Okay, I think I can let my little secret out now. I waited five whole days, to make sure that this time it was going to work before I announced the latest arrival. Last month, I tried to get a partner for Bruno, my widower lizard, and the tiny little anole I got was injured on her way out of the pet store cage. She died barely three days after I brought her home. I was so afraid it would happen again, I made Bruno live by himself for several weeks while I agonized over what to do. He had been getting noticeably more lonely and depressed, spending most of his time hiding in the back corner of the tank, out of sight. So Monday, after my daughter cut my hair and then I took her to lunch as a thank you, we swung by PetSmart on our way back from Mad Greens. I was only intending to buy crickets, but they didn't have any. Before I left the store, I stopped to check what sorts of tiny lizards were available. They had the freaky Bahamain ones, and the long tail ones that look mean to me. The collection of anoles that was there last time I looked had dwindled down to one tiny female hiding in the exact same spot where Charlotte of a Few Days was when the shop girl retrieved her for me, injuring her with an "oops." I told the same store employee what had happened last time, and pleaded with her to be super gentle pulling the new anole out of the tank this time. Best we could tell, this one did fine in the retrieval process, although she had crossed her toes funny in the transportation cup, and I worried anew that she would have a broken foot and not hunt successfully. Thankfully, she was intact and agile.
I had begun to doubt my assumptions on whether Bruno was really born a boy, or was he just a sturdy female lizard, a Brun Hilda maybe. I had never seen him puff out a neck flare or do anything other than hold Agnes' hand (although she was sort of an old lady, so maybe he just treated her with respect and didn't think of her "that way.") He was freaked out by Charlotte, who had a visible injury where her pelvis was squished, even though I wasn't sure that's what had happened until it was far too late. So when I put the new anole in the cage, I kind of held my breath and waited for initial contact. He didn't notice her until she was about four or five inches away on the big stick in the cage. Then he sat up straight and looked her over with a side-eye. Then, in a fabulous display of his manly beauty, he puffed out a neck flare to beat all neck flares. I had confirmation. Definitely a boy. And definitely interested in the pretty new girl who had just moved into his building.
So now, five days later, I have seen the new lizard properly hunt and polish off a fresh cricket, and I've seen her molt. She is healthy, and she has been introduced to her tankmate. They seem to get on well, although I haven't seen the cuddling on the lizard ladder, tails entwined like Bruno and Agnes did. I'll give them time to develop a relationship before I expect public displays of affection like that. Without further delay, allow me to present my newest friend and roommate: Dahlia.
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