Just a Peek This Week at Claws and Chromatophores by Elaine A. Powers, Author

As part of my educational and marketing efforts, I am doing Facebook Live talks.  If you you don’t do Facebook, don’t worry, you can see them on my YouTube channel, Curtis Curly-tail Speaks. I talk every Thursday afternoon about something  related to reptiles, and I use my family members as visual aids. This week’s talk was on chromatophores, the pigment cells of reptiles and other animals. I used my two color-morph iguanas to show what was happening in captive breeding programs.

These two iguanas are handled every day to socialize them. Iguanas are wild animals, so you can’t “tame” them, but you can get them comfortable with being handled and being out and about. Both Chile and Turquoise were, until my presentation, unconcerned about me picking them and walking around with them. As a matter of fact, since they are now large enough and relaxed enough, I was thinking they might be able to become free-roamers in the house.

So, I had no doubt they would be excellent displays for my talk yesterday.

Hah!

When I reached into their enclosures to pick them up, instead of waiting for my hand as usual, both of them whipped out with their very long tails. Whipping? I put my hand under them every time I take them out. Sure, Chile would panic at the sight of a stranger, but never at me. That’s why I thought they would be great to use for the talk.

Maybe they sensed my excitement at sharing them with the world. Maybe it was the high winds and change in barometric pressure. Maybe it was the phase of the moon. Whatever it was, their behavior did not bode well for the live talk.

I placed each iguana into a soft-sided, mesh pet carrier. The carriers were placed beside my broadcast set up. I started the talk with an old, mild-mannered green iguana, Ezra. Then it was time to present Turquoise. I unzipped the carrier, grasped her mid-body and pulled against her claws entangled in the mesh.  I got those loose, only to discover she was biting the inside of the carrier.  I pulled, twisted, tilted but she wouldn’t let go.  Holding the pet carrier upside down in front of the laptop camera, where I was very aware of “dead air” I finally got her to let go with her teeth. I showed her lovely blue belly to the audience. Then back into the pet carrier.

Then I turned to the red morph, Chile pictured above), who was waiting in his carrier with his mouth open toward me. Fortunately, I was able to distract him and grab his torso. His color is over his entire body and is so much easier to show to the audience, but I was disappointed that I had to hold on to him so securely. My fingers covered some of his glorious color.  He, too, fought the removal from the bag, but then settled down once his was in my hand. However, I did not loosen my grip.

I’m trying to convince myself that the battles with the iguanas showed people who might be thinking of adopting an iguana without doing the proper research, that they can be hostile. However, I am also contemplating better receptacles for iguanas that are waiting for their time on camera.  Maybe something smoother, resistant to claw grabbing, and stiffer to resist biting on to.  But don’t worry, I am not discouraged from showing my iguana family members in future broadcasts. Tune in and catch the fun!

My Facebook Lives, which have a bit of fun unpredictability about them, are Thursdays at 3 pm MST. Bring the kids–they will love it! I call them my Reptile-side Chats, and you can see us live at https://www.facebook.com/elaine.powers.50.  If you miss the live broadcast, you can see them on You Tube.

#elaineapowers  #lyricpower  #iguanas #greeniguanas  #chromatophores #colormorphs

Book Note: Looking for fun activity sheets and workbook pages for your children? Supplement their education with the substantial, interesting and fun workbooks published here at Lyric Power Publishing LLC. One of them features iguanas—now, wouldn’t your children rather count iguanas than apples?