Thursday, April 21, 2005

Pet projects

"You never show Beaker on your blog," my sister complained.



Yes I do.



And Geckie too.

You can read more about Beaker, including a list of the things he says, here.

I had to give him his own web page since he flirted with so many soap customers on the phone. ("That's not me asking for a kiss, it's the bird. Really. He's on the web site.")

The picture is not exactly tack sharp, sorry. I only had lamp light... the flash would've been too close (not to mention too scary for him).

I probably should never have let him develop the habit of wanting to tear up tissues. Now that it's allergy season he's in budgie heaven. You can't blow your nose in peace.

When trying to name the leopard gecko, we started laughing about the method our young niece uses to name her pets: Hermie the hermit crab, Turtie the turtle, Hammy the hamster, and so forth. And somehow "Geckie" just stuck.

Geckos shed their skin every month or so. They usually eat the entire thing, although from time to time we find an eerie ghost foot in the tank.

14 comments:

Unknown said...

awww Beaker! He looks a little like Shelley, but Shelley is a darker blue. Gheckie is very cute too!

Anonymous said...

"...we find an eerie ghost foot"

That'll keep me going for the rest of the week!

robin andrea said...

Beaker and Geckie look like wonderful critters to have around. I love the markings on the gecko.

Karen Schmautz said...

The ultimate recycler...eating his own skin.

Your budgie is beautiful. What's the difference between a Budgie and a Parakeet?

Karen Schmautz said...

The ultimate recycler...eating his own skin.

Your budgie is beautiful. What's the difference between a Budgie and a Parakeet?

Anonymous said...

:) can your life possibly be as wonderful as it sounds??
I love reading here.
Anne

Anonymous said...

If Gekkie ever takes a notion to run away from home, please make sure he has directions to my house! He is beautiful!

Grace

swamp4me said...

We have a budgie named Abicus. She is the most ill-tempered beast ever to be kept as a pet. It isn't her fault though. Her first owners never paid any attention to her and never socialized her. We adopted her a couple of years ago when her former owners were going to let her go (horrors). We tried for the longest time to tame her, but she would have none of it and still tries to bite if you get your fingers too close.

Magazine Man said...

My son has been begging for a goldfish. Now he wants Geckie. Great...just great...

Maktaaq said...

A friend told me that geckos like sitting on their owners shoulders (like pirate parrots) and that geckos purr.

Anvilcloud said...

I've had budgies in the distant past (they are budgies in Canada, not budgerigars -- or however you spell that). We also had a zebra finch named Beaker.

Rurality said...

Hick, technically speaking I think parakeet is just the broader term... all budgies are parakeets but there are parakeets that are not budgies. People in the US tend to call this bird "parakeet", but it's like calling a Great Dane just a "dog". Yes, he's a dog, but "Great Dane" is more specific. Hope that makes sense.

Anne - no, probably not! I tend not to post about the bad things. Maybe I should.

S4M, I think there are wild colonies of budgies in FL and possibly CA, but other than that I don't think they'd survive in the wild! I've had ones that never got tame.

They are naturally tame when very young, but other birds in the pet store teach them to be skittish very quickly. If anyone wants to buy a budgie, I'd advise asking what day they get budgie shipments and picking one out then. Much easier that way.

We bought Beaker because he'd sit on my finger in the store. He's very friendly. He'll come when we say C'mere (well, if he wants to), and kiss us on the nose when we say "Gimme a kiss".

I am really nuts about that bird! Geckie is more hubby's. She will crawl all over you and is generally not afraid, but you have to be really careful or geckos can lose their tails. They will grow back, but never as nicely.

So mostly Geckie is just to look at. They eat live crickets or meal worms. They are like kittens sometimes when they eat... Geckie looks just like a cat sometimes when she's stalking a cricket, including shaking her tail just before pouncing! (Haven't heard her purr though.)

MM you probably need one! They are not too expensive. But someone in the family will need to touch crickets. :) Around here that's not me.

Geckie is not the fastest gecko around, and hubby actually has to hold the cricket until she grabs it.

Anvilcloud you're the 3rd person I've known now who's had a bird named Beaker. Hubby liked that name for obvious reasons, but I keep thinking of the character from the Muppets.

Rhodent said...

Cute pets. I am partial to parakeets as I had several growing up. Gheckie is very attractive, but not attractive enough for me to have to handle crickets!

Rurality said...

Rho, I make hubby do it! She would probably be eating only meal worms if I had to do the feading.