a moment of silence... R.I.P. guaninator

today, my iguana 'guaninator' passed away. i have had her for 7 years.

i found her in an office i was working in, which was on king street in charleston, sc. it was in the attic of a shoe store. my friend, dasan, and i had torn the old shelves down in the attic and built an office complete with wood-paneled walls, a floating ceiling, and fluorescent lighting. we also hung a curtain in front of a door that lead to where the air-conditioner for the building was located.

i was working alone one day in the office and kept hearing noises behind me, but when i turned around, nothing was there. needless to say, i was getting a bit freaked out. finally, after a series of scratches and scurrying noises, i turned around to find an iguana hanging onto the curtain. she was just hanging there using her claws to hold on. i had never encountered an iguana before, so i was even more freaked out.

we have been friends ever since...

my friend, geoff (a very skilled woodworker and cabinetmaker), and i built a nice wooden lid with built-in doors for a 7 foot long display case that i have had forever. a divider was placed in the center to make 2 cages, one for the iguana and one for my box turtle, ester. everything has been rolling along fine ever since.

i noticed she had not been eating as much over these past 2 weeks, and her skin color slowly has changed from a bright green to a shade of light brown. after doing some research into this on the internet to see what the cause could be, i decided to make an appointment to take her to the vet. the appointment was for 4 o'clock today. when i got home to put her in the travel cage that i used to use for my ferret 'dogg' (r.i.p. also), i reached in to pet her in the way that makes her close her eyes, lift her head, and become immediately chill (i am the only person that can calm her down with voice or a head pet), but she did not lift her head. she had passed away sometime between this morning at 7 o'clock and this afternoon at 3 o'clock.

i am very sad. i look in her empty cage and feel even more sad. she was a bit insane at times, but she was very cute with beautiful turquoise and green markings, and she made me smile with her funny head-bobbing. i will miss her dearly. sleep well, sweet guan.