Our Daily Journal
"Dear Diary: I met the CUTEST boy today! His name is Desdemona! I already know a lot about him. He has a pretty dark brown complexion, but he can be green, too! Also, his favorite food is crickets. *And just between you and me, he's REALLY good at doing push ups O:-) tee hee hee*"
08/21/02: Alright. I'm back. Yesterday, around five o'clock PM, Cammy laid her third fertile egg. However, she happened to be on a leaf, whereupon she rolled it around until it fell seven inches to the carpeted ground. Not to worry, though; an egg is nearly immortal during the first twenty-four hours after it has been laid. What happens is that, when an egg is placed in a certain position, the yolk and embryo attach to their respective sides. When the egg is rolled, the yolk breaks and suffocates the embryo. However, when the egg is first laid, the embryo and yolk are just floating around, waiting to form. Also, because we've been dusting the crickets right before they go into the cage, she's had more calcium; thus, the eggshell was hard enough not to break open! Cammy was getting to be a dark brown, so I put Dezzy in the Nursery. He turned brown after having been in there for about an hour, so I put two freshly-dusted crickets in the cage. He got one. The other is snacking on a potato slice as I type. Cammy has been green ever since. The first egg is kind of discolored. However, I think this is because Cammy was not receiving enough calcium, so the eggshell is rather thin. The insides of the egg are just closer to the outsides, that's all. The second egg is still snow-white, although it is covered in dried vermiculite :-p. The first two have both expanded, rather like balloons. The third one landed on carpet and dried there, so it is perfectly clean. Now I get to see what they mean when they say it looks like a tic tac. It actually does! Lol. Well, for some reason, the couple is not too hungry this week. Thus, the two-to-three dozen crickets which my dad bought for me have all survived *well, except for anole attacks*. In fact, they are doing so well that four crickets have shed their exoskeleton and grown wings. In fact, one of them was chirping away earlier. They all seem to like potatoes. My only complaint about these is that they dry out so quickly. Oh, well; it just means I'll have to replace the slices at least every day. Oh, and last but CERTAINLY not least... HAPPY SIXTEEN-MONTH ANNIVERSARY, CARANOLES!!!!! Yes, Caranoles and I have been dating for exactly sixteen months tonight! Well, I'm gonna go work on the Photo Gallery. Nicknole, signing out.
08/15/02: Sorry bout not updating in a while, but I've had school and such. However, I have good reason to update today! Y'see... Well, I was only able to take one picture. I tried to get a ruler next to it, but it started to roll over *STARTED to; it didn't, really*, so I stopped. I'll have it up in the Picture Gallery soon. Nicknole out.
08/12/02: Woo, boy. Well, my worst fears came true. Well, not my worst fears, but still. Apparently, Dezzy wasn't done when he and Cammy mated on August 4. Apparently, he decided to save up all his sexual energy for today. He tried to mate with Cammy today. Now, mating while the female is already gravid can cause the female to be so distressed that no eggs will be laid. So, I stopped them. I knew I had to separate them, but the only other cage I have is the Nursery, and the egg is in there. Later, he tried again; I pulled him off again. Then, when I came back from lunch, I saw a big pinch in the skin on Cammy's neck. I was a mix of anger with Dezzy and sadness for Cammy. By the time Cammy became the darkest brown I had ever seen her, I decided I had to do something. Then I remembered some advice my mom gave me on what she does with plants to conserve heat and moisture: Cover the top of the container with foil! So I did that *and poked some holes for oxygen so the eggs--and hatchlings--won't suffocate*, put the palm plant in there, and transported Dezzy into the Nursery. Within minutes, Cammy returned to her previous bright green color. Right now, Dezzy's bright green, too, which makes me feel a lot better about this. *I still love him; I'm only doing this for Cammy's and her eggs' safety; it's not like I hate him for going by his instincts*. Now, granted, the Nursery has a ways to go before it is perfect. But for now, this will have to do. He still has the necessities: crickets, water, basking spots, hiding spots, heat, and cool spots. He just doesn't have proper guages. However, my parents aren't home yet; I'll go get some when they get home. I think everything is going to be alright.
