Barrie takes a walk....or not

[Catherine]

It is a hot day with a light rain and I thought it would be a good day to take Barrie outside.

I put him down on the sidewalk and he freaked out. He is intelligent enough to know that he has no idea where he is.

I had to pick him up right away. He stayed in defensive mode for awhile(mouth open threatening). I held him firmly on my arm and he settled down. So I walked a few feet back and forth. He seemed okay for about five minutes. Then he got restless so I went up on the veranda with him. I put him down (in his beautiful leash and harness) and let him walk a bit. When I wouldn't let him go anywhere he wanted, he started to roll and had the leash wrapped around him.   I did not know he could do that!
I learn something new about Barrie every day.

That is when I figured we had both had enough. He is back in his tank and seems fine.

Maybe I should have been a little bit more careful with him. He might have been scared because he didn't know where he was.
I should have held him for his first few visits outside. He didn't know the world is so big. He is doing well when he is exploring my place. The outdoors is just too much too fast and so different from any world he has ever known.

On the other had I am happy with the way he calmed down when I was holding him. I think we are forming a bond and he trusts me. He certainly responds to my voice. Next time I will be more careful.

Next time I will get pictures.

[Tobi]

My gosh! Barrie had an exciting day !
It was a completely new event for him, but worth a try. Next time he will recall it's happened before and nothing very horrible occured.
It might be a case of getting used to it in small doses at first.

Haha....maybe it's similar to taking a cat for a walk? I tried taking Sally cat for a walk and you would think a nuclear war was about to start! But in a much less structured way (i.e. the way a cat wants to do it, and not the way I want to do it) -she will happily follow me around, and through the adjoining field before she starts howling. Then when we get back, she flops down as if she's been in the Death Zone on Everest, and meows for extra food. One eighth of a mile walk completed!

I wonder if Barrie would like it better in your garden? He might like the grass there and the plants, and the fact that it's quieter? So long as any plants there are safe for him to be near.

[Catherine]

I will try the back garden next time. I think he freaked out because he did not know where he was. He is smart, he knows the layout of my place. When he wanders around he knows where he is going. I carried him outside and put him down. He didn't know how he got there and he did not know where there was.

Next time I could walk him outside so he would know how he got there. He has never been outside in his life(not counting transport). I think he will be fine with practice. I should have walked around holding him the first time. I need to remember how smart he is. Barrie is the smartest reptile I have. I do things a certain way each time so that he can learn and I think it is working.

[LPC]

I know next to nothing about reptiles, but Tobi's idea sounds good to me. Perhaps you could take him walking with you out of the house into the back garden (which I think you call a "yard"). That way, he has the "context" of where he is going.

(PS - nothing to do with the above....It's strange to us how Americans and Canadians refer to a "yard", as in British English this suggests a bleak area with only bare earth or tarmac - e.g. a builder's yard. It is fascinating how some words have different connotations each side of the "pond".)

[Tobi]

Haha....yes LPC. I always found it difficult to get my mind around "yard" instead of "garden".
When I was a little girl we used to visit my grandparents who lived in a terraced house. It was a very nice Victorian house....but they had a "yard" out at the back, and it consisted of approximately a 20ft square stone paved area with an outside toilet, which harboured many spiders!
They also had a "garden" which was down a stone pathway behind the church. There my Grandad kept chickens, and grew vegetables. That was very beautiful.

I am sure that Barrie needs some time to adjust to new scenarios. I can't blame him. I know how I might feel if someone suddenly lifted me up and put me down on a street in Las Vegas... Rotating LOL for example!
I bet he will start to enjoy his walks when he gets used to the new places.

[Catherine]

I am aware of the yard vs garden label and I have started calling my back yard a back garden. It really is a garden. In some places the word yard is appropriate. It is a bleak barren place.

I call my front yard a front garden. It is a mass of flowers and shrubs so it really is a garden. Canadians are sometimes caught between English and American variations of the language. We use both spellings of some words. If your term for something is better I am happy to use it.
I am not prepared to switch over to lorries, petrol and kitchen roll.

Next time I will take more time with Barrie. I will make sure he sees where I am going. I think the back garden is quieter and more sheltered for him. This is a new experience for him. I think that he has done very well with explorations of the inside of my place. I moved to fast for him. It is a lot for a lizard to take in. He didn't know the world out there existed.

I am giving him a life he never dreamed about. I just hope he has lots of years to enjoy it.