Over the next couple of days, Amanda, Steve – and soon Bethany, too – joined forces to dissuade Ian from getting a lizard, claiming they didn't want to feel like they were living in Algonquin Provincial Park, with crickets chirping day and night. It didn't help when a
friend with a gecko told us to be prepared for crickets flying around the house.
But Steve and Amanda relented when Ian discovered a vegetarian lizard called a uromastyx (or uro). It has a distinctive spiky tail, leathery skin and turtlelike face. Craig Stewart, owner of Theurbanreptile.com, an online store that sells up to 8,000 reptiles a year from the Greater Toronto Area, told me uros are challenging to breed in captivity, so there are few breeders. And they require more care than leopard geckos, currently the most popular reptiles in Canada.
Stewart explained that uros need a basking area of at least 38 C every day and large tanks because they grow bigger than other lizards. They're also more expensive – about $130 each, compared to about $75 for a crested gecko. But geckos require live crickets that cost about $15 a month, or mealworms, whereas uros eat vegetables, and even get the water they need through food.
Ian and I pushed on, purchasing two uros. (Why two, you may be wondering? Because they're siblings and I'm a pushover. Enough said.)
Complications
A few weeks later, Ian noticed that Nuparu and Gali (named after Bionicle by Lego) weren't eating. A veterinarian who specializes in reptiles, whom I found in the yellow pages, gently examined both lizards and suggested boosting the temperature in Ian's room with a space heater. Ian also asked about the white substance that often covered their nostrils. The vet explained it was calcium deposits from food.
Luckily, the space heater did the trick and, before long, the lizards were basking and eating well. Ian also began clearing the calcium from their noses. Nuparu and Gali rest patiently in his hand as he performs this duty, looking up at him with their curious, beady eyes.
Responsibilites
Today, Nuparu and Gali are well- adjusted to life in Ian's room, and my son has proven to be a responsible and observant pet owner. He treats them like members of our family, leaving the radio on when he's not there (he's convinced they love music), drawing a picture of them for his family portrait at school, and taking them out to play when they scratch on the tank, which he calls "glass dancing."
Every morning Ian cleans out their poop, turns on the UV and heat lights, and prepares their food. Hanging above the 30-gallon tank is a list of greens suitable for uros, and a huge Valentine's Day card Ian made for them.
Amanda, Bethany and Steve don't spend much time with the lizards, but admit they are perfect cohabitants, without smell or noise – easier to live with than our two dogs. Bethany held Gali once, but didn't like how she could feel the lizard's bones through the skin on its belly. Sometimes Amanda and Steve peer into the tank, but so far have refused Ian's offers to play with them. However, Ian has convinced Steve to help him build a wooden enclosure for his lizards, so that Ian can take them outside on hot, sunny days.
Lizard love
I, surprisingly, have become fascinated by these creatures, chatting with other uro owners online at www.reptilescanada.com. I fill my pockets with dandelions, which they devour, and get down on the floor to play with them and Ian.
I'm in awe of their capacity for emotion. They curl up together when they bask and sleep in their cave, and they adore Ian, climbing all over him and walking toward him, even when others are in the room. Maybe one day Ian will become a paleontologist or a vet or a reptile breeder (though I shudder at that last one).
Page 2 of 3 - read page three to learn more about different reptile breeds!
