the (long) story of zilla

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Posted by ZillaMonster on July 26, 2002 at 02:16:48:

In Reply to: Tell me his story!!!I love iguanas stories with happy endings!! posted by Flavia Guimaraes on July 26, 2002 at 00:33:08:

hello, i'm zilla's "daddy". my girlfriend is stikigekko. although originally he was my pet, we both share the responsibility and enjoyment of taking care of zilla now. anyways.... on to the story....

we got him about a year ago from someone who just decided they didn't want him anymore. he was probably around a year old, give or take a few months, and wasn't used to being handled so he was quite a fiesty little guy. he seemed very healthy though... mostly bright green with lots of blue highlights on his upper body. not having a UV light yet, i soon started taking him outside every day for about 30min or so.... having a good grip on him as he was yet to be trusted on his own. well, one day he was being particularly good so i gave him an inch of freedom, barely releasing my hand to let him get a bit more comfortable on my lap. well, realizing this was his chance, in a sudden burst of energy and without prior warning he had jumped off my lap and onto the driveway and started running. :*( he ran under the car out of reach at first, then he made a run for the bushes. i could swear at one point he was running on his back 2 legs like those lizards that run on water. he was much quicker than me, and ran straight to the tallest tree in the yard. he stood there just out of reach for about 30min while i contemplated my plan of attack to retrieve him without chasing him further up the tree. about an hour went by and i started getting really worried he wouldn't ever come down, so i tried climbing the tree as a last chance effort. sure enough, he ran further up the tree and almost out of sight. well... he eventually ran up out of sight and i stayed outside for probably around 4 or 5 hours waiting for him to come down until it got pitch dark and i gave up hope.

well, 2 COLD months later i've moved out of that house and an hour away. me and the g/f visit her parent's house and they say they got a phone call from my old roomate........ THEY FOUND ZILLA! i immediately drive to the house where he ran away, apparently he had been found laying on a rock in one of those small ponds you buy at the hardware store. weak, cold, skinny. they had him sitting in a cardboard box in the kitchen with the lid closed. i immediately gently picked him up and started warming him up with the heat of my hands, and made an appointment with a vet first thing the next morning. set up his old tank with heat lamps for the night. the vet gave him some calcium shots, some meds for some parasites, and said it looked like he may have dislocated his spine but that he could turn out to be ok with a lot of tlc and patience. she gave us steriods to help him recover quicker. so for the next month or so we had to keep him in a small enlosure so he couldn't climb around and risk injuring himself again. we had to poop him every day by soaking him in warm water. took him to a different vet soon after the first who gave him more calcium and made sure the parasites were gone. well...... to sum it up, he's doing MUCH better now (about 5 or 6 months down the road). he couldn't move his back legs for a long time but he's slowly regained movement and is able to climb and jump around. he still has trouble scratching his head with his back legs and he'll trip up every now and then when he runs because he's still working on coordination. we've been giving him plenty of calcium suppliments and UV exposure ever since. and now we just built him a brand new enclosure "The Big Jungle Gym" http://www.lizardcages.fws1.com/introduction.htm which i would recomment to anyone as i believe zilla is going to like it a lot. and after all this i believe we've earned a good deal of trust from our little friend, and he seems to like to be held almost as much as we like to hold him. but he'd still rather be sitting in the open window catching some unfiltered rays and looking down at the trees and street 3 stories below. ;)

: I am a sentimental person!!I still cry when I watch the movie ET on the television (ET go home!!!OOOOO SOOOOO SWEET)!!! I didnt watch the movie Godzilla because he dies in the end!!

: Flavia

:
: : just a bit of info on zilla..
: : he is a little over 2ft long, probablly about 2yrs old. We are sure he's male because he went into his first breeding season and left us 'little presents' when we picked him up. I think he is a bit small for his age because he had a spinal injury a while ago after he escaped for 2 months up a tree! Can you believe he actually came back. Poor little guy.
: : :( He's ok now though, just a bit clumsy.

: :
: : : : : ok, I hope it works this time. Here is zilla in the window chillin.

