My cousin Kiyomichi and his wife have rare reptiles. They used to work in a reptile pet store in Yokohama, so they know their stuff...and when folks in this world keep "pets," they keep rare, strange species. Not the kind you can pet and hug, mind you, so really not my type, but I very much appreciated getting the tour of their collection when my mom and I stopped by for a visit at their home.
Of all, the jumping giant toad freaked me out. I don't like but am not scared of reptiles as long as they move slowly and I feel in control. This toad is all instincts, and spends 99% buried under dirt waiting for movement. Then they jump and eat. This guy eats a frozen mouse once a week. So he doesn't need socializing...and jumps with his giant mouth. I screamed at first, but he was the most impressive. After he scared me out of my skin, I went back to
get a video. We had to coax him a bit, which I felt bad about, but he jumped.
They had an impressive lizard who kept hissing when I got close for a picture. And their smaller spotted-lizard-like species had a baby. They sell the babies from time to time.
I didn't mind trying to hold the albino-like-spotted-lizard-like beings...not a pet I'm interested in, but still cool. Then I took a picture of a professional picture of one of them. The photographer was a friend of theirs, and snapped quite a beautiful version of the little reptile.
These are mini crocodile skulls from the former owner who gave the skulls to them. Apparently, you have to have a license to own these such skulls to regulate a market for them.
Not my thing...but I can understand folks who dig reptiles, and how fascinating it must be to raise such strange beings.
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Alena
Posted by: Lucy | 01/04/2010 at 11:23 PM