My daughter and I rescue, and we also foster, but today, I decided to buy! I mean, technically, I bought Bob too, but he ended up being a foster paid, because he just didn't fit in with the rest of the group and no matter what we did with or for him, he wasn't thriving. We don't keep an animal that won't thrive, as it's not fair to the animal. We find a good home for them, one where they can be utilized, loved, played with, and handled a bit more than what we can do (that is IF the animal requires it).
This happens sometimes. Our sweet Isabella, the Bearded Dragon that we accepted as a rescue, was also rehomed recently due to her depression. I know, that sounds funny to say that a lizard could be or would be depressed, but she was. She is now with a teacher who takes her to school every Friday so the kids can learn and the lizard can be stimulated. During the week the teacher takes Issy out and puts her on her shoulder while she grades papers. She wouldn't do that with me, which on one hand is sad, but on the other, it opened up an opportunity for her to go to another good home.
Today, because I had a hankering for another Leopard lizard-like Bob (Robert the Bruce), I went to PetCo and picked out another Leopard Gecko that looks remarkably like Bob in some ways, but he's his own character as well. He came from the same breeder. LepGecks are really super easy to care for. Most of the time they are outgoing and want to be handled. Bob was possibly bullied by a tank mate or perhaps he was not separated during feeding and had to fend for himself. Either way, this is why LepGecks are separated at around 10-12 weeks. I bought Bob at 15-16 weeks, and he was still enclosed with others. Boys will be boys no matter what they are, and Bob was bullied (probably).
My new LepGeck is going to stay with me. I hope to have him out of the enclosure on a daily basis. He will eventually be trusted to sit on my head and shoulder while I type and work. I'll leave the cats and dogs out of the room of course, and the doors will be closed. He'll grow to be a bit bigger than his friend Leaf, who is Laura's female LepGeck. She's had Leaf for right at a year; we bought her and Bob together but from different stores. They were side by side in their cages for about three months, but Bob just wasn't a happy camper. When they were together he was OK, but Leaf wasn't thrilled about it. You can't enable a clinger like Bob, and he was found a new home with a couple of kids who really think he's the greatest. They live in an apartment and can't have a dog or cat, but they can have a LepGeck! He's doing well. I check on him from time to time.
We've accepted, rescued, fostered, and rehabbed over a dozen reptiles in the past year I suppose. I loved little Stirling, the ball python. I wish I could have kept him really, but I don't do well with feeding live animals to other animals. He was a foster, and one I truly enjoyed, but I know if I ever buy another snake I'll have to get it really young and start it on frozen mice so I never have to end the life of a precious fur baby to feed another. I know there's a cycle of life, and I get that, but I'm just a weenie! Absolutely and certifiable. Just a weenie. I literally cry when I had to do that, and I can't do that to myself.
Grahame is named for Kenneth Grahame, the 19th Century children's literature author from Edinburgh, Scotland. He was born on March 8, 1859, but my LepGeck is only 10 weeks old, so he'll share Barry Gibb's birthday on September 1. Bob was lucky enough to have been born around the same time as Robert the Bruce's death day, so that became my lizard's birthday. I try to do that when I can. If not they get a 1st or a 22nd. The first, because it's easy to remember, and the 22nd because I am a 22nd baby, as is my dad, as is my son, as is my bestie, as is Maurice and Robin Gibb, as is my dog Faith, and my nephew! Goodness! Twenty seconds are fantabulous you know!
If you have kids or grands and they need a good pet to start off with, the Leopard Gecko is truly an awesome starter pet. The entire rig from start to finish is around $200 if you do it correctly. You'll start off with a 10-gallon tank, and depending on the lizard, you could end up with a 40-gallon, but most of them can be easily contained in a 20. You'll need the proper hides, bowls, lamps, lights, and even a thermometer so you can properly gauge the heat which is set to one side of the cage, ideally where there is a place (rock or stick) stationary so they can bask. You'll need foliage (plastic or silk) and you'll need something fun in the cage for it to play with, or just converse with, as they are solitary animals. I have a little ceramic horse and a couple of turtles (also clay or ceramic) that I picked up along the way. I'll post more photos on Instagram if you follow.
That's about it. I had a difficult time deciding which of the four lizards in the cage that I wanted to bring home with me today. To choose I put my hand into the cage and let them all come around to sniff and see if they wanted to have anything to do with me. There was a very aggressive one that fought others off, he was a no-go. I decided on the one that hung out in the corner watching me. He was neither scared nor forward. He was a thinker. He watched and observed. If he had been a musician he'd probably have been a guitarist, not a drummer. He listened, kept his head down, and continued to watch from under his baseball cap; not wanting to seem obvious, but not wanting to miss out on anything. He was chosen.
Grahame. Gray-am. You do pronounce the first A.
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