he started out the size of a human thumb! Can you figure out how old he is now? Cresties in captivity can live 15 to 20 years when cared for properly.