The latest addition

Today I'm going to take a bit of an interlude from my usual postings to tell you about the latest addition to our household. My most recent lizard, Neb, didn't make it during the journey from California. It was shocking and heartbreaking, and I felt incredibly guilty over it. The cats arrived safe and sound, but I'd had Neb for almost seven years. He wasn't just a creature kept in a tank, he was my companion. I loved him to pieces.

I wasn't sure when I would get another lizard. But as so often happens, when I made a tentative inquiry to a breeder a few weeks ago about whether they might have the next species I wanted to keep, of course he had a baby and would I like it? He was born last year, and ready to go, and they can ship him to me tomorrow if I really wanted. All this while my brain was still reeling from the loss of my other pet.

I took some time to think about it, and decided that it probably was a good opportunity to get a new friend, especially in case I didn't get another opportunity like this one soon (they're not the most common species). Even once I'd said yes I asked if he could be shipped in two weeks, so that I had time to prepare a tank and put together the lights he would need, etc.

Well, today was the big day. I got up at 8 am, just to make sure I didn't miss the fedex guy, and sat on my couch staring anxiously out the window with every vehicle that drove down the road. And then, just before noon, the fedex truck pulled up. And my husband and I held our breaths as the man got out with a small white box in his hands, stood in the middle of the street looking at the addresses, and then confidently walked up to our door.

I carried the box upstairs, absolutely terrified, and imagining a scenario like Schrodingers Cat playing out inside the cardboard. What would I find when I opened it?

Inside that box there? Was a styrofoam box, which was packed with newspaper, under which was a plastic box, in which was a lizard.

A pretty unhappy little lizard, who we promptly removed from the plastic box and let warm up in our hands for a few minutes.

And here he is, safely deposited in his tank and rather grumpily warming up under his basking light. He has slightly prettier colors than that (his face became white with yellow stripes with the heat), but after being in a box for 24 hours he was a dull gray.

Now, you're probably asking yourself what he is (besides a lizard). Our new friend is an Egyptian Uromastyx, which is a type of vegetarian desert lizard. They like it hot and they like to eat mainly dandelion greens, endive, and seeds. Very low maintenance once you have the proper set up. And this little guy, being from the Egyptian species, will grow over two feet long. How awesome is that?!

Now, how does my new lizard fit into my domestic theme for the blog? Simple. My pets are a daily part of my home life, and a place doesn't feel like home without them. I've kept lizards since I was eight years old, and have no intention of stopping anytime soon. This little guy is going to live in the guest room for as long as he fits in there, and I sure hope my visitors don't mind sharing their room with a scaly friend.

While I'm certainly worried about my new companion and his health and comfort, I already feel more at ease for having a lizard again. He doesn't have a name yet, though I'll let you know when he does. I've been looking at north african deities, but don't like anything so far. Now I'm looking at general baby names with meanings like "plants" and "gray" and "huge." Any of which I think would be appropriate for our (for now) tiny friend.

- Cait