March 11, 2010
Posted by kellyhogaboom
reptile drama; a coda
I’ve been busy. Embarking on a belly dancing class (you should see how much I suck! It is kind of breathtaking!), the privilege of attending a workshop of spoken-word guru Desdamona, and trying to sew at a more brisk clip than, as it turns out, I really have time for (but I’m not giving up on my goals! It ain’t over until I’ve made the entire family miserable by disappearing into the sewing room all too much while they are forced to fend for themselves!).
Poor little Anna Dell Geckaboom. My kids had a bit of a skirmish – a very small one – and Sophie fell while holding her gecko. The animal lost its tail – something it can afford to do, but nevertheless a traumatic event. For everyone. In fact I even hollered a lot. I mean I am a tough person who’s usually good in a scrape. But I still lost my mind for a second – because it was gross and disturbing and awful (the animal is fine, thanks for asking). I do credit my reflexes in that I quickly composed myself and directed the family – Sophie to get her reptile book and Ralph to round up the lizard and its… truncated appendage (see video below; then puke). Nels cried and cried, feeling so bad about the animal, feeling so guilty – and waiting for a reprisal he was sure he deserved.
Ralph consoled the children and soon they recovered.
The tail wiggled for well over forty minutes after it had left its host. Seriously, this was just about the most disgusting thing I’ve ever seen. I guess, really. I don’t like Nature very much.
And no, I wasn’t laughing or smiling during ANY of this event, so I don’t know why Sophie said these words to me. I think she was pretty upset and likes to blame me for her feelings at times. That’s the lot of many of us mothers, I’m afraid.
9 Comments
March 11, 2010
Once, while I was doing laundry a gecko fell from the beams above my head, an inch from landing on me. The little lost her tale & it flopped very much like that. I am not too proud to saw I shrieked in horror.
Poor Anna Dell, I hope she recovers quickly.
March 11, 2010
Oh wow! That creepy and amazing at the same time. Maybe you smiled at her in a compassionate “it’ll be okay, sweetie” kinda way and she mistook it for mirth….? Maybe?
March 11, 2010
Um. If a gecko lost it’s tail and it flopped around unattached, I would definitely lose my shit.
March 11, 2010
Oh wow. I think I do loves the nature, but that was super creepy. You are awesome for thinking to film it and capturing super-serious Sophie. Poor Anna! I am strangely curious about what her new tail will look like.
March 11, 2010
According to Sophie’s reference book, the tail is where the lizard stores its fat reserves. A lizard who’s growing a new tail runs an elevated risk of starvation. We will need to be more careful not to let her run out of crickets, meal worms, etc.
March 11, 2010
I think I’m kind of alienated from nature. I think this is why.
I’m very glad that Anna Dell Hogaboom will be okay, and the poor kiddies too.
But, Kelly — do you realize that in your flickr stream, you make reference to what is said “at the TAIL END of the little film”?
March 11, 2010
Oh no. Really? In my defense, I would never, ever deliberately make a pun.
March 11, 2010
That took longer than I predicted. Glad to hear that everyone is recovering from the trauma.
March 11, 2010
What’s weird is I’ve owned lizards and seen a tail lost before. But my reaction was all “WRONG WRONG DANGER DANGER” when I spied the damage.
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