: : : : :

Follow Ups:

Re: the (long) story of zilla xta 07/26/02 (0)
GREAT STORY, THANK YOU ZILLA MONSTER!! (more) Flavia Guimaraes 07/26/02 (0)
Great story and what a beauty!! Wonderful colors! Sofia_C 07/26/02 (0)

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: hello, i'm zilla's "daddy". my girlfriend is stikigekko. although originally he was my pet, we both share the responsibility and enjoyment of taking care of zilla now. anyways.... on to the story.... : we got him about a year ago from someone who just decided they didn't want him anymore. he was probably around a year old, give or take a few months, and wasn't used to being handled so he was quite a fiesty little guy. he seemed very healthy though... mostly bright green with lots of blue highlights on his upper body. not having a UV light yet, i soon started taking him outside every day for about 30min or so.... having a good grip on him as he was yet to be trusted on his own. well, one day he was being particularly good so i gave him an inch of freedom, barely releasing my hand to let him get a bit more comfortable on my lap. well, realizing this was his chance, in a sudden burst of energy and without prior warning he had jumped off my lap and onto the driveway and started running. :*( he ran under the car out of reach at first, then he made a run for the bushes. i could swear at one point he was running on his back 2 legs like those lizards that run on water. he was much quicker than me, and ran straight to the tallest tree in the yard. he stood there just out of reach for about 30min while i contemplated my plan of attack to retrieve him without chasing him further up the tree. about an hour went by and i started getting really worried he wouldn't ever come down, so i tried climbing the tree as a last chance effort. sure enough, he ran further up the tree and almost out of sight. well... he eventually ran up out of sight and i stayed outside for probably around 4 or 5 hours waiting for him to come down until it got pitch dark and i gave up hope. : well, 2 COLD months later i've moved out of that house and an hour away. me and the g/f visit her parent's house and they say they got a phone call from my old roomate........ THEY FOUND ZILLA! i immediately drive to the house where he ran away, apparently he had been found laying on a rock in one of those small ponds you buy at the hardware store. weak, cold, skinny. they had him sitting in a cardboard box in the kitchen with the lid closed. i immediately gently picked him up and started warming him up with the heat of my hands, and made an appointment with a vet first thing the next morning. set up his old tank with heat lamps for the night. the vet gave him some calcium shots, some meds for some parasites, and said it looked like he may have dislocated his spine but that he could turn out to be ok with a lot of tlc and patience. she gave us steriods to help him recover quicker. so for the next month or so we had to keep him in a small enlosure so he couldn't climb around and risk injuring himself again. we had to poop him every day by soaking him in warm water. took him to a different vet soon after the first who gave him more calcium and made sure the parasites were gone. well...... to sum it up, he's doing MUCH better now (about 5 or 6 months down the road). he couldn't move his back legs for a long time but he's slowly regained movement and is able to climb and jump around. he still has trouble scratching his head with his back legs and he'll trip up every now and then when he runs because he's still working on coordination. we've been giving him plenty of calcium suppliments and UV exposure ever since. and now we just built him a brand new enclosure "The Big Jungle Gym" http://www.lizardcages.fws1.com/introduction.htm which i would recomment to anyone as i believe zilla is going to like it a lot. and after all this i believe we've earned a good deal of trust from our little friend, and he seems to like to be held almost as much as we like to hold him. but he'd still rather be sitting in the open window catching some unfiltered rays and looking down at the trees and street 3 stories below. ;) : : I am a sentimental person!!I still cry when I watch the movie ET on the television (ET go home!!!OOOOO SOOOOO SWEET)!!! I didnt watch the movie Godzilla because he dies in the end!! : : Flavia : : : : : just a bit of info on zilla.. : : : he is a little over 2ft long, probablly about 2yrs old. We are sure he's male because he went into his first breeding season and left us 'little presents' when we picked him up. I think he is a bit small for his age because he had a spinal injury a while ago after he escaped for 2 months up a tree! Can you believe he actually came back. Poor little guy. : : : :( He's ok now though, just a bit clumsy. : : : : : : : : : ok, I hope it works this time. Here is zilla in the window chillin. : : : : : : <img src="http://gallery.pethobbyist.com/data/4226zillabest.jpg">

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