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<p>[QUOTE="TIF, post: 3909800, member: 56859"]Congrats on the new reptile, Erin! <img src="styles/default/xenforo/clear.png" class="mceSmilieSprite mceSmilie1" alt=":)" unselectable="on" unselectable="on" /></p><p><br /></p><p>Here are a couple of less fortunate lizards:</p><p><br /></p><p><img src="https://www.cointalk.com/attachments/kamarinatetras-athenaleft-owllizard-a-jpg.431261/" class="bbCodeImage wysiwygImage" alt="" unselectable="on" /></p><p><b>SICILY, Kamarina. 420-405 BCE.</b> AE tetras, 3.34 gm. Large head of Athena left, wearing crested helmet with wings. Owl standing left, with lizard in talon; KAMA (retrograde) upward in right field; three dots in exergue. Westermark / Jenkins 198 (see FIG. Pl. 35 / 198.24), SNG ANS 1230 Calciati III no. 28/4 (dotted-border type)</p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><img src="https://www.cointalk.com/attachments/kamarinatetras-athenaright-owllizard-a-jpg.431264/" class="bbCodeImage wysiwygImage" alt="" unselectable="on" /></p><p><b>SICILY, Kamarina. 420-405 BCE.</b> AE tetras, 3.11 gm. Head of Athena right, wearing winged Phrygian helmet; dotted border. KAMA (legend from top to bottom), with owl standing left, lizard in talons; three dots in exergue. Westermark / Jenkins 202, SNG ANS -., Calciati III No. 39.</p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p>Well since you opened that door... <img src="styles/default/xenforo/clear.png" class="mceSmilieSprite mceSmilie8" alt=":D" unselectable="on" unselectable="on" />. The following is a true story. I typed it out for a friend five years ago and will copy and paste it here for your amusement. Or horror. <img src="styles/default/xenforo/clear.png" class="mceSmilieSprite mceSmilie8" alt=":D" unselectable="on" unselectable="on" /></p><p><br /></p><p>...</p><p><br /></p><p><b>Mom's Lizard Mausoleum </b></p><p><br /></p><p>It's nice being home for the holidays, hanging out with Mom, cooking (me for her-- she doesn't like to cook), watching her stalk Adam Lambert, dutifully watching all of his DVR'd performances and interviews she's saved since my last visit.</p><p><br /></p><p>Texas weather at that time of year is unpredictable. Some years it's 18 degrees, some years 80. It was just right this year; warm days, cold nights. Perhaps unusually warm. Good thing since her house is two old cabins built together by what is now a large living room. The walls and ceilings are 3/4" thick planks. The airspace between the (leaky) inner and outer walls is just that: airspace. Apparently crumpled newspaper was used for insulation in the early 1900s. Brrr. At least the central heating seems to work a little better now than when I was a child.</p><p><br /></p><p>Anyway, it was fairly warm although the inside temperature was in the low 60's at night. While reading in bed that first night I glanced at the cold tile floor and saw a lizard cowering between an electrical cord and the wall. The anole looked reasonably healthy.</p><p><br /></p><p>[ATTACH=full]1030499[/ATTACH]</p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p>I approached it. "Hi, little guy!" It didn't move at first but when threatened with touch it did run away-- none too fast though. It disappeared under the bed. I didn't feel like chasing it but I did report the sighting to Mom the next morning.</p><p><br /></p><p>"Oh, that must be the one your brother saw when he was home a few weeks ago." She was happy to hear that it was still alive. She'd been worried about it and felt bad about not trying to find it rescue it-- although I have no idea what "rescuing it" would entail.</p><p><br /></p><p>Later that day, Mom called to me from the living room.</p><p><br /></p><p>"Here's another under the Christmas tree. It's a big one. Oh dear, I think it's dead."</p><p><br /></p><p>Sure enough. A fairly large anole, greenish brown. Mostly brown. Very sluggish. Well actually, not moving at all. The dogs found it.</p><p><br /></p><p>Maybe it was the one I saw the in the bedroom the night before? It seemed healthy enough then.</p><p><br /></p><p>"Let me take a look, Mom." It was not the bedroom anole. This one was bigger.</p><p><br /></p><p>"Hi there, Mr. Lizard. Do you know Andy*?"