OkcPets Magazine January 2022

22 OKC Pets • January/February 2022 I t’s interesting what happens when you open up the doors and windows of your life, figuratively speaking. All sorts of things find their way in, such as unexpect- ed revelations, new friends, hobbies you never knew existed, strays of all sorts — people, cats, dogs. Lizards. I leaned forward, studying Clyde. Good name for a lizard, right? Especially an Aus- tralian bearded dragon. It was coined from the 1960s hit song “Tie Me Kangaroo Down, Sport,” so we figured the recogni- tion of his cultural past would aid in his adjustment to living in the kitchen. “Well, hi, fella. We’re setting you up here; hope you like it! Got your heater, your rock, your light, your water dish … what’s next?” His head turned with pre- cision, and his eyes locked on mine as he returned my stare. Much to my surprise, he gave me a slow nod. Wait, what? He’s actually looking at me! Whoa! I’m eye-to-eye with Mr. Lizard Man! The staring contest continued. Then I blinked and lost. Letting a Lizard into Your Life For those of us living in the southwestern states, these exotic reptiles often trigger comparisons to the childhood phenomena of finding “horny toads.” Indeed, both animals have spike patterns reflecting their names. The “horns” of our native horned lizard follow in lengths along its sides and tail, the body is stubby, and the nose is blunt. On the other hand, a “beardie” has a longer body, triangulate head, and sweeping spiky extensions along the jaw, back of the head, and beneath the chin — a little more like Smaug from The Hobbit , with the beard becoming an ornate collar when the mouth opens and the throat extends. I knew nothing about these guys. I had always thought reptiles were interesting animals but never pursued a personal relationship with one until I found myself incorporating an adult steplizard into my life. At the time, there wasn’t a lot of information available — the Internet had bloomed but was nothing like it is today. I did my best by Clyde, who lived to be nine-and-a-half (in later years, I found out that was a decent life span for these guys — whew!). I had really enjoyed him too and was excited to explore more about beardies with this assignment. Research in all forms ensued: environ- ment (heat source, UV lamp, shallow water bowl/tub, large enclosure), nutrition (bugs — mealworms, crickets, beetles — plus a wide variety of vegetables and fruits), habitat (proper substrate, hiding places, climbing places), and enrichment. Wait, what? Enrichment ? Like toys? And they could be affectionate ? I’d never heard of snuggling a lizard . You know psychol- ogy classes and all those references to our “lizard brains”? Weren’t those indications of low-level instinct as opposed to higher- level thinking? Taming Dragons Australian Lizards Are Affectionate Pets by Kim Doner