The lovely lizards...

So, as most of you know, I have a pet lizard. No, that isn't a euphemism, lol. It occurred to me that my blog needed some pictures, and that while many of you know I have this weird and mysterious pet you probably have never seen him. So, today is your lucky day! :)

First, I would like to share a picture of my first Uromastyx Maliensis, Archimedes. Sadly, he passed away before I left Indiana of a rare cancer, but he was a rather stupendous pet, and Uro specimen. It is very unusual for a Mali Uro to be all black. Not only was Archie cool to look at, but he used to enjoy walks outside (on a leash), scaring parents while I was parking cars in the front yard of a house I rented with some friends by the Purdue football stadium (he would sit on my shoulder and kids would notice him way before their mothers would :) ), and just generally was a social and fun lizard.

Here is my favorite picture of him:

Six months or so before Archie's passing, I was finally able to find an Aegyptius Aegyptius Uromastyx baby for sale. He hatched and arrived just a few months before Archie's death. Egyptian Uros like Mosca are supposed to be substantially larger than the Mali Uro (what Archie was), and quite friendly. I named the new baby lizard "Zuberi Mosca Khu", which very loosely translated from Egyptian means "Strong, protected Mosca", at least according to Babelfish. Unless he is in trouble he just goes by Mosca.

Here is Mosca the day I got him. He was one of the most adorable things I had ever seen!



Here is Mosca almost 2 years later (he looks about the same now, just bigger)! How time flies!

Unfortunately, Mosca is not quite as friendly as Archie was, and prefers to hang out by himself. He is still very cool though, and is surprisingly good with small children! I still have hopes that he will mellow with age (they can live for an extremely long time, anywhere from 15-50 years so being 3 still makes him a kid) and that I will be able to take him into public for educational purposes in the future.

[warning: soapbox entry] As a side note, Mosca came from a very reputable breeder, though I did buy Archie from a pet store before I better understood the trade. Whenever possible (and it almost always is), buy all pets from reputable breeders, not pet stores, or better yet rescues! Particularly with the case of reptiles or other exotic pets always make sure you know for sure whether you are buying a captive bred or wild caught animal. If you are a hobbyist, please don't buy wild caught animals. :) [soapbox exit]