</p><p><br /></p><p><font size="3">[*More about Andy <a href="https://www.cointalk.com/threads/ancients-hey-post-your-pet-s-coin-s.258720/#post-2071445" class="internalLink ProxyLink" data-proxy-href="https://www.cointalk.com/threads/ancients-hey-post-your-pet-s-coin-s.258720/#post-2071445">here</a>]</font></p><p><br /></p><p>No answer.</p><p><br /></p><p>It seemed robust enough but it was dark brown and sure enough, it wasn't moving. Didn't even flinch when the dogs or cat approached.</p><p><br /></p><p>But there's an old medical saying: "You're not dead until you're <i>warm</i> and dead." That's really more for cold water drownings but the principle seemed sound. I wasn't ready to pronounce him.</p><p><br /></p><p>"Let me warm him up and see if he comes back to life."</p><p><br /></p><p>I picked up the cold and unmoving anole and cupped him gently in my hands. Mom looked on worriedly.</p><p><br /></p><p>Half a minute later he sprang out of my hands and ran away. Ah, the satisfaction of being a healer. Mom was happy but still worried.</p><p><br /></p><p>"What's going to happen to him? What will he eat? Should we take him outside? He'll freeze out there!" (Imagine Laura Petrie wringing her hands. Not quite a warbling "Ohhh Robbb" but the same general vibe.)</p><p><br /></p><p>How <i>do</i> anoles survive winter? They live a few years and they are cold blooded. The must hibernate or go into some type of reptilian suspended animation. I hadn't thought about it before since I live in a never-winter place. Google to the rescue. Yep, they burrow down and wait it out in a state of greatly slowed metabolism.</p><p><br /></p><p>Okay, good to know. But that doesn't really help our dilemma. Should we leave them in the house or round them up and deposit them in deep piles of leaves? If we leave them inside and if they remain active, should we feed them? If so, what? I offered to go to a pet store and buy some mealworms. She didn't like that plan-- mealworms are people too.</p><p><br /></p><p>So we did nothing. Over the next few days we saw more… or found the same ones again. A total of three were spotted. Eventually the large one initially seen under the Christmas tree was found again… unmoving. We put him back under the Christmas tree, on the tree skirt, building a little cave around him using the wrapped fake perpetual presents Mom keeps under the tree to make it look more bountiful and festive.</p><p><br /></p><p>We checked on this one (we'll call him Lizard #1) periodically. He seemed to never move. Maybe once or twice he was in a slightly different position but perhaps a dog or the cat bumped him. The slight positional changes were enough to keep Mom's hope alive.</p><p><br /></p><p><i>Lizard #1 in more animated times:</i></p><p>[ATTACH=full]1030500[/ATTACH]</p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p>The issue of whether to build him an outdoor hibernation burrow versus leaving him inside remained undecided by the time I flew home. I suggested that she put Lizard #1 in a shoebox or something out of the way; once spring arrives, take it outside and see if it reanimates.</p><p><br /></p><p>Over the next few weeks she found two more. Unmoving. She put Lizard #1 and Lizard #2 in separate boxes with nice soft liners of course. Deluxe accommodations. The third she inexplicably left on the living room floor. She thinks it may have moved a few times (I think a dog or cat moved it).</p><p><br /></p><p>Eventually I forgot about them.</p><p><br /></p><p>Weeks later I remembered to ask her about the Lizard Mausoleum. Apparently it's still in business. She's "pretty sure" they're dead but not sure enough to dispose of them. And by "dispose of them" I mean give them a proper burial. Yep, she can't bring herself to just toss them out; they will get a burial.</p><p><br /></p><p>"Mom, can you text me pictures of them? I'll see if I can tell if they might still be alive." More "Ohhhh Robbbb"ing as she tried to remember how to take and text pictures but she did prevail.</p><p><br /></p><p>The ensuing texts:</p><p><br /></p><p>[ATTACH=full]1030501[/ATTACH] [ATTACH=full]1030502[/ATTACH]</p><p>[ATTACH=full]1030503[/ATTACH] [ATTACH=full]1030504[/ATTACH]</p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p>The pictures from her texts:</p><p><br /></p><p><img src="https://www.cointalk.com/attachments/lizardmausoleum-jpg.327106/" class="bbCodeImage wysiwygImage" alt="" unselectable="on" /></p><p><br /></p><p>At a glance I snorted and rolled my eyes. "They are all D-E-A-D, Mom." #2 is certainly dead.