You can hardly even see out the window. I see that my little Scion is near-buried. There's already been 23" of snow in Central Park in Manhattan, but our bean-counting mayor will probably still have the schools open. No kids but the most local will come, but he'd be damned if he'd let the teachers have a freebie, even at the risk of life and limb to get to school.
Yeah, I think my Yarrows are winding down. I guess it's time. They are absolutely one of my favorite species, a must-have, being so beautiful and just the right size.
My Chi-chi whiptail just curled up in the cricket bowl (I pinch off the hind legs of the crickets so they stay in this bowl and don't multiply in the tank) and went to sleep, never waking up. She looked utterly peaceful when she died, which comforted me. She was still looking beautiful, plump, had recently shed. I guess her little heart just gave out. She had to be at least 2 years old when Ian caught her and mailed her to me, as she certainly wasn't a YOY. She led a very pampered life, showing off her personal quirks. She lost her tail about a year ago when she saw me at the tank and leaped halfway out to get her waxworms, then the screen top fell on her tail. But I loved that little gal anyway, she was just so personable.
I've got a pair of zebra tailed lizards, too. I put them up in a 30 gallon breeder tank with sand and Lizard Litter separate areas of substrate, separated by picture jasper "mountains". They seem very happy, as does the young NM whiptail in there with them. They lost their initial spookiness and will now eagerly take waxworms I drop in there without flinching at my presence. A few months ago, the female ZT laid 7 eggs, which were apparently unfertilized. I wish the male would get on the ball there, as it would be neat to breed these beautiful guys.
I have 1.4 Texas banded gex in another tank. Although I saw them definitely mating a few weeks ago, and keep the area around their water bowl moist by overflowing the bowl, I have not seen any Texas banded gecko eggs or babies. Is there anything special about their breeding? They also seem VERY happy, and are darling pets. I have a red light which comes on at night so I can see them in their nocturnal reverie.
Yes, all my lizards are very appreciated for being what they are, and lead pampered lives.
If you have any stray young lizards of small species cluttering up your yard, yes I would very much appreciate adding their presence to my living room. I have a 20 long empty now, which would be great for some utas, earless lizards, etc., there is the vacancy in the Yarrows tank for a whiptail, and I could probably put another small whiptail species in with the ZTs and NM whiptail. A chuck would be too big for my small apartment though, I'm afraid. It sure would be neat to have, but I couldn't provide it the space it deserves.
I'm not sure exactly what states I'll be cruising through this summer. Last summer I traveled 3300 miles through CO, UT, NV, AZ, and NM on a glorious Grand Circle road trip. I can pretty much count on CO (Denver being my western headquarters), AZ, and NM, as I want to revisit Canyon de Chelly and the Acoma pueblo.
