Ollie's closeup
...thoughts from Ollie's peasized brain...
HOWDY BUCKAROOS! I'm Ollie, a long nosed leopard lizard. I hail from Murrietta, Nevada but I currently hang my hat in San Diego. Although I was born August 2004, I'm a hardcore Democrat. But above all else, I loves them crickets!

Sunday, July 31

July is over, August is here

Do you know what August is?

August is...
UltraOllie logo

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.
UltraOllie logo

Friday, July 29

Nothing much to say

Ollie and Nicky
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.

Monday, July 25

Baby food diet

Nicky and Ollie
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.

Saturday, July 23

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
Nicky and Ollie earlier this year.

Friday, July 22

Nicky is ill

The return of Nicky
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.

Monday, July 18

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.

Thursday, July 7

Possible future modeling job??

Ollie in Quest

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.

Russell vs. Ollie 2

Monday, July 4

A cousin

Female Collared Lizard

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
Another view of Frida.

Friday, July 1

Been a bit ill lately

Ollie being taken care of

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.