THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1994, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Friday, July 1, 1994 TAG: 9406300092
SECTION: DAILY BREAK PAGE: E1 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: BY MONIQUE WILLIAMS, SPECIAL TO THE DAILY BREAK
LENGTH: Medium: 68 lines
IVY WON'T ROLL over, fetch the paper or lick anyone's face, but to Brent Flannery, a 20-year-old car salesman from Virginia Beach, his pet iguana is just as lovable as a dog or cat.
Forget the bunnies, gerbils, hamsters, cats and pit bulls. Today water dragons, boas, monitors, iguanas and spur tortoises are becoming the pets of choice.
``I don't like cats or dogs,'' Brent said. ``Dogs bark, and cats knock things over. Iguanas don't do anything. They just sit there and be quiet.''
Teens are flocking to stores such as Animal Jungle in Virginia Beach, where snakes and exotic birds like macaws are cared for by a loving staff. Some of these reptiles aren't exactly beautiful. But as the cliche goes, beauty is in the eye of the beholder.
A favorite among teens is the water dragon, a dainty lizard that looks like a meal to bigger predators. But most of these neo-pets aren't the kind you'll snuggle up with. Iguanas, who resemble their pre-historic cousin, the dinosaur, grow to 5 feet. Boas grow to 8 feet.
Beauty, isn't the reason Tom Sayers, an 18-year-old Virginia Beach roofer, chose his boa constrictor.
``I wanted something to have fun with (that) didn't make noise,'' he said of Emanon (that's ``no name'' spelled backward), his 3-foot long boa.
Tom also wanted a pet that didn't depend on him too much for love, affection or maintenance. Emanon gets fed four mice once a month.
And how much fun is the boa? Well, Tom said, ``I put him on the bed or on the floor and just let him slither around.''
Brent and Tom swear that their pets recognize them and are attached to their owners
``I don't think that she loves me or anything like it,'' Brent said of Ivy the Iguana. ``But if she has to be with someone, she'd rather be with me.''
Brent said he spends time talking to Ivy and doesn't leave the house for long stretches of time because she gets angry and starves herself.
``People think that they are dumb,'' he said, ``but they aren't.''
Ivy doesn't like being handled by strangers as Brent's uncle recently discovered when he petted her. She took a chunk of his skin.
``She has a great personality,'' Brent said. ``She is feisty.''
Ivy who is 33 inches long and weighs 1.5 pounds, is often perched on Brent's shoulder. The rest of the time, she lounges in a glass aquarium nibbling on her pellets.
Although pets such as reptiles require less maintenance than a dog or a cat, they are not maintenance-free. Cold-blooded animals need a warm environment. Their cages are heated with fluorescent lighting and heat rocks and kept at 88 degrees.
Brent, for example, can't use air conditioning in his room because of Ivy.
``Reptiles can get pneumonia at 50 degrees,'' said Animal Jungle manager Greg Lieurance. ``Snakes eat mice and rats, which carry disease,'' he warned.
As for longevity, when you buy one of these pets, consider putting them in your will. Ivy could live 30 years.
Some owners, however, get tired of their pets and simply swap them with other friends who own other strange creatures. ILLUSTRATION: Color photo
CHRISTOPHER REDDICK/Staff
Brent Flannery enjoys spending his time with Ivy, his feisty
Iguana.
by CNB