True Love

[Doug 351]

I had acquired a reputation as a snake wrangler in my neighborhood. One day a neighbor knocked on the door and told me that there was a three foot Iguana in his back yard. More like two, but I caught it.

My wife had only 2 things to say-I'm not sleeping in the same house with that thing and you're not keeping it. When I let it loose the next day, she jumped up on a chair and screemed:"Don't let it get my feet! "

Two days later it was talking a nap on my chest and she realized that this lizard could be petted and it wasn't going to hurt anyone, she fell in love with it.

This lizard cracked me up twice. The first time was when it found a feather and I tried to take it away. I never saw that lizard move so fast before or after. The second was when I had a bag of dog food in the kitchen that had a small circle on the front of a picture of what the food looked like. While we fed it a commercially made Iguana food it loved to raid the dog food bowl.So here was this knucklehead trying to eat the food in that circle.

Anyway that little booger was part of our family for several years and when it died my wife's cat gently laid a paw on it as it went.

[StudentoReptile]

I "like" this post. Always good to hear stories when someone actually opens their mind and gives herps a chance.

Sorry for the loss. But kudos for keeping the rescue. Sounds like it had a long healthy life in your keep.

[Doug 351]

Yes-I'll have to admit I spent a large part of my life either fearing or needlessly killing harmless helpers of man.
Besides snakes-there are also many insects that are missunderstood and get a bad rap.The first is the paper wasp-more commanly known as a yellow jacket in my neck of the woods.These guys are HIGHLY protective of their nests. They are readily willing to sacrifice their lives in its defense. People only see this as an aggressive insect that lives to sting
Truth is away from their nests, these insects are pretty docile. They prey on catapillars whose main claim to fame is destroying plants, some of which could be your supper.I try to give them a wide berth but have to admit, if they nest too close, will give them a drink of dish soap. (A little dishwashing soap in water will drop them like rocks when splashed on their nests. )
But by and large it is the harmless snakes that are needlessly killed and offer the most benefit.