The end of this blog

Ollie passed away this morning, April 1, sometime between midnight and 7 a.m. He had just seen the doctor Thursday afternoon and seemed to be on the rebound. But Saturday morning was found to be in a sleeping position and could not be woken up. He seemed to have gone peacefully.

Ollie was adopted in Murrieta, Nevada, the first of his clutch and only a few days old. From the moment he was adopted, he showed a unique personality. Usually sleeping the first few months and then feverishly chasing after crickets soon after. He was only year and seven months.

I know Ollie was only a lizard but he brought a lot of happiness to my life. Ollie also gave me a respect for all life: tiny or large, furry or with scales. The most suprising thing were the responses on this blog in regards to Ollie. I'll miss him for a very long time. He'll be buried in the desert in East San Diego where the other lizards roam free.

Good bye, lil' Ollie.
Darlene

Photo album
Ollie's birthday slide show


- ADDENDUM-


Ollie was buried on a bright Sunday morning in the quiet desert between San Diego and El Centro. On a rock covering his grave is a stoned shellacked with his first newspaper clipping from the North Park News.

My hardline stance on illegals

Lately across the nation, there have been protests on the issue of illegals.

Well you're hearing it here first: I think that hedgehogs and monkeys should have legal rights to be in California and have medical access when necessary. I admit, it is a controversial view but I strongly stand behind my belief.

Are there any other illegals that should be legal status?? Let your voice be heard!


Give hedgehogs legal status in California!

Check the out these stems...!

Actually they're my legs. Not bad, eh?

I need my own medicine cabinet

I'm still recovering from being ill but just wanted to show you all the medicine I've had to take.

Behold! My own stash of medicine...



Not included are the syringes of antibiotics I've had to take because I just finished that course this past week. I'm now on oral antibiotics and the antibiotics for my eye are done with.

Miscellaneous

To make up for the lack of posts here is a mish mash of items.


I must be the only person without a cellphone. But have to admit, some ringtones are darn cool. Some annoying.


Russell, the iguana, better watch out! I'm now in fighting mode!!


Did I mention I was fast. Look at me go!

Sorry

... but I've been sick. Reason: asthma and my eye infection is back.



Tried hibernating because that's what leopard lizard in Nevada are doing right now but think that's what brought in the asthma. Sigh... hoping to be posting regularly again soon.

Three correct answers

I posted a question a few weeks ago about what leopard lizards and grizzly bears have in common and all answers submitted were correct.

The gang at Poi Rats and Cats and Timmy were scientifically correct that both species hibernate. While on the other hand, Tiffany was correct with her beguiling her answer that grizzly bears and leopard lizards were both cuddly and cute.

I'm in the process of trying to hibernate but no luck so far. In other news, hope everyone survived yesterday (January 23) which is the most depressing day of the year.

A question for you

What do bears and leopard lizards have in common??
Answer to come in the next post.

An illustration modeled after me!

I personally don't think it looks like yours truly but it is me. I swear! The illustration was done by my landlord, Paul Horn.

Holiday in the sand

Whether you'll be spending your holiday in the sand, snow, rain or fog, I hope everyone has a peaceful new year!

Do yourself a favor and visit this page for instant gooeiness

Click here!

For all my dear friends I give you this...

Holiday crickets! Enjoy!!

A question answered

I recently received a question about leopard lizards from Susan:

Love your comments/posts! I was just wondering if you could tell me how to sex leopard lizards? I have 2 (long-noses), approx 2 yrs old, neither has shown breeding colors yet, so I can't tell that way...any info would help. Thanks!

Well Susan, the females don't show breeding colors until spring usually right after hibernation. But there is another way to tell the difference between males and females without having to wait a half a year. Male leopard lizards have enlarged postanal scales located under the tail by doo doo hole and females don't. This applies to American iguanids which include collared lizards, leopard lizards, horned lizards, chuckwallas, anoles, fence lizards, side blotches, etc.

Hope this answers your question and good luck with your lizards!

The blunt nosed leopard lizard

Here's a short but sad story brought to you by Ollie.

I would like to introduce you to the blunt nosed leopard lizard (Gambelia silus). Due to construction and vanishing habitat in San Joaquin Valley located in California, they have become endangered and are now protected by the Federal government. There are approximately 60,000 left and the numbers are dwindling every year.

The blunt nosed leopard lizard are not the only animals being affected. Other animals include the giant kangaroo rat and the riparian brush rabbit.

