When we think about cute and cuddly-looking animals, our brains typically default to furry critters rather than the scaley ones.
But that may change when you meet Kohaku. The sweet-faced Japanese gecko has gone viral for his absolutely adorable smile.
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Kohaku is always looking pretty happy. But he becomes absolutely ecstatic when he’s around a certain someone.
Kohaku is obsessed with his teeny toy gecko.
It’s a plastic little toy that basically looks just like him. So, maybe his joy is just a reflection of how he feels about himself.
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Kohaku ended up going viral after his owner Instagram user 589_tomo posted photos of Kohaku and his little toy.
There was an outpouring of people who wanted to know where they could get their own plastic gecko toys for their own lizards.
But that might not be such an easy purchase. Kohaku’s owners found the little toy in a vending machine somewhere in Japan, according to Daily Mail.
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Kohaku loves his little gecko so much that he even named it. The toy’s name is Chinmari.
Apparently, having Chinmari around is the perfect companionship scenario for Kohaku.
This is because geckos don’t typically do well when housed together. Male geckos will just end up fighting each other.
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Even male and female geckos are to be raised separately in order to keep them safe.
Thanks to Chinmari, Kohaku never gets lonely and is always safe.
Some scientists weighed in on whether or not it’s actual love that Kohaku is feeling for Chinmari.
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“I don’t know if it is love, but lizards and tortoises appear to like some people more than others. They also seem to show the most emotions, as many lizards do appear to show pleasure when being stroked,” Dr. Sharman Hoppes, a clinical assistant professor at the Texas A&M College of Veterinary Medicine & Biomedical Sciences, told PetTalk in a blog post about reptile emotions.
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However, herpetologist Dr. Greg Pauly believes that if a lizard appears calm, it’s probably a positive sign that the lizard is in good spirits.
And Kohaku certainly does look calm, if not blissfully happy.
Kohaku’s adorable smiling face has made him quite the internet sensation. His charming cuteness has been featured in publications like BuzzFeed and the New York Post.
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His Instagram page has more than 37,000 followers who all flock to his page to get a daily dose of gecko adorableness.
People from all over the world come to his page to comment on his happy face which brings many of them lots of joy.
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That’s one little lizard bringing a smile to the faces of thousands of people in the world just by being his happy self. Maybe there’s something we all could be learning from Kohaku!
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