Sobbing out my Goodbye

 I tried to be brave as I dropped off Midnight. I cried on the way there. I cried as I tried to explain why you can see jaw bone exposed on his mouth. I managed to get out the door before I started ugly sobbing. I sobbed all the way to my appointment at my chiropractor's office. 

I'm about to go in and expect to cry more during my appointment. Especially if they ask how I am, 

I'm broken hearted about an iguana that ripped part of my cheek open. I'm feeling like a failure to him. I'm sad he's going from me. I mourn my dreams for him being my iguana pet on a leash. I mourn for Turbo and Sancho too. 

Go with God, sweet Midnight. 

Gut Feelings and Guilt

My cheek is doing much better. I've got one Steri-strip holding the two worst cuts closed and when I go out, I cover it with a ladybug bandage. :) Here's me with Teddy on Sunday. 

I had many people offer to take Midnight from me, but none of them felt right in my gut. Since I started rescuing, I've always tried to "go with my gut feeling" and it's never lead me wrong. I couldn't seem to get a peaceful feeling with any of the offers. 

Finally, a friend of mine emailed me back and that's when I *finally* had peace. I'm taking Midnight to him tomorrow morning. My heart aches. I don't quit easily. If I start something, I do it full force until it's done. Quitting is so hard to do.

Midnight has been stuck in his cage since he attacked me Friday night. It feels me with such guilt and sorrow. I cannot let him out though; I can't even get close to the cage without him freaking out. :( His mouth is all torn up from him rubbing it against the bars. Breaks my heart. 

I'm sorry, Midnight, that your life so far has been so crappy. I'm glad that I loved you when I could. I know you'll find love and happiness to come. 

When it gets BAD

Midnight launched himself at me tonight. He ripped my cheek open with his teeth and scratched my glasses pretty good. 

The cut on the top of my cheek is deep enough to need stitches, but, thanks to my years of reptile rescuing, I'm super good at using Steri-strips and butterfly bandages to close up wounds. I've avoided quite a few visits to Instacare with these skills. 

My husband has the patient of a saint. He eats dinner while tortoises are waxing the floor with their parts and steps over poop to get to the bathroom and sleeps with at least 4 lizards in our room. 

He is a very very good guy. 

But when it comes to me bleeding, he puts his foot down and pushes me to make the hard decision. 

Midnight has to go. 

My heart is heavy. How can I adopt out such a demon? And when he's sweet, he's really sweet. I've made my family work around him and suffer through him for almost 3 months. They all are terrified of him. I have drug my feet, hoping it will improve. It hasn't. 

Sometimes being a rescuer stinks. And not just the poop that stinks. 

:( 

A Girlfriend for Midnight?

I thought maybe Midnight would prefer a stuffed Iggy to a pillow. So I introduced them tonight. 

Midnight was very shy at first. 

I even had the "girlfriend" bob her head a few times. 

He walked closer and closer and then licked her a few times. 

Nope. He wasn't interested. 

He kept crawling forward, bobbing his head, and stalking his prey--- me. 

Sigh. 

I watched Teddy the dog who watched Midnight who watched me. 

Iggy Hormones

Tonight Midnight climbed behind me on the couch, and, before I could move, he chomped my pony tail and wouldn't let go. 

Classic mating behavior. 

Since I was unwilling to let him mate with my hair, I pulled him off and put him back on his cage. 

Five minutes later, he climbed back again. This time I put a pillow as a blockade.

That appealed to him and he wouldn't let go. 

I moved him, still locked on, and the pillow to his cage where he proceeded to mate with it. 

The pillow even fell off the cage and he still didn't let go. I put it back on the cage and he kept at it. 

I have, many times, told people that during mating season, male iguanas can benefit from an "Iguana Love Sock." 

Guess what I'll be Googling tomorrow? 

ay yi yi

Welcome to the Zoo! 

PS. Can you see (again) why iguanas do NOT make good pets? 

Iguana Hormones

Iguana hormones turn iguanas (especially the males) into demons. Iguanas also can smell human hormones and that turns them into demons too. 

Midnight is hormonal currently. He's a terror to my family. This is yesterday's "Love Scratches." 

My teen daughter told me the demon iguana was out to get her, but I honestly thought she was being melodramatic. 

Today I watched him around her. Nope. He's being a demon to her. 

When she sits on the couch, he crawls over to her and chases her off. When she's on the floor, he launches himself at the ottoman to get to her. When she's on the rocking chair, he leaps onto the back. The second she leaves, he crawls back onto his cage under his light. 

Tonight I sat down in one rocking chair and she sat down in the rocking chair next to me. Midnight looked like this: 

He stood on the edge of his cage and stared at her. Because I was here, he didn't jump, but he did stare. Total creeper. 