Hate mail

Whoa... I was recently the recipient for some hate mail here on my blog and an anonymous (probably also a Republican) one at that:

You aren't cute. You're a vile, cold-blooded foe of mammalian life. Were you just 80x bigger, you would gladly devour your innocent keeper and every participant on this blog without a second thought. I don't see why I should respect you. You're a lizard punk. Mammals rule, lizards drool.

I'm here to clarify that message. Yes, I am indeed cold-blooded but do I not bleed if cut?? As for being cute. I am not cute but classically handsome -- mind you, there is a wide gap between those two adjectives. In addition, I would not be surprised if I was related to dinosaurs. If I were 80 times bigger, I would probably be the size of a small cat since I am only 17 grams. And please define 'punk' -- do you mean the literal 1970s reference post disco??

Mr. Anonymous, I am not demanding any respect and you are allowed your opinions but please don't hide behind a mask. It sounds like you have some issues with reptiles and it should be taken care of immediately.

Sincerely,
Oliver Clothes Off Ollylain
aka Ollie

Not true, I tell you!

Apparently it has been leaked out that I have been nominated for the Supreme Court. After Harriet Miers withdrew her nomination, I admit that I was approached to become a nominee. True, I may be more qualified than Ms. Miers but please people! Bush and Ollie Ollylain are like oil and water!!

Bounced back

My eye infection is fully recovered and I'm at 100%. My appetite is back and I have a new favorite food: mealworms. But I still like them crickets!

I feel pretty!

I feel pretty
Oh so pretty
I feel pretty and witty and bright,
And I pity any zombie who isn't me tonight...

Apologies to the creators of West Side Story.

On the mend

It's been a while since I posted so I just wanted to make a quick post. I've been ill lately with an infected eye and I'm finally on the mend.

A year in pictures

My co-caretaker and landlord Paul Horn was nice enough to post this slideshow on his Web site. (Check out his funny comics!) There is a bit of a lag until the music starts. I recommend watching it a couple of times or pausing it at the beginning for a few seconds until the MP3 is loaded. It's well worth the wait. Enjoy!!



Thanks to everyone for sending their wishes.

Pop quiz: Which lizard is celebrating their Hatch Day today?

Nope.



Uhh... definitely no.



Uh... that's a human trying to be a lizard so not even close.



CORRECT! It's me. Today is officially my Hatch Day and I'm exactly one year old.

As a treat, here is one of my earliest baby photos (and also the most viewed).

The day in a life of a leopard lizard

One of Ollie's extracurricular activities.

The life of a leopard lizard is easy and never really changes from day to day but here's a brief outline of an ordinary day for me:

6:30 a.m. Slowly wake myself from sleep. Usually have to dig myself from a dirt cave or ready made hide rock.
7 a.m. Lamp from above switches on. Finally light and heat.
7-9 a.m. Absorb heat. I do enjoy sunbathing.
9-9:30 a.m. Check the cricket stock on NYSE.
9:30-10 a.m. Potty time.
10 a.m. Crickets! Yum...
10 a.m.-3 p.m. Various activities. Pace the cage, dig numerous holes, carouse with other lizards, look out for Russell (shudder) and more sunbathing.
3-3:30 p.m. Afternoon nap
3:30-4 p.m. Attempt to reach the top of the cage by jumping
4-5 p.m. Watch the sun as I prepare myself for sleep
5 p.m.-morning Zzzzz....

Favorite things for the month of August

I've been posting a lot about myself and sickness in the lizard family and not enough fun stuff. August should be fun. So here goes a quick list of things that makes my little lizard brain want to explode.

-This video. It's videos like this that make me like a song almost immediately plus the choreography work is amazing if not hilarious. It's only second runner up to the dancing sequence to "Jaan Pechaan Ho" (an extra on the Ghost World DVD).

-I wonder if this sheep runs any faster.

-You too can make your very own David Hasselhoff paper airplane.

July is over, August is here

Do you know what August is?

August is...


This August, I'll be turning one year old. In celebration for my upcoming Hatch Day, I'll be reliving my past year, introducing some old and new friends and a few other surprises.

Remember to tune in.

Nothing much to say

Ollie and Nicky in the morning after food.

Summer is full fledged in San Diego and the weather is agreeing with me. It's hard to believe it's almost the end of July. Sometime in the month of August will be my hatch day a.k.a. my birthday and I'll a year old.

