Fall and the female iguana – October 2019
Fall with Angel is abit different than with my male Babe. She has opened my eyes to the differences and variables there are in an iguana. My thought that they all are hardwired the same has been shattered.
Babe was a male and I understood his seasons, but Angel is teaching me that she, a girl, is slightly different. Her schedule begins sooner than babes.
Approaching the autumn solstice, her eating began to change. She is now skipping meals, dining lightly a few days then about every three days she will feast with zest and zeal and devour about half a collard green bunch. She has cravings for black beans and still can be coaxed by her occasional piece of bread.
I notice her dewlap is starting to give off a scented odor, like Babes, but a bit more sweet. I believe this is an attraction scent, for mating season is approaching.
Being a girl, it is hard to recognize the mating season, only by her shed revealing beautiful colors on her skin.
Babe used to go to sleep at dusk, Angel has always gone to bed early, even in the long summer months, and she likes to sleep much more that she should. It’s as if in the wild she would take cover when the sun is still out, about 3-4pm, and find a secure place to sleep. She has to have a small crawl space, even if I make a tunnel out of a piece of a foam mat, she will try to squeeze behind it. She likes the safety of being pressed against on both sides. (I once had an iguana that was wild that would sleep between the headboard and the wall, so this must be a natural instinct.)
I have begun bathing her more often now. She has always had skin issues because of her past and the fact that she just has a fear of water in general. Baths used to be Babes favorite thing. Soaking so long I would have to continue to add hot water to keep it warm. Angel on the other hand just fights it. I have to be near her comforting her and reassuring that she is safe and I am right here by her side.
She is turning six in November. Her scales are beginning to become thick and sharp. With her size she is braver and only once in a while, something spooks her into a flurry of run or be eaten. Last week a Godzilla movie was on, I think she saw the Japanese monster or heard the sound and she went flying out of my arms, running so fast her feet kept slipping on the floor, her heart was pounding, her breathing frantic. It took me awhile to calm her down. I hope the site didn’t last in her memory long. I try to watch out for things like that, no Godzilla movies should ever be one when a lizard is around!