The Day We Got A Gecko.

If you know me at all, you know I'm not a big critter fan.  They freak me out, and I really would rather not have animals.

I have enough work with my three human animals.

But after many years of being married to a guy named Bird, I grew to love kinda like some animals.

I'd probably quietly cry if something happened to our hyperactive Australian Shepherd, and I loudly cried for many weeks when my favorite cat, Apple, disappeared.

So today, imagine my own surprise when I found myself actually excited to get a gecko.  

We had already decided we were going to get a lizard several weeks ago because it will be a great way for us to study reptiles up close.  I knew we could learn a ton from books and videos, but there's something about watching how one moves and eats and when they sleep and are awake on a daily basis that helps kids learn.

We found a great little independently owned pet shop where we got to ask tons of questions and sat on the floor and held the baby geckos and let them crawl all over us and jump all around, and when we found one we wanted, we brought it home in a little bowl.

We had to be super careful, though, because these little guys jump.

So the lid stayed on.

We got a habitat kit, but we added to it by going outside and finding rocks and sticks that would work well in a lizard habitat.

We had to learn a lot about how these little guys live before we could actually put him in his new home.  We learned he drinks best from dew or condensation, so we had to mist the cage before we put him in.

We have to be really careful in how we handle him because he can drop his tail from stress, so Daddy Bird carefully placed him in his new home.

We are so excited about this fellow, and we are really anticipating learning everything there is to know about crested geckos and cold-blooded creatures!

Welcome to the family, little Zilla!