Celebrating 48 with Katrina the Chameleon

How could this adventure possibly get any better? Why not add a reptile to the mix for kicks and giggles? What better time to do that than for a birthday celebration? So, yesterday we welcomed sweet little Katrina to the Marrakech mix. It was just one of those things. Those weird things. There are cages of turtles and chameleons in the market. The vendors assure us every time that they are not for couscous. I know in my head that it's wrong to support the capture of these animals. I justified in my heart that I would make one life better by buying a chameleon and freeing it from the cage in the market. And, honestly, they are just interesting and odd and cool...and I could never have one in freezing Vermont...and I just wanted to see how many cool colors it could turn...and their eyes are freaky...and the polka dots are awesome. Ok. I just did it. No justifying.

So, we spent a little while in the spice market browsing, patting chameleons, assessing babies versus big kids, and asking about prices. The vendors just kept trying to sell us spices and tea. We decided the chameleons were just there to attract people to the spice shops. When a vendor did finally answer about a price for the chameleon, he said he would stuff it in a cigarette box, so we could sneak it on the plane. Heh. We may need to worry about that next summer, but for now we assured him that we did not want to smuggle anything out of the country in a cigarette box.

Katrina was perched on top of a green cage showing off her polka dots (and, yes, she was already named). She stole my heart right away. Brianna was drawn to the babies, which were no bigger than salamanders. But I kept coming back to Katrina. When it came time to negotiate a price for her, her seller insisted that she was super valuable because she might have babies inside. "Inshallah." Oy. I outwardly expressed appropriate fertility joy at the prospect, and inwardly said "Inshallah not." What would we do with a litter of chameleons? I honestly am not sure how to take care of just one.

This was not one of those over-thought decisions. Andy bought a palm tree for Katrina at the market - another little adventure in negotiating - and then figured out how to transport a tree back to the apartment. Brianna bought me a sunshine lantern that will provide permanent sun to keep Katrina happy. I paid for Katrina and stuffed her in a spice tin (much better than a cigarette box) to transport her to her new home on our balcony. And now, Katrina the Birthday Chameleon is happily installed in her new digs. She spent the day exploring the apartment, which mostly looks like moving at the speed of a sloth to the highest roost that she can find. She seems to enjoy the warmth of just sitting on someone's head and traveling around the house on that mobile perch.

Once we figure out what she is actually going to eat, our next question will be what to do with a chameleon when we travel. Stay tuned for Katrina the Road-Tripping Reptile's adventure to Fez.

Katrina's bday treat

You just don't get that silhouette in the 802