There is something very satisfying about caring for healthy senior animals. My pet lizard is 18, and it sort of weirds me out that he’d be old enough to vote or take a driver’s license - and it simultaneously feels like he’s always been there and that I got him yesterday.
He’s as active and outgoing as he ever was, keeps getting an excellent bill of health at his annual vet checkups, and has no signs of the geriatric diseases that sometimes affects his species (they’re prone to arthritis and cataracts).
Was going to say that keeping a goldfish for 17 years is an impressive feat. I keep tropical fish, and it’s not a walk in the park, so I’ll be cleaning the tanks this weekend, like every other weekend ;)
Aforementioned lizard is a blue-tongue skink. When I was a kid most care guides said they live to 10-20, but now their lifespan is more commonly put at 20-30. We actually don’t know how long they live in the wild; shingleback skinks (a closely related species) surprised everyone when it turned out they can live into their 50s. Some shinglebacks caught and tagged for a 1982 study on their migration patterns still turn up today!
Mine is in very good health. He’s in great shape, almost exactly in the middle of the healthy weight range for his age and length, and has above-average musculature. He doesn’t really “feel” like a senior animal. Also, he’s probably the friendliest and most contact-seeking reptile I’ve ever met (including other skinks I’ve kept).
There is something very satisfying about caring for healthy senior animals. My pet lizard is 18, and it sort of weirds me out that he’d be old enough to vote or take a driver’s license - and it simultaneously feels like he’s always been there and that I got him yesterday.
He’s as active and outgoing as he ever was, keeps getting an excellent bill of health at his annual vet checkups, and has no signs of the geriatric diseases that sometimes affects his species (they’re prone to arthritis and cataracts).
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Was going to say that keeping a goldfish for 17 years is an impressive feat. I keep tropical fish, and it’s not a walk in the park, so I’ll be cleaning the tanks this weekend, like every other weekend ;)
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Aforementioned lizard is a blue-tongue skink. When I was a kid most care guides said they live to 10-20, but now their lifespan is more commonly put at 20-30. We actually don’t know how long they live in the wild; shingleback skinks (a closely related species) surprised everyone when it turned out they can live into their 50s. Some shinglebacks caught and tagged for a 1982 study on their migration patterns still turn up today!
Mine is in very good health. He’s in great shape, almost exactly in the middle of the healthy weight range for his age and length, and has above-average musculature. He doesn’t really “feel” like a senior animal. Also, he’s probably the friendliest and most contact-seeking reptile I’ve ever met (including other skinks I’ve kept).
score 1 · canonical