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kithrupAt the end of April last year, a friend spent some effort to get in touch with me. It seems she had just come back from Hawaii, and while unpacking, found a lizard in one of her water shoes. (Which had been placed into a ziplock bag, and then packed in her luggage.) She sent me a picture, and I identified it as a brown anole, then she asked if I could take it. Knowing more about reptiles than her, I did so. I was never able to re-home the lizard, which we named "Lucky" King Kamehameha.
Lucky, we figured out after a few months, was most likely a girl. I kept the name.
She was a very undemanding pet. And not really a pet at all -- she scurried like greased lightning, and escaped twice. The first time she was gone for several days, and I'd written her off. Gale, however, tore apart the machine room, and we managed to catch her. A few months later, when we were packing for moving, she got out again, but only for a short while.
Brown anoles don't live long -- 5 years, but they're fragile. And incredibly escape-prone.
Lucky was nearly full grown when we got her, if not so; she developed the back pattern that identified her as likely female shortly after, but that could have been due to stress hiding it, or age growing into it.
She started developing a swelling in her neck. It wasn't worth the risk of getting her out of the cage and taking her to a vet (I confirmed this with an exotic vet in Beaverton), especially since it didn't seem to be impeding her eating.
About a week ago, I noted to Gale that she was losing weight. She was still eating crickets, but not enough. Today, I dumped some crickets into her cage, and didn't hear her run and hide, so I looked around, and found her.
Even for a reptile, she wasn't much of a pet. But she was in our lives, and we were fond of her.
I just buried her next to some catnip I bought today.
Lucky, we figured out after a few months, was most likely a girl. I kept the name.
She was a very undemanding pet. And not really a pet at all -- she scurried like greased lightning, and escaped twice. The first time she was gone for several days, and I'd written her off. Gale, however, tore apart the machine room, and we managed to catch her. A few months later, when we were packing for moving, she got out again, but only for a short while.
Brown anoles don't live long -- 5 years, but they're fragile. And incredibly escape-prone.
Lucky was nearly full grown when we got her, if not so; she developed the back pattern that identified her as likely female shortly after, but that could have been due to stress hiding it, or age growing into it.
She started developing a swelling in her neck. It wasn't worth the risk of getting her out of the cage and taking her to a vet (I confirmed this with an exotic vet in Beaverton), especially since it didn't seem to be impeding her eating.
About a week ago, I noted to Gale that she was losing weight. She was still eating crickets, but not enough. Today, I dumped some crickets into her cage, and didn't hear her run and hide, so I looked around, and found her.
Even for a reptile, she wasn't much of a pet. But she was in our lives, and we were fond of her.
I just buried her next to some catnip I bought today.
