Godzilla -vs- Lassie

A friend recently asked me (hi Darlene!) if I ever mention my lizards on this site. Not thinking they were really related to Service Dogs or my disability, I had not mentioned them. But lizards are great pets for the disabled. (I guess snakes would also fall into that category, but no matter how many I hold, I still don't want one!)

Lizards are usually easy to care for, comparing to a cat or dog. The companionship and bonding isn't there, they aren't very cuddly, but mine do make eye contact when I talk to them. So, with that, let me compare:


HOUSING:
  • Dogs: Need big house, decent sized yard, and a king size bed. Especially when you have 3 dogs and 2 humans.
  • Lizards: Need a suitably sized glass tank with CalciSand or orchid bark flooring. Some rocks and sticks to climb on and hide under. I found my rocks and sticks in the woods and sterilized them. They need special light and heat.
FEEDING:
  • Dogs: Need a good quality food to reduce the quantity of fecal output, and to reduce gas. Gas is bad.
  • Lizards: Bugs. Or veggies.
BONDING:
  • Dogs: You and your dogs are a pack. You are the pack leader. You're dogs may cry when you leave them alone.
  • Lizards: Mommy Who?
HEALTH:
  • Dogs: Require annual veterinarian checkups, immunization shots, rabies shots.
  • Lizards: Home treatment. Usually.
TRAINING:
  • Dogs: Obedience classes, housebreaking, chewing issues, heel... and then add all the Service Dog training.
  • Lizards: Stay. Done.

Catch my drift? The real work with lizards is setting up the housing and the feeding, especially if they do eat live prey. This requires either trips to the local reptile store that sells live crickets and mealworms or keeping fresh collard greens and other veggies in the fridge.

I've been able to "train" my lizards to eat dead crickets. I start with live crickets and refrigerate them so that they became sluggish and would just lay there in a dish. Eventually, I was able to purchase my crickets in bulk, "gut load" them, and then freeze them. I would put the frozen crickets in a lizard dish to thaw, and then give them to the lizards. Yay, no live crickets in the house.

NOTE: When buying crickets in bulk, be prepared to have the UPS dude think you're whacked.

I'll post more later on the different lizards I've owned over the years.


Crips, what kind of pets do you have? How have they impacted your lives and how have you modified your life to care for them?

Comments

Anonymous said…
Hey, long time reader here!

I was just wondering if there was some way of contacting you privately, as I have a bunch of questions about owning both a lizard and a disability at once, heheh. I've already got the disability and am looking to add the lizard!

I look forward to being able to chat with you somehow! (you can e-mail me at hilikme@live.com, though I'd prefer not to have this e-mail posted up in the comments on your blog, thanks)
3:52 PM
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