Green gecko not in a rush

The Kiwi Birdlife Park's pregnant Auckland green gecko is bulging at her green seams, but having the ability to adjust her gestation according to climatic conditions means it is likely she considers it too cold to let her twins see the world yet.

The Queenstown park's wildlife manager, Nicole Kunzmann, said nine months was a typical pregnancy ''but down here it can go over a year''.

Although park staff were not sure how long the gecko has been pregnant, ''we think it's about 10 months now''.

New Zealand geckos are different from their international cousins in that they give birth to live young rather than eggs in a process called ovoviviparous.

''She has eggs inside her and at some stage those eggs hatch inside her. It's a bit of a cross between eggs and live birth.''

This species of gecko can live to about 40 and females always give birth to twins.