A very special gecko

My lovely leopard gecko, Nutty, died in my hand last night.

Photo: http://www.yellow-teddy.org.uk

It wasn't unexpected, and I'm glad that he didn't just slip away alone in his vivarium for me to find later, but today I'm angry.

Like almost all of our animals, Nutty was rescued. When he was given to us (by another rescue centre) we were told he was brain-damaged - hence "Nutty Norman", which I never actually liked as a name. We didn't know how old he was, just that he was adult when he came to us.

Getting to know him over the first few weeks, I started to doubt if he was brain-damaged or just rather stressed. The shaking he originally had lessened considerably, and although he often held his head to one side, I know several people who do the same, and no-one doubts their mental capacity as a result!

So Nutty and I had several happy years together. I say Nutty and I because - for no reason I was ever able to fathom - Nutty growled at Luc every time he saw him. Until about three months ago.

At the same time that Nutty stopped growling at Luc, I notice the lean of his head was more common, and a greater angle. He also started going round in circles occasionally. A couple of weeks ago, he turned so far round on himself that he actually flipped himself over. His last shed was poor. He's never been any easy feeder, but then last Saturday he had difficulty eating his usual food, but managed something smaller. Then he stopped eating altogether.

There's a genetic flaw in leopard geckos called the Enigma gene. Some animals may carry it without ever exhibiting symptoms, but when they are present, among the most common effects are:

• Neurological or balance disorder;
• "Star gazing";
• Inability to feed itself;
• Circling behaviour, especially when startled;
• "Death rolling" (think of crocodiles);
• Inability to shed without assistance.

So now, taking into account a few other factors as well, I'm pretty sure that the "brain damage" that Nutty had was, in fact, the Enigma gene.

So why should I be angry? Because the Enigma gene is being deliberately bred for financial gain, producing animals that - to a lesser or greater extent - suffer as a result.

When the "Enigma morph" was first bred in 2006 (three years before we were given Nutty) it was considered "exciting" as it introduced new colouration and also less obvious "banding". As a result, entire Enigma lines have been purposely bred, and sometimes crossed with other colour morphs. A number of breeders continue to do this, with any hatchlings exhibiting clear signs of "Enigma Syndrome" being euthanised and the others being sold on or kept for further breeding.

Enigma is a dominant gene.

I can only hope that Nutty didn't suffer too much in his final few months, but had I been aware of this genetic mutation earlier I would probably have taken steps when his condition started to deteriorate at the start of the summer.

Machine vs. Man

I'm on a training course tomorrow (which is more than likely to prompt another blog post, trust me), so when I arrived at work this morning I printed out the joining instructions and map, checked my journey, and then checked my Oyster card to see if I had enough credit for the travel. I didn't, so I decided that I would go out at lunch time and add some funds.

Ten minutes later, our computer system started running slowly (a problem we've been having on and off for the last week, since the last system upgrade), so I reported it to the Help Desk (again). Twenty minutes later it stopped working altogether.

I decided to make use of the down time by going to the nearest underground station to top up my Oyster then, rather than in my lunch break, and decided £5 would be adequate. I don't believe in keeping large balances on something I only use two or three times a month.

In my handbag I had a bank coin bag of 20 pence pieces, which I was pretty sure was exactly £5, so I took that, my Oyster card, my building pass and - just to be on the safe side - a £2 coin, and headed off round the corner to Goodge Street station.

All went well with the first couple of stages of the operation. The machine read my card. It asked my what I wanted to do. I selected Top Up. It asked how much? I selected £5. It asked if I was paying by cash or by card. I selected cash.

Then I started putting my 20 pence pieces in ....

I had got to around £4.20 when it said I had used too many coins, and cancelled the transaction. It then returned my money. Except that it didn't return my money - not my 20 pence pieces .... no, it gave me 10 pence pieces instead.

I tried again, more out of desperation than hope. The machine read my card. It asked my what I wanted to do. I selected Top Up. It asked how much? I selected £5. It asked if I was paying by cash or by card. I selected cash.

I started by putting the £2 coin in, then my remaining 20 pence pieces. When those ran out, I switched to the 10 pence pieces. I had got to around £3.60 when it said I had used too many coins, and cancelled the transaction. It then returned my money. Well, approximately my money. I'm grateful that it did, at least, give me back a £2 coin.

So then I went to the ticket office, and gave the coins to a human being, who topped up my Oyster.

I returned to the office. The IT system still wasn't working.....

Isn't it wonderful how machines can make everyday life so easy?

A tale of coincidences

We were out at a music festival today with the reptiles. We had all the usual gear with us, including the infamous "blue bag" which contains all our paperwork, hi-viz jackets, clean-up and first aid kits, antibac, etc. The actual hold-all was bought at a local charity shop, and bears the crest of one of the local schools on one end panel.

During the afternoon, three girls aged 10-11 were having a fond encounter with my lizards when one of them glanced down and saw the bag under the table, printed end visible. "Where did you get that bag?" "It's from one of our local schools, but we bought it in a charity shop". "I think it's Langley" "It could well be, that's not far from us". "I'm starting there in September - I've just got my uniform."

A couple of hours later, the same girls were back, continuing their blossoming friendship with Bruce (bearded dragon) and Slinky (Berber skink), when a woman of my age came over. She didn't want to touch or hold the animals, but was interested in them, and was very impressed with the girls' bravery.

I can't remember exactly why, but the woman mentioned that she teaches at Langley. I told her that one of the girls was starting there next term, and she replied "That would be Langley Girls; I teach at Langley Boys".

A small bell rang at the back of my mind; I had heard that one of my school friends was teaching at Langley Boys a good ten years back. So I asked "One of my friends used to teach there, but I can't remember her married name. Do you know J**e F***g****e?"

"Yes, I know her very well; I was at school with her. How do you know her?" 

"I was at school with her as well!"

At which point we exchanged maiden names and remembered each other!

So if it hadn't been for the blue bag, and the three young girls, I would .... well, I would have met, but not been aware I had met .... Shirley, who I last saw when she changed to another school in 1974!

Hotter than July?

It was hot today.

Very hot.

So three of us at work decided we'd like an ice cream break this afternoon.

A quick discussion as to price, speed and variety followed, and we headed off to the nearest supermarket, mid-afternoon. There was a corner shop closer, but we reckons they wouldn't have such a good selection, and would be more expensive.

There was, however, one thing we hadn't considered.

As we entered the supermarket the fire alarm went off. So the shop was evacuated.

I'm guessing it was just a little hotter than we believed .....

But I'm happy to report that the corner shop had a fair selection.