Dr Folland told me of a couple who raised their iguana from a baby but when the wife got pregnant, the Iggy started to attack her. He would race across the room and launch himself at her face. :( 

When the iguana gets really demon-ish, my rescue brother sends links to websites for cooking iguana. Ay yi yi!! 

PS. Junie isn't normally afflicted with hormones until November and December and has actually been very sweet lately. If we had two hormonal iguanas, I would lose my mind! 

Careful there, Pal!

The other day I was working at my computer when I heard things crashing around in the sink. I immediately assumed it was my youngest who had just gotten home from school. 

"Careful there, Pal! Don't dump your plates in the sink!"

When there was no reply, I turned around to see no one at the sink. Upon a closer look, I found my fox statue in the sink and a juvenile iguana sliding off the window ledge. 

Ah ha. 

Instead of blaming messes on someone else, my kids can now point their finger at Midnight. He's like a demon toddler bent on exploring and destroying! ;) 

Midnight at the Vet

This iguana is a *darling* in public. Anytime someone looked at him, he was sweet and snuggly. 

See? 

When we were left alone? 

I did have cute hair-- until he messed it up. 

He rearranged the counter top. 

He tried climbing the blinds. 

The amputation site on his foot looks good. The tip of his tail that got caught in a cage looks okay. His mouth is a mess but we can't change the fact that he won't stop rubbing it against everything and making it bleed. 

I'll just keep treating it with Silvadene cream and hope he leaves it alone. 

I had to run in to the pet store to by crickets after the vet and I took him with me. Again, he was a sweetheart. Silly boy. The employees loved him! I love him too, but if he keeps chomping my family then I can't keep him. Plus he's hormonal right now and there's nothing we can do to fix that. 

Lock Up!

On Sunday, Midnight was roaming around the living room like normal. Without warning, he jumped up on the rocking chair were my hubby was napping and chomped his arm. Ouch! My son, trying to be helpful, grabbed Midnight and tried to pull him off, not realizing Midnight's mouth was still clamped down on flesh. Double Ouch! After a very long minute, I managed to get Midnight's mouth open and pulled him off my hubby. 

Ugh! Thankfully my hubby was pretty gracious about it and there wasn't a need for stitches. 

I decided to get Midnight a bigger cage and, luckily for me, my friend had a ZooMed Iguana cage I could have. I went and got it yesterday. 

Midnight was NOT happy to be contained. 

Today, he tried all day to escape the cage. :( By 3 pm, he has rubbed off all the scabs on his mouth and was bleeding. 

When I got home from running all my errands and picking up kids, I let him out so his mouth could have a break. He let me give him loves and then I put antibiotic cream on his mouth. 

Tonight I'm letting him sleep in his tree since he's content to be there. 

He has a vet visit Monday morning because the spot on his foot where his broken toe was amputated has been swelling. 

I'm not sure what's going on, but we'll get it checked out. And I'll have Dr Folland check to make sure Midnight's not permanently messing up his mouth. 

"Let me Help!!!"

I was printing off shipping labels when I heard scratching. 

Midnight wanted up! 

He licked my shirt a few times. 

Then tried to take a bite. 

Then kept climbing up to see what I was doing. 

He licked my computer a lot! 

He pushed a lot of buttons and brought up screens I've never seen. 

What is this screen?!?! 

Okay, time to get down! 

He licked my foot a couple times and then I put him in the window to bask. 

Midnight is like a reptile toddler. He has his moments of extreme brattiness and times when he won't anything I give him and times when he has to be wherever I am at. He's settling in and calming down though. I'm grateful for that. 

Photo Op

Midnight leapt on the back of the rocking chair and held himself majestically in the setting sun streaming in through our windows. 

I got up to take a picture of him. 

Yep. That's as good as it gets. ;) 

Tree Bed

Midnight has claimed this part of my ficus  tree as his own. He puts himself to bed every night around 6. And every morning I pull him off and put him under his heat lamp. 

I'm not sure what he'll do when he gets to heavy for that branch. He's growing very fast and I can't imagine it holding him up much longer. 

Terrible Toddler Stage

Midnight is like a two year old going through a difficult stage! He's starting to drive me crazy!! 

He keeps knocking over things and harassing Smaug and throwing his food on the ground and pooping on the newly cleaned floor. 

He's all over too!!! Upstairs then down then up. He's exhausting! 

Iguanas are NOT a good starter pet. I've felt for a long time that they shouldn't be sold in stores. Today's behavior just reminds me that iguanas are a handful! 

Midnight's Trip

After Midnight helped me with my Etsy orders, I took him for a ride. 

He wasn't too sure about it. 

He drove with me to get the carpool kids. 

I'm hopeful that I can get him to enjoy car rides. He doesn't mind the harness at all. 

A Helper in my Etsy Shop

I'm trying to get almost 30 orders out today and I have a room helper. 

Midnight was basking in the sunny window, but now he's watching what I'm doing. 

Sleepy Time

Midnight--

Drake--

Teddy--