Grooming the Lizard

It sounds like a euphemism for something…something inappropriate for this mostly family-friendly and workplace-safe website.

But no, it’s actually what it is – Bill and Alex decided to groom Cricket-Catcher, our Cuban Knight Anole.

Cricket-Catcher sheds periodically, and she’s quite adept at rubbing or chewing off the majority of her old skin.  But there’s one spot right on top of her head that she just can’t reach.  It would be like most of us trying to touch our nose to our own elbow – we just can’t bend that way.

So the other day Bill decided to help her out.

I think it’s just so he can have an excuse to pick her up and see if she’ll bit him.  Again.

So, with Alex standing by (giggling with anticipation of the lizard biting Daddy), Bill carefully reached into the tank – with a hand towel for protection – and took Cricket-Catcher out of her tank.

From there, he went into the bathroom (where he could eventually shut the door and block the only exit route with a towel), and – I missed this part – somehow the lizard ended up on the back of Bill’s neck.

There she is.  You can see the little white patch on her head.  I sympathize, sort of.  My skin gets all dry and unpleasant in the winter, too.

You can see she’s looking pretty dark in these pictures.  Part of that is because I accidentally changed the setting on my camera without realizing it. 

The other part of that is because she’s a little nervous, a little tense, a little not sure of what’s going on or why she has this sudden very tall, leafless tree to climb. 

Now, in order to gently rub away that bit of white skin, Bill needed to get the lizard OFF his shoulder.  It’s harder than you might think.  She scares easily, and if he moved too quickly, she could scamper – or leap – off of Bill and, since the door was open while I took pictures – she could take off for parts unknown in our house and each day we might find little bits of fur as our cats disappeared one by one….

Okay, maybe not. 

But still – we don’t need her running loose here.  So, in an effort to prevent her from biting HIM, Bill dangled this towel near her face, hoping that she’d clamp on and he could gently grab her body without getting bit.  Bitten.  Whatever it is.

And – it worked.  Or, at least, something worked.  I wasn’t there.  Alex had to shut the door and put a towel down to block the space under the door, and I was making dinner or something anyway.

But a bit later, they called me back in.

Still didn’t have the skin off her head, but she was perched, relatively calmly, on Bill’s hand.

And yes, that’s a roll of toilet paper.

I wish they’d give me more of a head’s up when they decide to go lizard-wrangling, so I could…I don’t know…drape some nice background material against that wall…so it doesn’t look so bathroomy.

Maybe next time.

Comments

[Lynne]

so you think you are oddly paranoid about things...

and there's me peering trying to work out if the loo paper is on the roll the RIGHT way round...I think it is, I think I can see a little perforated edge hanging down in front where it is supposed to be.

Not that I would hate you if your loo paper was the wrong way round, but it might dramatically alter how I see you...

[Storm Dweller]

We have two small green anoles, and cleaning their terrarium is always an adventure. They bring to life the phrase from "Little Orphan Annie," as I almost always exclaim, "Leaping lizards!" Which is then generally followed by instructions to the children watch which way they went so I can prevent little green lizards from finding hiding spots in hard to reach spots, like uner the stove, or behind a cabinet. The only regret I have about these little guys is we can't seem to get them hand tamed. I've been told that Leopard Geckos are much nicer in this regard. So I imagine when our little green reptiles finally do expire I may look at a couple of Geckos as replacements.

[Kat]

You have a bathroom in your house? Well, I never.
I'm outraged and embarrassed to be caught reading a blog written by someone with a bathroom in their house.
And now you have caused me to type that terrible word twice!
I never!
:~)
Kat

[Jayne]

Hahahaha! Im so relieved that I have the roll on correctly (yes, the paper hangs forward, over the top). Its funny - when I was growing up, the roll was hung the other way. I became a rebel when I moved out.

[Jayne]

When my sister and I were in junior high (I think), we had a couple of green anoles. One of them escaped and we figured one of the cats got him. A full year or more later we found him in a rarely used room upstairs, minus a leg, but still alive. I cant remember if we were able to catch him or not, but I havent forgotten our surprise.

[Jayne]

Hahahaha - I know, Im being ridiculous. I just wanted a prettier picture of the lizard - without the decorative background elements in every shot.

So sorry to have offended you with images from that room. :P