Lizard (mis)adventures

In our Wildscape, we always see Texas spiny lizards (Sceloporus olivaceous). Now and then, they get into trouble. Like two weeks ago, one got into our garage and hid under the washing machine. James and I worked and worked to get it out. THEN it dashed under the dryer. Oh, my goodness, I twisted and turned, twisted and turned, trying to get hold of our little friend. Finally, we did manage to direct it out the garage’s back door and outside to the back yard. 

Well, you guessed right–the next day, my back HURT. It still hurts. And I can hear my spine crack, crack, crack whenever I try to roll over in bed at night. Sigh….you might remember how the hedge parsleys got their revenge on me after I pulled piles of them from the Meadow a few years ago. I had to visit the doctor to get some relief for my aching right shoulder. In this more recent case, me being me, I’d rescue that lizard again. 

Spiny lizard recuperating after getting stuck.

Well, I had my chance yesterday afternoon. Same species but different lizard, this time on our front porch. I must have startled it when I appeared. It tried to run away, and I tried to catch it so I could relocate it to a live oak. Darn, if it didn’t dash up our concrete steps and try to slip through the opening between our porch rail and the brick exterior. At first, I thought if I left, it’d wiggle out and escape. Nope. When I returned, the lizard was still wedged in between the rail and the brick. When I say wedged, that lizard was STUCK. TIGHT. I called for James for help. Right away, he concluded that the lizard’s future didn’t look bright, unless we were able to get him out. 

Finally, James suggested soap or cooking oil, which helps to loosen a ring that won’t come off a finger. I voted for the oil. James fetched some, and then we gently poured some on the poor lizard. It took some doing, like a bit of pushing it backward slowly, but FINALLY, we freed the lizard! After giving the lizard a good rinse, I grabbed my critter box, folded a soft napkin in it and laid the lizard inside. For the rest of the day, it rested in the box on a shelf in my dark closet. By dusk, it was ready to be released….in the BACK yard.

Meanwhile, crack….crack…..crack…….