Well, hello there!

Curious

When I clean Andreas's tank, I put him in his hide, and I put his hide in a box top. This makes it easier for me to keep him contained as he is shockingly quick and I don't want to have to chase him around and risk him getting stuck somewhere.

Last time, I could just barely see his little hand:

But when I called his name, he stuck his head out.

I suspect this was just a coincidence, but it still made me smile!

Andreas

Andreas is doing so well in our new home. I don't really know that much about taking care of lizards, even though he's been with me for 6.5 years now. I've done a ton of research, but there is conflicting information, and stuff that doesn't pass my gut check. I read about what people said about parrots in the early days of bird-keeping, and it seems similar, in terms of saying that they don't want attention, for example.

Andreas never seemed to want attention in our old home. However, since he's been with just me, he's really turned around.  Since he seems to be thriving and his vet is pleased with his progress, that's what I'm going to use as my gauge to whether I'm taking care of him properly or not.

One thing I'm really excited about is that his entire tail has molted!  It only took six years...  He had a very sad first part of his life.  He's wild-caught, so he had to endure unspeakable travails being caught in Africa and transported to America.  (He had parasites that only appear in wild-caught specimen.)  I don't know any more details, other than he was in a pet store, in terrible conditions and on colored sand, when Thomas bought him.  Parts of his tail had molted, but until recently, his tail looked like this, partly still colored from the sand.

Now, it's entirely black and healthy:

He is more personable than ever -- when I was married, he ran into his hide when we were home (perhaps he could sense something was wrong when even I couldn't?)  But now, he seems to crave attention.

He enjoys scratches, and seems interested when I put Max by his cage (she always yells "hello!" at him, even though he never responds.)

He also likes to take food from my hands -- possibly because he thinks it's dandelion heads!  I like to tell myself it's because he likes me :)

It's dandelion season again!

It's Andreas's favorite time of year: dandelion season!  I took these pictures through the glass on his enclosure, so not as clear as they could have been.

I tried to get him mid-bite of the flower, but he was too quick for me.  I am posting this anyway, as you can see the stem and it looks like he's smiling.

Lizard yoga

Andreas has been contorting himself into all sorts of awkward-looking positions lately.  Here, it's his back left leg.  I suppose it feels good for him to stretch as well!

Moved!

I have been entirely too remiss in updating my blog. I am really going to make an effort to do a much better job! I have been taking pictures and videos, so will try to get them up.

About three weeks ago, the parrots, Andreas, and I moved into an apartment closer to my new job.  I explained everything to them, but they weren't happy about having to go into their carriers.  They've now settled in to their new routines and are happy, so don't worry!

Calypso:

Max:

Beeps:

Stacked up, and ready to make the move:

Precariously stacked in the car; I moved them around after taking this picture to make them more secure.  Ideally, they would have been belted in, but I wasn't thinking clearly. 

Throughout the ride, we were whistling and I would put my finger in their carriers to give them scratches.  Calypso was the most needy.  He didn't want to let go of my finger, and held my hand for quite some time.  Then, he put both feet on my finger and was perched while still inside his carrier.  Poor guy; he really needed some reassurance. 

As soon as we got to the new apartment, I got them into their cages, so they could start exploring their new area:

An overview of their bedroom:

Max and Beeps to the right:

Andreas and Calypso to the left:

Things are going very well!  They enjoy their new place, and while they miss Thomas (well, Beeps and Max do), they are settling in to our new reality.  More to come!