CLINTON HERALD (Iowa) 24 October 06 Reptile reputations not always fair (Betty Smith)
Tahlequah, Okla.: Cheryl Allen may have been even nicer than usual to her bearded dragon, Galeru, on Saturday.
After all, Oct. 21 is National Reptile Awareness Day.
While reptiles have received a bad rap over the years for being slimy (untrue – amphibians are more likely to be wet and slimy), slithery and dangerous, more and more people enjoy the company of these creatures in their homes.
While not as cuddly as a fuzzy kitten, puppy or bunny, reptiles do have their own personalities and respond to their owners if they have received the proper attention.
Every day, Galeru accompanies Allen to her job at the Oklahoma Scenic Rivers Commission. He stays in a cage next to her desk, and when he gets larger, he will be allowed to roam around the office. A lizard Allen owned previously did so, and would come when his name was called.
Allen got Galeru when he was a tiny fellow, just a week old. Now he’s 4 months old and about a foot long – tiny enough to risk being stepped on if he were turned loose in the office. He eats crickets and green, leafy vegetables, favoring Romaine lettuce. When Allen first got him, he ate quarter-inch crickets, but he’s graduated to three-eighths-inch ones. Allen mail-orders the crickets, buying 500 or 1,000 at a time.
Currently Galeru’s diet consists of 75 percent crickets, 25 percent lettuce. The percentage of crickets will decrease as he gets older, and he will eat a greater variety of vegetables.
“You have to be able to handle crickets,” Allen warned prospective lizard owners.
Derek Smithee, of the Oklahoma Water Resources Board, knew Allen previously had a lizard. He raises bearded dragons and brought Galeru to Allen.
Bearded dragons are native to Australia. Galeru is named after the mythical Australian rainbow serpent, a dragon.
“The rainbow serpent lies down and when it gets up, there’s a river,” Allen said.
Galeru will grow to about 2 feet long and develop more distinct frilly barbs around his neck and throat as he gets bigger. Bearded dragons live about 10 years with proper care.
“I’ve always liked lizards,” Allen said. “I like the way they move, their feet, their personality. They don’t require a lot of care.”
Galeru requires a special light that simulates sunlight. It maintains the temperature in his aquarium at 85 to 100 degrees during the day. Allen turns the light on at 5 a.m., waking him up. After a little time to adjust, he gets breakfast. Lights-out time is 5 p.m. He can sleep at 68 degrees, a normal household temperature.
Allen keeps water accessible to Galeru, but has never seen him drink. She believes he gets his moisture from the lettuce and a daily spray of water.
“You can put them in the tub and let them swim,” Allen said.
And what about cleaning up after a lizard? Allen said they have a daily bowel movement, which rather resembles “bird poop.” She picks it up with a tissue and flushes it.
When she first got Galeru, Allen didn’t know the animal’s sex, but later he developed “boy parts.”
Lizards are quiet creatures, but they will hiss if alarmed.
“He went through an adolescent stage where he was angry and he would bite people,” Allen said.
Lizards’ teeth are minimal, and the bites didn’t really hurt. They didn’t break the skin.
“They’re really pretty docile. You have to handle them every day,” Allen said.
She said that while many people have a phobia about snakes, they aren’t afraid of lizards. But people considering getting a reptile should ask themselves if they have the facilities and equipment required to care for it.
“It’s a 10-year commitment,” she said.
Galeru is still in the learning process, but Allen works with him to increase his responses. Someday, he’ll sit on her shoulder and ride around.
“You can shake his crickets and he knows the sound,” she said.
People who don’t necessarily want to own a reptile, but enjoy watching them, can do so at many places, including zoos and wildlife sanctuaries.
Many visitors enjoy seeing the reptiles at Three Forks Nature Center, said Brian Qualls. The center currently has nine species of snakes and two types of turtles. The lizards were released earlier this year to return to the wild, but Qualls expects new ones will come to the center in the spring.
“A lot of people want to see the bobcat as well,” he said.
The eagle also draws visitors to his cage.
The creatures are ones that could be encountered during a hike through Sequoyah State Park, or elsewhere.
“Everything we have in the Nature Center is native to Oklahoma, particularly Northeastern Oklahoma,” Qualls said.
Nature Center staff members present a regular program called “Things That Slither and Hiss,” to center visitors, and to area schools and groups. The program includes poisonous and nonpoisonous snakes, and how to tell the difference between them.
“We teach especially the younger ones to tell the difference between poisonous and nonpoisonous,” Qualls said. “There are a lot of misconceptions about different species of animals and their habits.”
For example, people shouldn’t kill any snake they see – especially beneficial ones, such as the king snake, which eats vermin and other snakes.
“If you don’t know what species it is, the best thing is to leave it alone,” he said.
Qualls said quite q few people acquire snakes without realizing how much is involved in caring for them. Some larger snakes eat six or seven rats at a time, and that can be costly.
Reptiles grow throughout their lifetime, and eat more as they get bigger. Crickets have to be ordered because they can’t be caught year-round. Reptiles require the proper humidity and temperature. And not all veterinarians provide care for reptiles.
“Do your research on the species you’re considering getting,” Qualls recommended.
Reptile reputations not always fair