“‘Tis I, Lil’ Murph, with fruit & vegetable smoothie on my lippies & my bib/cloth before me. This is my pillow bed that Mommy places here or there, where I wish, or she totes me around as I rest within.” 

“I like to climb, but not on trees. I won’t go far from Mommy. Brother Dog & I go on adventures. Mommy often gets odd stares from people passing by, but she thinks they should be grateful they saw something they never expected to see that day…Me!”

“Do you think Mommy will design a special stroller for me?”

“Sleepy from adventure…I feel as blurry as this photo of my cute physique.”I love to cuddle with Mommy when I’m sleepy!”

Since mid-April I have gone potty in my enclosure only twice. I prefer to potty directly over the drain (then Mommy bathes me & places me away from the harmful bleach), or I potty outside. I wipe myself on the grass because I can’t tolerate any icky-ness. My Mommy wonders if Dog & I hold in necessary bodily functions until we go bye-bye. I am adamant in these new-found methods in potty-dom.

“Also since mid-April, I have eaten from a dish all by myself, 3 times. The only things I will eat more than 1 bite of are chicken cooked in extra-virgin olive oil given by Mommy’s hand and smoothie by syringe. Mommy drips smoothie (mostly) on the tip of my upper lip. I lick it all gone (mostly) as gravity does it’s thing. Again, I do not like to be icky. If Mommy doesn’t wipe quickly I will wipe my own chin on the nearest something. If I’m excited about something during my meal, I have plotted & executed my path of in-home exploration & neither of us get to wipe. Mommy follows me with the bib…rattling on with human noises as the food on my cute lippies has mysteriously become invisible for clean-up. Where did it go?”

“Most nights I sleep with my Mommy surrounded by love, blankies and a slumber in pillow-dom!”

[she absolutely does not recommend this to anyone]

“Mommy tells me I am special, beautiful & she loves me every day. I don’t understand most English human words, still, I understand exactly what she softly speaks to me.”

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*If anyone meeds to make a smoothie for a lizard similar to Murph, if there is another whom has chosen a path of babyness, or perhaps to administer a couple times a week to prevent dehydration or malnourishment during brumation, here is Murph’s Smoothie:

1/2 banana; 6 grapes; 6 blueberries; 2 strawberries; a couple slices of apple and a peach (1/2 the skin remaining thereon); tiny fistful of organic kale (healthier than lettuce), a few spinach leaves; a few chunks of cantaloupe; blanket the top with calcium powder with vitamin D3; liquify in a blender (may need to stop to stir it up, then resume)

There are enough juices to keep this moist in a container with a lid. stir before sucking it into a syringe. discard after 4 days (fertilizes outdoor plants). keep syringe refrigerated with smoothie for freshness. Always rinse produce before cutting. I discovered avocados may be mildly toxic for them. Too much spinach can bind calcium in their system. Never give citrus or bugs from outside due to they may have come in contact with poison. Lightning bugs can kill them, please protect them from these glowing beauties.

I wish there were no cooked animals ever in our home, but sigh, he loves chicken. It’s not easy to not give to him nearly the only thing he’ll actually chew. Crushed unsalted nuts can be added for a little fat and protein. Any smoothie doesn’t need to be exact, nor does the food have to be the same. Vitamin D3 helps lizards to metabolize calcium lest they develop metabolic bone disease. This is a supplement for sweeties who don’t get enough sun rays upon their bodies. If you have the proper uvb, full spectrum bulb, take them outside when able & so on, I think they should still get just a wee bit.  If you build an exterior enclosure, use screen to keep bugs out. If they’re out all day they probably need no supplements as long as their diet is full of variety (if out all day they should have a sunny and shady option, as well as food & water. They shouldn’t be left to get cold at night, of course).

This link takes you to some knowledge to utilize as a rough draft for care in the calcium realm. Lizards and situations are different. We need only to do the best we can. There’s no exact science to raising all children the same either.

“Give me Lizardry or give me Death!” – Dawn Renee