</p><p><br /></p><p>Wait... how do I know what a hibernating lizard looks like? Some emaciation is surely expected. These are looking well on their way to mummification though. Still, I could not make the call with 100% certainty.</p><p><br /></p><p>4/22/14: The lizards are still in their boxes (including #3, which was finally given a decent mausoleum box). She is now 99.99% they are dead dead but is waiting until it warms up a little to bury them.</p><p><br /></p><p>I bet they're still in boxes when I head to Texas in July. I'll pick a nice spot in the yard for their interment.</p><p><br /></p><p><img src="styles/default/xenforo/clear.png" class="mceSmilieSprite mceSmilie8" alt=":D" unselectable="on" unselectable="on" /></p><p><br /></p><p><b>Epilogue:</b></p><p><br /></p><p>Yep. In July they were still in their boxes and she had added more. We had a lovely funeral.</p><p><br /></p><p>[ATTACH=full]1030506[/ATTACH][/QUOTE]</p><p><br /></p>
[QUOTE="TIF, post: 3909800, member: 56859"]Congrats on the new reptile, Erin! :) Here are a couple of less fortunate lizards: [IMG]https://www.cointalk.com/attachments/kamarinatetras-athenaleft-owllizard-a-jpg.431261/[/IMG] [B]SICILY, Kamarina. 420-405 BCE.[/B] AE tetras, 3.34 gm. Large head of Athena left, wearing crested helmet with wings. Owl standing left, with lizard in talon; KAMA (retrograde) upward in right field; three dots in exergue. Westermark / Jenkins 198 (see FIG. Pl. 35 / 198.24), SNG ANS 1230 Calciati III no. 28/4 (dotted-border type) [IMG]https://www.cointalk.com/attachments/kamarinatetras-athenaright-owllizard-a-jpg.431264/[/IMG] [B]SICILY, Kamarina. 420-405 BCE.[/B] AE tetras, 3.11 gm. Head of Athena right, wearing winged Phrygian helmet; dotted border. KAMA (legend from top to bottom), with owl standing left, lizard in talons; three dots in exergue. Westermark / Jenkins 202, SNG ANS -., Calciati III No. 39. Well since you opened that door... :D. The following is a true story. I typed it out for a friend five years ago and will copy and paste it here for your amusement. Or horror. :D ... [B]Mom's Lizard Mausoleum [/B] It's nice being home for the holidays, hanging out with Mom, cooking (me for her-- she doesn't like to cook), watching her stalk Adam Lambert, dutifully watching all of his DVR'd performances and interviews she's saved since my last visit. Texas weather at that time of year is unpredictable. Some years it's 18 degrees, some years 80. It was just right this year; warm days, cold nights. Perhaps unusually warm. Good thing since her house is two old cabins built together by what is now a large living room. The walls and ceilings are 3/4" thick planks. The airspace between the (leaky) inner and outer walls is just that: airspace. Apparently crumpled newspaper was used for insulation in the early 1900s. Brrr. At least the central heating seems to work a little better now than when I was a child. Anyway, it was fairly warm although the inside temperature was in the low 60's at night. While reading in bed that first night I glanced at the cold tile floor and saw a lizard cowering between an electrical cord and the wall. The anole looked reasonably healthy. [ATTACH=full]1030499[/ATTACH] I approached it. "Hi, little guy!" It didn't move at first but when threatened with touch it did run away-- none too fast though. It disappeared under the bed. I didn't feel like chasing it but I did report the sighting to Mom the next morning. "Oh, that must be the one your brother saw when he was home a few weeks ago." She was happy to hear that it was still alive. She'd been worried about it and felt bad about not trying to find it rescue it-- although I have no idea what "rescuing it" would entail. Later that day, Mom called to me from the living room. "Here's another under the Christmas tree. It's a big one. Oh dear, I think it's dead." Sure enough. A fairly large anole, greenish brown. Mostly brown. Very sluggish. Well actually, not moving at all. The dogs found it. Maybe it was the one I saw the in the bedroom the night before? It seemed healthy enough then. "Let me take a look, Mom." It was not the bedroom anole. This one was bigger. "Hi there, Mr. Lizard. Do you know Andy*?" [SIZE=3][*More about Andy [URL='https://www.cointalk.com/threads/ancients-hey-post-your-pet-s-coin-s.258720/#post-2071445']here[/URL]][/SIZE] No answer. It seemed