Here's a really cute story I wanted to share with all you chuckopohiles out there!
About a year ago I bought an adult female chuck from a Kingsnake.com ad. She arrived in DISMAL shape - so skinny that every tail vertebral bone showed in stark detail. Didn't even look like a chuck, she was so thin in the body. She weighed almost NOTHING. To hold her was like holding AIR. Very pathetic indeed! She was terribly frightened of me and struggled constantly to get away when I'd try to make friends with her.
This little girl, Fran, wouldn't eat the greens salad I feed my captive chucks. All she'd eat were dandelions and honeysuckle flowers and mealworms, and that only when she didn't see me watching. This was OK all spring and summer as I'm a slave to my creatures and will spend as long as it takes on hot summer days to find a handful of flowers for her to eat. Ain't easy during July and August when there's maybe ONE dandelion/acre that's blooming, but I did what it took to keep her alive! The whole time, I played with her a lot and she slowly became less fearful of me.
Well, time passed. Winter came and flowers disappeared entirely. I didn't want to give her too many mealworms 'cuz they're not supposed to be very good for chucks. Fran eventually, grudgingly, began to eat greens, very mincingly, but she did eat them. She very slowly fattened up and gradually took on the attitude of "So what?" when I'd pick her up. I was thrilled.
Fran's now a very tame, chunky chuckie who will eat salad without hesitation. Interestingly, after all the months of special goody handouts from me, she's taken to perking up measurably when I enter the lizard room. She's always looking for the odd mealworm or flower. She often gets one just 'cuz I SEE her lookin' and will go back to the mealworm drawer to pull a fat one out for her! Fran manages me quite effectively!
At first, if I only had a FEW flowers and not enough for everyone in the cage, I'd remove her from the cage, set her on the carpet, and try to feed her as much as she'd eat on this individual basis. For a long time, Fran would bolt as soon as she hit the floor. She wouldn't eat while I was around. NOW, I retrieve her, sit down on the floor, put HER down, and she eats whatever goodies I have for her right out of my hand. We do have a good time during our flower social!
The ultimate thrill happened yesterday. I came in right before dusk with a handful of dandelions for Fran. She and all her cagemates were in their caves for the night. I saw no one out to enjoy my flowers. I stood over the cage for a minute and kept saying "FRAN! Come get your FLOWERS!" No one appeared. I left the room, disappointed nobody would get the flowers right then, but looked back ONCE MORE to see if anyone had come out. Sure enough! There was FRAN, and ONLY Fran, looking at me like "Well, here I am! Where's my treat?!?"
So don't tell me lizards don't have SOME degree of intelligence! I don't think for a second that Fran knew what I was saying, but she heard me talking and did figure out that I maybe had something to eat. She thought it over and decided it was worth the effort to come out and look now, and sleep later. It also shows that time, effort, and PERSISTENCE just might overcome the sometimes challenging obstacles to rehabilitating a wildcaught who is extremely scared, a picky eater, and in very bad shape.
I'm so happy to have Fran! She's a keeper!
Sue Terry
Looks like FRAN lucked out and found a good home, one that serves danelions at all hours/ LOL