Colin Donihue

Now, when I really want to put something (or somebody) to sleep, my dissertation prospectus is pretty much the first thing I grab. Reading that thing aloud… well, does the trick. Sometimes though, especially in the case of my little lizards, it’s handy to have a trick to get them to go to sleep just a little faster. Anthony Herrel was visiting last week to get a look at the system and taught me this little trick for putting a Podarcis out for the count. I have no idea why it works but it sure does! Check it out:

So there you have it. A few belly rubs and the lizard will happily stay there until disturbed. I haven’t tried for a time record yet… maybe I will and see just how long they’ll stay on their backs. So far it seems that I can easily count on 30 seconds! Go figure, but good to know!