robust enough but it was dark brown and sure enough, it wasn't moving. Didn't even flinch when the dogs or cat approached. But there's an old medical saying: "You're not dead until you're [I]warm[/I] and dead." That's really more for cold water drownings but the principle seemed sound. I wasn't ready to pronounce him. "Let me warm him up and see if he comes back to life." I picked up the cold and unmoving anole and cupped him gently in my hands. Mom looked on worriedly. Half a minute later he sprang out of my hands and ran away. Ah, the satisfaction of being a healer. Mom was happy but still worried. "What's going to happen to him? What will he eat? Should we take him outside? He'll freeze out there!" (Imagine Laura Petrie wringing her hands. Not quite a warbling "Ohhh Robbb" but the same general vibe.) How [I]do[/I] anoles survive winter? They live a few years and they are cold blooded. The must hibernate or go into some type of reptilian suspended animation. I hadn't thought about it before since I live in a never-winter place. Google to the rescue. Yep, they burrow down and wait it out in a state of greatly slowed metabolism. Okay, good to know. But that doesn't really help our dilemma. Should we leave them in the house or round them up and deposit them in deep piles of leaves? If we leave them inside and if they remain active, should we feed them? If so, what? I offered to go to a pet store and buy some mealworms. She didn't like that plan-- mealworms are people too. So we did nothing. Over the next few days we saw more… or found the same ones again. A total of three were spotted. Eventually the large one initially seen under the Christmas tree was found again… unmoving. We put him back under the Christmas tree, on the tree skirt, building a little cave around him using the wrapped fake perpetual presents Mom keeps under the tree to make it look more bountiful and festive. We checked on this one (we'll call him Lizard #1) periodically. He seemed to never move. Maybe once or twice he was in a slightly different position but perhaps a dog or the cat bumped him. The slight positional changes were enough to keep Mom's hope alive. [I]Lizard #1 in more animated times:[/I] [ATTACH=full]1030500[/ATTACH] The issue of whether to build him an outdoor hibernation burrow versus leaving him inside remained undecided by the time I flew home. I suggested that she put Lizard #1 in a shoebox or something out of the way; once spring arrives, take it outside and see if it reanimates. Over the next few weeks she found two more. Unmoving. She put Lizard #1 and Lizard #2 in separate boxes with nice soft liners of course. Deluxe accommodations. The third she inexplicably left on the living room floor. She thinks it may have moved a few times (I think a dog or cat moved it). Eventually I forgot about them. Weeks later I remembered to ask her about the Lizard Mausoleum. Apparently it's still in business. She's "pretty sure" they're dead but not sure enough to dispose of them. And by "dispose of them" I mean give them a proper burial. Yep, she can't bring herself to just toss them out; they will get a burial. "Mom, can you text me pictures of them? I'll see if I can tell if they might still be alive." More "Ohhhh Robbbb"ing as she tried to remember how to take and text pictures but she did prevail. The ensuing texts: [ATTACH=full]1030501[/ATTACH] [ATTACH=full]1030502[/ATTACH] [ATTACH=full]1030503[/ATTACH] [ATTACH=full]1030504[/ATTACH] The pictures from her texts: [IMG]https://www.cointalk.com/attachments/lizardmausoleum-jpg.327106/[/IMG] At a glance I snorted and rolled my eyes. "They are all D-E-A-D, Mom." #2 is certainly dead. Wait... how do I know what a hibernating lizard looks like? Some emaciation is surely expected. These are looking well on their way to mummification though. Still, I could not make the call with 100% certainty. 4/22/14: The lizards are still in their boxes (including #3, which was finally given a decent mausoleum box). She is now 99.99% they are dead dead but is waiting until it warms up a little to bury them. I bet they're still in boxes when I head to Texas in July. I'll pick a nice spot in the yard for their interment. :D [B]Epilogue:[/B] Yep. In July they were still in their boxes and she had added more. We had a lovely funeral. [ATTACH=full]1030506[/ATTACH][/QUOTE]
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