Re: History

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Posted by Ally's Mom on October 13, 2000 at 22:12:28:

In Reply to: Re: 1st try for pics posted by Sue2 on October 13, 2000 at 04:41:25:

I got Ally through unscrupulous, although well-intentioned, tactics. One cold February afternoon, here in Canada, I took my daughter & her boyfried $hopping for new UVB lights and a couple of CHE's for his and her lizards.
After being home a while, my daughter says she has something to show me. They lead me downstairs to a 10 gal. aquarium where I see this itsy bitsy little purplish bits of folds of skin on top of a miniature lizard skeleton, sitting on a stick. I honestly am certain it didn't weigh an ounce.
Apparently, at one of the pet stores we went to, the boyfriend was directed to the OUTSIDE of the store where they had a huge pile of cracked aquariums for sale. Crammed in the upper corner of one of the aquariums was Ally. When he stuck his hand in, Ally crawled up his sleeve. Boyfriend was furious not just at the state of the emaciated lizard, but the fact the store did not miss him enough to look for him. I explained this was theft, as I rushed to give him one dish of ig salad and one dish of crickets & mealworms. He would eat neither. I phoned the store to ask if they had this type of lizard and what they would eat. The owner said they had never had, nor had he seen any type of lizard with with a spiny or spikey tail. So now I had a new lizard friend for Iggy. I won't bore you with the three pages worth of antics I went through to get him to eat etc. (You think an alpha-dance looks funny???)
After a year, someone on the cteno/cyclura forum identified him as a ctenosaura quinquecarinata. They are supposed to grow to one foot S-T-L, with the tail being at least half of the length. Ally's body is about 5 and a half inches, and his tail is slightly stumped....and there is a surface crack right at the base that remains to this day, so I assume however he lost the tip - it was nearly a full, complete tail loss.
Even the guy who id' Ally does not know how long they live. I think he does NEED a bit of animal protein, because without it he does not shed or grow. The first year he didn't grow at all. I also know he needs a whole lot of space - his 4-5 foot by 3 by 3 barely contains him. He needs hot temps....doesn't tail whip that I have seen...and goes catatonic after being held. I put his pictures on the web for two reasons...firstly, so I could show the forum, and secondly maybe some poor soul searching like I was will see it. I could find NO pictures anywhere.
So that's the story! Thanks to all who are interested/care. Now I will see what I can find out about his 'deaths' and 'rebirths'!!! (I think it must have been forum chanting!)
Wendy.
(Note - when I found him 'dead' in the morning, the cage had been covered as usual all night for extra insulation, and none of the cats were in the house.)

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: I got Ally through unscrupulous, although well-intentioned, tactics. One cold February afternoon, here in Canada, I took my daughter & her boyfried $hopping for new UVB lights and a couple of CHE's for his and her lizards. : After being home a while, my daughter says she has something to show me. They lead me downstairs to a 10 gal. aquarium where I see this itsy bitsy little purplish bits of folds of skin on top of a miniature lizard skeleton, sitting on a stick. I honestly am certain it didn't weigh an ounce. : Apparently, at one of the pet stores we went to, the boyfriend was directed to the OUTSIDE of the store where they had a huge pile of cracked aquariums for sale. Crammed in the upper corner of one of the aquariums was Ally. When he stuck his hand in, Ally crawled up his sleeve. Boyfriend was furious not just at the state of the emaciated lizard, but the fact the store did not miss him enough to look for him. I explained this was theft, as I rushed to give him one dish of ig salad and one dish of crickets & mealworms. He would eat neither. I phoned the store to ask if they had this type of lizard and what they would eat. The owner said they had never had, nor had he seen any type of lizard with with a spiny or spikey tail. So now I had a new lizard friend for Iggy. I won't bore you with the three pages worth of antics I went through to get him to eat etc. (You think an alpha-dance looks funny???) : After a year, someone on the cteno/cyclura forum identified him as a ctenosaura quinquecarinata. They are supposed to grow to one foot S-T-L, with the tail being at least half of the length. Ally's body is about 5 and a half inches, and his tail is slightly stumped....and there is a surface crack right at the base that remains to this day, so I assume however he lost the tip - it was nearly a full, complete tail loss. : Even the guy who id' Ally does not know how long they live. I think he does NEED a bit of animal protein, because without it he does not shed or grow. The first year he didn't grow at all. I also know he needs a whole lot of space - his 4-5 foot by 3 by 3 barely contains him. He needs hot temps....doesn't tail whip that I have seen...and goes catatonic after being held. I put his pictures on the web for two reasons...firstly, so I could show the forum, and secondly maybe some poor soul searching like I was will see it. I could find NO pictures anywhere. : So that's the story! Thanks to all who are interested/care. Now I will see what I can find out about his 'deaths' and 'rebirths'!!! (I think it must have been forum chanting!) : Wendy. : (Note - when I found him 'dead' in the morning, the cage had been covered as usual all night for extra insulation, and none of the cats were in the house.)

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