LE SOLEIL DE CHÂTEAUGUAY (Sorel, Québec) 17 September 05 Reptiles rule the roost in Miller household (Dan Rosenburg)
Christina Miller has nine pets at home...more than your average Chateauguay teenager. But Miller cannot put a leash on them and take them for a walk. Neither can they bare their teeth when strangers approach. And they most definitely can't fetch her slippers or the morning paper.
They are not called Fido, Rex, Lassie, Bowser, Cookie, Boo-Boo, Fifi, Spot or Rin-Tin-Tin. For the record, Miller's pets are all reptiles and amphibians, such as iguanas, lizards, water dragons, geckos, salamanders and newts. In case you're wondering, their names are Draco, Puff, Tiamat, Magma, Hyper, Cerulean, Ocelot, Turbo and Hoppy.
"Most of their names are reflections of the animals themselves," she says. For example, Draco is a giant green iguana; Puff is an Asian water dragon; Tiamat is a mountain-horned dragon; Magma is a Japanese fire-belly newt; Hyper is a very active Chinese fire-belly newt; Cerulean is a blue-spotted salamander hybrid with a Jefferson salamander; Ocelot is a leopard gecko; Turbo is a Haitian curly-tailed lizard, and Hoppy is an American toad.
Whatever possessed the 19-year-old Vanier College student to keep such a collection in her bedroom? "At first it was a hobby," she says. "But after a while I realized they were exotic animals and I decided to keep them as pets. They have their own personalities. However, wild-caught reptiles don't make good pets. They are filled with parasites and die.
"Since I'm studying animal health technology at Vanier, as a technician I can inform people better about reptiles and amphibians on my website. I can help you choose the right species for you. There are thousands of various types, and the type of care required for each of them is very different." Her website, if you are so inclined to check it out, is www.herptiles.net.
Christina says that a pet-store lizard can weigh up to 20 pounds and grow up to six or seven feet long. They can live up to 20 years, longer than most household pets.
Her interest in reptiles began when she was in elementary school at the age of 10 when she acquired two small lizards. Some of her classmates used to make fun of her and call her 'Lizard Lady.' "But now I take it as a compliment," she says with a smile. "A lot of my boyfriends were terrified of lizards, but now my classmates come to me for advice on caring for them. I always liked animals and fell into this gradually."
Through the years she has had over 20 species. Strangely enough, there are some species of geckos that do bark like a dog. "They are very beautiful and they are known as the vicious bulldogs of the lizard family," she says.
Most reptiles and amphibians are vegetarians and eat such food as collard greens, snow peas, green beans and blueberries. "They eat a lot and they'd starve to death on lettuce alone. But their bodies can't stand certain things. For example, broccoli can cause problems," Christina notes. "It can give thyroid problems to humans and cause certain animals to die a painful death."
Speaking of painful deaths, Christina recalls that she paid $99 for a Pallida lizard eight years ago. But the animal had ingested wood chips in the pet store. "This was a painful lesson in pet-store ignorance for me," she confides. "Some of them irritate me because they don't know what they're doing. Leopard geckos do best on paper towels. Like wood chips, sand is also harmful."
Christina is currently working on a book about the care of a leopard gecko, a common type of pet lizard. She says she has already found a publishing company that has expressed interest. Articles on her and regular columns have appeared in Reptile Magazine.
If you think her hobby is rare, consider the fact that 65 million households keep reptiles and amphibians as pets in the U.S.
"If Christina lived in a rain forest, she'd save every lizard there," observes her mom, Edie Hannan. Christina's dad, Dave Miller, helps her build custom-made enclosures for each pet. Draco's tank, for example, is constructed out of old windows from her grandmother's house. "Aquariums are not suitable," she notes.
In her spare time Christina works at the Montreal Bird and Exotic Animal Hospital with owner/ founder Dr. Corina Lupu, one of the few veterinarians in Montreal who can treat both birds and exotics. Predictably, Christina plans to enrol in zoology at McGill University next year.
Reptiles rule the roost in Miller household