I've been enjoying the baby food. It's sort of messy actually since I can't really swallow things as opposed to letting it go down my throat. But I do miss the occasional crunchy cricket.

Thanks to all the people who sent their wishes to Nicky for a speedy recovery.

Baby food diet

Sleepy Nicky (out of focus) and Ollie with baby food on their lips in the morning.

Well aside from Nicky taking antibiotics for 30 days, she has to be fed baby food. Preferably turkey or chicken to get the optimum amount of protein. I tried some and it's not to bad actually. I think I enjoy it better than Nicky.

Update on Nicky

Nicky is back home today. Actually she looks full and not scary-thin (think one of the Olsen twins). She'll be on antibiotics for the next thirty days to combat her liver (suspected) problem and hopefully on the road to recovery. She'll be feasting on turkey flavored baby food (it's the easiest thing for her to eat) until she regains her appetite and starts eating crickets again.


Nicky and Ollie earlier this year.

Nicky is ill

Nicky during her better days.

One of my fellow lizards, Nicky, has fallen ill. She has been slowly losing weight and not herself that past few weeks (meaning less jumping and covorting with me). The concern for her became so overwhelming that she paid a visit to Dr. Cecil who successfully treated me earlier this year for calcium deficiency.

Dr. Cecil suspects that Nicky's production of eggs and reabsorbing it back into her body (she never dropped them like Paris) placed stress on her liver. She's being held overnight at the Avian and Exotic Animal Hospital with Dr. Cecil and will be given a round of antibiotics and an IV.

Scary cat woman

Elderly woman in U.S. hoards more than 300 cats

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - About 300 cats, nearly a third of them dead, were removed from an elderly woman's Virginia home after neighbors complained of a stench coming from the house, police said on Tuesday.

The house, less than a mile from late President George Washington's historic Mount Vernon estate, looked neat from the outside with manicured lawns and bright flowers, but inside it was overflowing with wild cats, feces and urine.

"Cats were coming out of the cabinets and drawers and were inside the walls. There were hundreds of them," Fairfax County Police officer Richard Henry told Reuters.

He said animal control officers removed 273 cats - 86 of them dead - over the weekend and slapped a condemnation order on the door of the house. The woman, her husband and daughter were told to leave.

Later on, Henry said, the woman returned and attempted to smuggle an additional 30 cats from the house. These animals were confiscated, bringing the total to more than 300.

Possible future modeling job??

I'm in a newspaper again! The local paper here in San Diego has me in on one of its inside pages alongside an anole. (An anole which unfortunately lost part of its tail.) I think I might have a chance for future modeling gigs. The photo used in the paper is a cutout from below. Luckily Russell was not included in the printed in the paper too.

A cousin

Actually not my own personal cousin but a cousin to the leopard lizard species. Frida, is a female western collared lizard and has on her full breeding colors. Collared lizards get their name from the black band around their neck. Male collared lizards have a slight blue almost turquoise coloring all year long.

The noticeable difference between collared lizards and leopard lizards is the body shape. To put it nicely, collared lizard have froglike bodies and are quite round as opposed to say, me. Another difference is the habitat that collared lizards can be found. While I like sandy areas with a few bushes around for cover, Frida can be found in rocky areas. They're quite good climbers and can run on their hind legs. But I can run on my hind legs too but not as often as Frida.


Another view of Frida.

Been a bit ill lately

The lack of posts have been due to a bit of illness. I've been throwing up my food (didn't know I was even able to throw up) and now I need to put on a bit of weight. Especially since my big day is approaching. But I'm taking medicine now, watching what I eat and getting some exercise.

Status of the eggs

I've been putting this off but the eggs that Paris laid deflated a few days later in the incubator. That means no baby lizards. :(


Paris laying an egg last month.

I greatly dislike you Ms. Jennifer Lopez

I made an effort not to use the word "hate" just on the sole reason that it's such a strong word especially these days. But I think Jennifer Lopez is confused. A few months back she was promoting her new clothing line with fur prominently being used. Now comes news that she's designing a jewelry line for animals. Dogs specifically. It would be even more outrageous if she were designing clothes for animals made out of animal skins. Story can be found here.

Is that you Sprinkles?!?

No, no...

Here's Sprinkles ...


Update on Chocolate Sprinkles Royale: He visited for only a week and I'm sure he's doing fine now.