08/11/02: Sorry bout not updating yesterday. It doesn't really matter, though. I mean, nothing really happened yesterday. Except... Oh yeah! This one is for real, people. The last one was laid before they mated. This one is fertilized! Right now, it's under a light with foil around it *to conserve moisture and heat*. She should be laying another one in about two weeks. I can't wait! Also, this morning, I covered three crickets with calcium dust *on the spot* and put them in. Cammy snapped at the first one, but only got the hind legs. The cricket then fell off the leaf. After she was done eating the legs, Cammy snapped at the second cricket. Eventually, Dezzy got the first cricket. The third cricket is still walking around in there. Speaking of crickets, they actually ate through the duct tape in one corner. I managed to catch them before any got away, but this means I'll have to be watching more carefully nowadays. Well, it's late, so this is Nicknole signing out.
08/09/02: I'm back. I spent the week at Caranole's house, hanging out in her attic. No, seriously. It's comfortable up there, though; nice and carpeted :-) Anyway, I'm back. Sadly, it turns out the egg was infertile. It shriveled up and is, basically, gone. However, that makes everything make more sense. Y'see, before Cammy laid her first egg, she had no pinched skin on her neck where Dezzy would have bitten her in order to hang on while mating occurred. After I actually saw them mate, however, the skin on her neck where Dezzy bit was pinched for a few days. Also, if a male mates with a pregnant female, it can cause so much stress that she will actually withhold the eggs. Now, I know that there's really no need to separate them! We're expecting a fertilized egg on the twelfth, but I'm going to watch Cammy closely before then, too *just to make sure*. I can tell there's an egg there. She has a bump on the right side, right behind her rib cage. I'm so excited! I can't wait! This new egg won't hatch until mid-September, but still, it's kewl. Apple slices seem to be working better for the crickets than the cricket food. I dust it lightly with calcium dust, and they're all over it. Today, I put four crickets in. By the time I turned out their light, there was one left. Oh, and I did a light cleaning of the cage today *removed the feces*. Other than that, nothing really happened. They were both green all day as they basked in the fake sunlight. Oh, yeah! Wednesday night, while I was still with Caranoles, the day light bulb burned out! My dad left the night light on through the day so they'd still get heat and UV rays, but believe me, Dezzy was happy when I put the new light in. I only wish I'd gotten to leave it on for him. Sadly, it was bedtime. But he got his basking time in today. Before you leave, check out my brand new Quiz thingy. It's a little test to see which of the Shakespearean Anoles cast you are most like. It's a blast, baby! ...Anyway, it's kewlies. Well, it's nearly tomorrow *oh, it IS tomorrow... er, waitaminute...*, so I'd probably better go to bed now. Nicknole, signing out.
08/02/02: Well, Tripod works again. In case you haven't gotten to read it, here is the journal I kept while the computer and Tripod were down. It includes some stuff from today, too. Enjoy!*LATER* Alright. I just edited Cammy's part of the Photo Gallery, so go check that out. I now have about FIFTY pictures of her! I'll soon be adding on to Dezzy's page, so don't you worry! Also, don't forget to check out the page I wrote while I was away! It's packed full of fun facts and... well, you know the bit. Enjoy!
08/03/02: Hey everybody! Caranole here again! I just updated Dezzy's page . It finally fits him! Hey cheers for Dezzy the First Male who is making it possible for our First Female to be having our First Egg!!! We were talking about names today. Nick promices me its going to be a girl, so I chose a few names i liked. Then nick told me which ones he liked. And so here are our four choices of girls names we like: Celia, Iris, Silvia, and Lynna. Since the first egg after it hatches is probably going to be moved to my house, I want to name her Silvia. I think Nick approved it, but if he didn't oh well SHE'S GONNA BE MY GIRL! Well I don't have much else to say, so this is CARANOLE signing offline. PEACE AND LOVE!!!
For May 2002's news, go here.
For June 2002's news, go here
For July 2002's news, go here
Want to go back without the help of the stupid "Back" button on your browser that never works because it's a stupid piece of sh- *manager: "Nick, calm down"* Oh, sorry. Anyway, to go back, click your heels one time. *see? We're more energy efficient than Dorothy's stupid shoes! :-p*