Iguana Iguana

[soc_puppet]

So I'm sitting at the computer, surfing the 'net, when I hear a loud *thump*.
I figure it's probably just Hamilton (our pet green iguana--ask me about how we got him some time ^^; or how we found out he was a 'he' >_>) charging the iguana in the glass again. (His reflection in his habitat. Iguanas are very territorial u_u) Then I hear Mom laughing. Since I need a laugh, I go to see what was so funny.
According to Mom, Hamilton was sitting on his Iguana Post (it's like a cat's scratching post, only home-made and taller) when, all of a sudden, he jumps off to charge the mirror @_@

Socchan: ...Iguanas are nuts.
Mom: Yup ^____^

This post brought to you by Origami DNA. (Speaking of, does anyone know/remember which way (clockwise/counter-clockwise) DNA spirals? o_oa I don't. And yes, it is important. Er, sorta.)

Comments

[phantom-kaito.livejournal.com]

Okay I'll bite. How did you find him and how di you ifnd out he was a he?

[soc_puppet]

:D
Okay, before I begin, there are two things you should probably know.
1) Dad is a garage-sale nut. More precisely, he is a bargain nut, and as garage sales usually have really good bargains, he spends much time during the summer checking them out.
2) For a few years when I was younger (though not by much), I had an infatuation with green iguanas ^_^; I'd mostly gotten over it by the time we got our new pet.

Now, one day during the summer, the year before last, Dad found an iguana at a garage sale, and remembered that I liked them. The people selling it wanted $75 for the whole set-up (tank (about 1' x 2'), hot rock, and lizard), but were willing to take offers. Dad offered them $40 ^^; No deal. Later on, while I was away, Dad found the same iguana at a different garage sale, for only $25. He snatched it up.

When Dad got the iguana home, the first thing Mom did was read up on iguanas. Or maybe 'take it to the vet' came first, I don't know; I wasn't there. I just know that, when we got the lizard, Mom did research. When she took it to the vet, the vet said it was probably a girl.

Note: It's really hard to tell which sex an iguana is before they reach maturity. Unfortunately for iguana owners, that takes a few years ^^; So by the time they know whether their iguana is a girl or a boy, the iguana has already been named. Since our iguana looked feminine, the vet guessed it was a 'she'.

Later on, though, Mom walked in on the iguana (Then 'Greta', named after Margaret Hamilton, the actress who played the wicked witch of the west (both green, ya see)) sunning himself. And, uh, not completely covered.

...yeah. You know that kids' book, Heather Has Two Mommies? Well, male iguanas have two of something very different...

And that's how we came to know that our pet was a male ^_^; We didn't find out for sure until a few other characteristics showed up, but that was a really big clue. So instead of calling him 'Greta' for the rest of his life (and subjecting him to the same trials as the Boy Named Sue) we started calling him 'Hamilton'. We now claim that it's after Alexander Hamilton, on the $10 bill (again, both green).

Don't you just love learning new things? ^___^

Special note: Do not give green iguanas hot rocks. They can't feel heat on their tummies, and so if they stay on one too long, it'll cook them from the inside *_*