R.I.P. Tiny Alice

Last night we found Tiny Alice dead. She'd been sick for a while so we were expecting it. It's actually kind of a relief because there wasn't much we could do for her aside from make her comfortable while she was here. Chameleons are pretty fragile creatures by nature... so much so that I don't understand how one could ever survive in the wild. They have a high mortality rate whether in their natural habitat or captivity.

She appeared to have some some sort of respiratory infection which affected her eyes. (Yeah, it didn't make much sense to me either, but read up on it and you'll see). She couldn't catch and eat crickets if her eyes weren't working. Attempts to hand feed her baby food and such failed because we could not get her mouth open. I think that was the worst part... her not eating. She always had such a hearty appetite that I nicknamed her "Hogzilla."

Anyway, she looked so peaceful for the first time last night that I only felt a little sad. I held her for a few moments (which is not something Alice would've ever tolerated) before putting her in the freezer. I suppose I'll call the crematory tomorrow and see if they'll get her and Mr. Sam done for me. (Yeah, I've been saving him because I knew this was coming). Oh, and the picture I chose of her was her at her best... always puffed up over something, LOL. Well, I hope the little lady now rests in peace. She will be missed.