I Did Not Buy a Lizard Today

Aug 09, 2009

There was a herpetology show today. Pili, Carri’s wife, and I went. Carri told her not to buy anything for them, but only for work. I went along to make certain of that, and to tote and fetch the things she did need to buy. I was also there to help with the picking out. Pili knows as much or more about keeping herps in captivity, but my biology degree has to be good for something so off we went.


What we saw at the herp show: Lizards such as Bearded dragons, Tegues, monitors, geckos (lot’s of geckos), anoles, and chamelions. There were a few other species, but those were the ones that I remember most. Snakes: milk snakes, king snakes, corn snakes (all three species come in a vertible rainbow of colors), ball pythons, red-tail boas, lots of different pythons and boas. There were a few, very few, rat snakes but no Russian or Amur Rat Snakes which is my favorite kind. There were even some juvenal Emerald Tree Boas which I’d never seen outside of books or the zoo before. Frogs from Poison Dart to Pacman. There was even a big lutristic (yellow) bull frog. There were tarantulas from Mexican red-knee to Chilean Rose. My two favorites were the Skeleton tarantula which if I was just shopping for appearance would be my bet, but apparently they’re pretty aggressive. I don’t really want a spider that large that even the breeder says is aggressive. But for sheer impressiveness it’s got to be the Goliath Bird Eater which were the size of dinner plates.  I spread my hand above it in it’s little plastic container and most of them were the size of my hand with the legs not extended. Man, that’s a big spider. There were turtles from red-toed tortoises, Chinese box, to snapping turtles, and cooters of several kinds. There were even some of the soft shell turtles which Pili said she saw them eating when she was in China. I’ve seen people eat turtles here, too, just not the soft shells. No, I have never tasted turtle. I like turtles and I’d rather have the turtle alive than in the stew pot. I do eat wild game though, just never turtles. They even had those little green red-eared sliders that we all used to get as children. The poor things never really had a chance with the poor quality fish food and those plastic islands with their fake palm tree, and the poor excuse for a turtle tank. The wee turtles would die from malnutrition or dirty water or a thousand other things. Yes, now the salmonella scare keeps them above that tiny size in the stores, but I remember when you could buy them in department stores. I’ve longed for a tortoise for years, but I did my research and they need a lot of room to be happy, and if you can’t make your pet happy then why do you have it? There were a few millipedes and centipedes and Madagascar hissing coakroaches. They also had Tomato Horn Worm larvae (cattiplliar) yes those big green ones you find in your garden, but these are not fed on tomatoes because that makes them toxic and they are being raised as food for the herps. I was told that some lizards really like them. I didn’t get any because I would have raised them until they were moths and let them go.


I did not feel the same way about the mice and gerbils. Mainly because they make me itch just walking near their cages. When I had herps years ago I fed frozen mousechops. It’s exactly what it sounds like. Though the last herp I kept was a bearded dragon and the biggest food it got up to was crickets with extra vitamins sprinkling on them, those I fed live because the Beardie needed the movement to want to feed. For whatever reason my beardie kept hibernating on me. I got more and more heat for the cage and nothing I could do would keep it from curling up under it’s dish and passing out. When I finally took her back to the breeder he was very happy with her. He said she looked plump and healthy and she was off schedule from his other breeders so he was very happy to have her back. It was my last try at herps. I thought I was over the bug, then we saw the Bearded Dragons today. They were those amazing orange and yellow ones that look like they’re on fire. But better yet they were some of the friendliest Beardies I’ve ever interacted with, they just seemed to have more personality than most. From biggest to smallest they were some of the most touchable and calm lizards I’d ever seen. Pili tried to talk me into getting one so she could visit it. I stood firm, I wasn’t here to buy. I don’t believe in impulse pet purchases.


We went back to our house, where Carri and Jon were waiting, with the purchases Pili had made for work. I’d helped her be strong and not get one of the little Beardies, because both of us had understood that Carri didn’t want her to buy any for their home. We came back singing the praises of the Beardies and Carri said, "You can have a lizard or a snake just no spiders." Big misunderstanding, so I grabbed the car keys and we went back to buy Pili a lizard. She picked out one, we went back home and the baby lizard so charmed Carri that she wanted one, so back to the show we went again. So Carri and Pili are the proud owners of two baby Bearded Dragons. I admit that it took a lot of will power for me to pass the Beardies up three different times, but I’m glad I did. If I decide to get back into herps I want to be sure.


Honestly, Jon and I have been thinking about a tank of Poison Dart Frogs, or one of those tall cages of old world Chameleons. It would be more like a fish tank where you don’t interact with the animals, but admire them. But those Beardies sure were cute today. Pili’s Beardie sat on me while I twittered and I thought again of my dream of having a shoulder lizard since I’m allergic to everything else that would do it, but I don’t think you can house train a Beardie, can you? If not then the shoulder idea would eventually lose it’s appeal. But they certainly were charming today. I am proud of myself for standing firm and not getting one, but also slightly wistful. I know exactly where the tank would go in my office.