Ponderings...

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Posted by nate351 on March 21, 2003 at 18:14:43:

hey all...

I was just reading through some posts from a few days back about buying baby igs at a pet shop. That got me thinking about my first iguana. I was 14 and had had a few lizards before and a long history of obsession with wild herps (always the kid catching snakes and frogs, etc...). I had just lost an agama of some sort after about $400 of vet bills, and decided I wanted an iguana. Iguanas were all the rave at the time and were sort of the pinnacle of lizard pets (early 90's, by the way).

Anyway, I went with my mom down to the local pet store in the mall after much persuasion. I had been reading Reptiles magazine and had researched a lot of care info and thought I was ready.

Well, I got the little bright green ig home, saving it from a plate of broccoli and iceberg lettuce. It was the last one they had, and didn't look very healthy, but I thought I could save it. Exactly one week later, it died. I remember that even at the age of 14, I was devestated. I thought it was my fault, and that I had screwed something up and cost this little iguana its life. My mom told me that it was a learning experience and that I didn't do anything wrong, and I could get another. I told her that it was the life of an animal which did not simply exist for my learning benefit. After I calmed down, we took the dead iguana back to the pet shop and exchanged it for a live one. I remember thinking that that was the most horrific disregard for my poor lost creature, but we did anyway.

By that time, the pet store had gotten another shipment, and so i had the pick of the litter. I got the new iguana, named it Ugly (I was a weird kid), and it lived well for years.

I guess my point of all of this is that I had not considered until now that not only do all of those animals that wind up dead after leaving the pet store suffer, but so do the unsuspecting people who have great hopes for their new little igs... Not only are the commercial pet store people hurting animals, but I am sure there is quite a large amount of human bereavment. Someone said awhile ago that iguanas are substandard merchandise, and I just get the feeling that when iguanas are treated as merchandise, that person is right.

buyer beware.

anyway, I was just bored and pondering.
thanks for letting me share.
nate.

Follow Ups:

Re: Ponderings... girlzilla 03/24/03 (0)
true true :( n/m xta 03/22/03 (0)
Re: Ponderings... Samcin 03/21/03 (0)