He was thrilled. He thinks she's beautiful. He named her Tiki. But he stills calls her a "him." It is sort of difficult to call a bearded dragon a "her."
However, despite his lizard love, he is, I think, having some angst about the whole thing. The angst seems to stem from the fact that, because his hands are little, the lizard feels a bit unstable in his hands and gets a little flighty and freaked out. Also, the caretaking is not too complicated, but there is enough going on that the boy needs a bit of help. I think he's struggling with the fact that he needs help. He wants to be the one who knows exactly what to do. He wants the lizard to feel most comfortable with him. Since these things aren't happening, he sometimes shuts down a bit, in relationship to the lizard, and goes outside to look for tiny bugs that he can manage completely on his own.
But we're trying not to quiz him too much about what's bothering him and why he doesn't want to hold the lizard more. Because he's also the type of kid who wants to please people, so he wouldn't want anyone to think he doesn't love the lizard because he would be worried that we'd feel bad since we wanted him to love it.
Ah, the joys of having a smart, perfectionistic, sensitive kid. Or perhaps I'm just projecting?
Luckily, we all like the lizard, so we're just rolling with it, hoping that as he gets more familiar and confident with the lizard routine, he'll feel better.
Interesting details: The dragon eats a lot of crickets, and it loves dandelions, bok choy, carrot tops, and nasturtium flowers. It remains uninterested in chard. On my next trip to the store, I'll get some kale to see how she likes it. Also, when the lizard gets sleepy, it's like a puppy. It's eyes get a little blinky; then, it crawls off of its basking rock into a hidey corner, lays its chin down, closes it eyes, and crashes out for the entire night.
I'll post pictures soon.
6 comments:
Yay! Tiki is the best name! And it's cool that you all like her so that your son doesn't have pressure to be Lizard King right away, until he's more comfortable with her. She sounds adorable (loved the description of her puppylike qualities).
And frankly, I remain uninterested in chard, too. High five, Tiki!
Can't wait to see pictures. Your description of the boy's angst is so sweet! He's going to be a great caretaker.
You're such a lovely mother - in how you're conscious of not adding any extra guilt to the fragile mind of a child. I truly don't think my parents had the time or tendencies to pick up on these things or, more likely, to act on them. But I may be being unfairly harsh - I write this quite frankly (not in a bitter way, I assure you!).
Tiki is a sweet name. She sounds cool.
wait, so does this make you a Lizard Giver?
Just wanted to come by and wish you happy grading! :)
I have two more stacks of exams to plow through, too...joy!
Ink, Tiki high-fives you back. In fact, bearded dragons actually do little waving things with their arms that are like high-fives. Tiki did it with me once went I first went to see her. I'm sure you could youtube "bearded dragon waving."
CT, pictures will follow!
AH, Aw, thanks. Mostly, I just see him going through things that remind me so much of feelings that I have. Again, could be projection, but I think maybe he just takes after his mom.
Bax, I suppose so!
Ink, Thanks for checking in! I've got papers now, and I get final exams and paper revisions next week. Charge!
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