"Tribbies"

[frankykeno]

If anybody has words of encouragement, they'd be greatly appreciated at this point.

Well the first thing I'd like to say is how incredibly impressed I am at your facing this fear head on like this and also in your drive to know everything you can about this species before you took on this female lizard. That's very good to see and you've already gone far beyond what most people would ever do to learn how to be a great keeper for this species. Good for you!

A large part of most fears is the unknown, the unfamilar, the uncertainty of it all and the feeling of loss of control or lack of knowledge of a situation. You're addressing the knowledge issues beautifully! The more you know, the more confident you will naturally be. Information helps calm a lot of our fears.

You've placed her in a spot where you normally relax. This will help you equate her with good things, calm things. This will help the lizard become used to your comings and goings in a fairly quiet part of your home. That's good for both of you.

Remember there's no set timeline here. There's no "you must handle this lizard by such and such date". There's no time you must handle her for. Go with your instincts, push yourself a bit but not more than you can handle. Better you have her in your hand for 2 good, calm seconds than 10 minutes of you shaking in fear is my thought on that. The next time it might be 10 calm seconds and then next time 2 minutes. Any handling where you and the animal in question are not overly stressed is good handling time I figure.

I think you're off to a very fine start and I'm looking forward to watching you develop as a keeper of this species.

[Mindibun]

Aww, shucks Jo!

Thank you so much, those were definitely encouraging words.

I have to admit, I'm very proud of myself too. My friends and family all think I'm nuts. I've even had someone say to me, "Why are you BUYING a lizard to get over your fear? That's so stupid. Just go outside with a cup and catch one of the little wild ones. Pick it up, hold it, and let it go." I tried to explain that it wasn't that simple. That I wanted to start with a pet lizard - a tame lizard, that would move slowly, and allow me to just get used to it BEING there. For some reason, this person still didn't understand.

I definitely understand there is no set time line. But I do still have to keep up with husbandry and cleanliness and all that. Which means removing the lizard from the enclosure. This is why I say I don't have to handle her for another week; I figure it'll be about that long before her cage needs cleaned.

I wish I had a better support system, though. My boyfriend is more afraid of them than I am, and since family and friends think it's stupid, I'm on my own. I have to overcome this life long fear all by my onesies. Will you BP.netters be my support group? -lol-

[Mindibun]

She didn't come out of hiding for two days but I caught her drinking water yesterday morning. I fed her 5 crix that night, and they're all gone now. Changed the water bowl (Big feat, that) and didn't see any floaters so I'm assuming she ate.

I'm guessing I should feed her every 2-3 days. That sound about right? So since I don't want to be running back and forth to the reptile store every day, how do you all keep your feeder crickets? My boyfriend is afraid of them, so it should be a subtle set-up if at all possible.

[blackcrystal22]

She didn't come out of hiding for two days but I caught her drinking water yesterday morning. I fed her 5 crix that night, and they're all gone now. Changed the water bowl (Big feat, that) and didn't see any floaters so I'm assuming she ate.

I'm guessing I should feed her every 2-3 days. That sound about right? So since I don't want to be running back and forth to the reptile store every day, how do you all keep your feeder crickets? My boyfriend is afraid of them, so it should be a subtle set-up if at all possible.

Cricket keepers!
If one gets out though.. it'll drive you crazy and you'll NEVER find it.

I really like these lizards.. I might have to look into them! :]

[kc261]

Aw. Your little cutie is home! And it sounds like you are doing good with her!

It stinks that you don't have a better support group, but you know you'll get lots of support here at bp.net!

[Mindibun]

Had a scary experience today that I wanted to share with you all. I checked on my girl this morning and she was soaking in her water bowl (where she ALWAYS is ) and everything was fine.
(See her black tail sticking out? )


I came back about 20 minutes later, and she's floating on her back, upside down with her head hanging limp in the water. I, of course, panicked. I pulled the water bowl out to look at her, and I noticed her eyes were closed and her foot twitched. These guys are known to play dead so I stopped panicking and put the water bowl back down. I scooped her out of the water and put her on dry land where she immediately popped back to life and calmly walked to her shelter.

I have no idea what caused her to play dead like that; as far as I know, there was nothing to startle her. One minute she was fine, and the next she's belly-up. Which, by the way, is a terrible defense mechanism. Really. Did they ever stop to think about the logic behind that? "Hey guys, I got it! Instead of running away, when a predator comes, we'll just float belly-up. That way they'll think we're dead and just keep going!" Where was the smart little lizard going, "But, won't they just have easier access to our fleshy underside? And since we're not moving, won't we be an easy meal?"