The Iguanas Were Here First
The Calypso Couple have no pets. We have had dogs and birds over the years. Putting aside the costs and the travel problems, we gradually developed a lot of guilt over possessing animals.
In Colorado we had deer, squirrels and rabbits as constant companions in the yard.
We confess we fed them, perhaps unbalancing their survival in nature – but we treated it as supplemental rather than our being the source of their food.
Here in Puerto Escondido we live in iguana land. The fact that we have no cats or dogs seems to appeal to the iguanas – we have several living in our yard.
Recently one 3 footer has taken to living inside the casa with us – in our bedroom. We call this one Taco because many of the locals would prefer it that way – wrapped inside a taco. It is against the law, but they still manage to occasionally end up end up rolled up in tortillas. A delicacy we understand.
Since we share space with them we have been Googling them to find out more. Apparently they can make a good pet, and they are costly at that; often $200 U.S. or more. So we have more than a $1000 U.S. of these pets roaming out yard, climbing our walls and now sharing sleeping quarters with us.
Anita set some ground rules. Her acceptance of them in the house did not come quickly. The iguanas and I eased her into this communal living arrangement. We agreed to not put out dishes of water or supplement their diet inside the casa. This seemed like a fair compromise.
We read that iguanas can actually show affection to their owners. It is suggested they be stroked and handled early on. There is no physical contact to be had for the iguanas at the Calypso’s Casa. At least not to date.
I spend a lot of time at the computer each day. The ‘office’ setup is on the other side of a partial wall that divides the bedroom from a sitting room and office. Taco usually spends quite a bit of the day hanging out with me. He or she, we do not know, sits up on the wall or hangs atop over seeing our every move.
Now that Taco has a name and is accepted – it comes and goes each day. Shortly after sundown Taco gets located between an armoire and the dividing wall. We imagine it feels safe in there. But, certainly it seems to be an odd place to be comfortable.
One of our yard iguanas is missing its tail. Difficult to say if it was an animal or a person that ended up with a tail and no dinner. We do run off the occasional cat in the yard – we assume they are predators to the iguanas.
Over the years we never imagined getting friendly with lizards – but geckos and iguanas were here first and we are getting along just fine –thank you. Stay Tuned!
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