My female Collared lizard, Chunkbutt, passed away this morning after a lengthy illness of kidney failure.

I got her in early March of 2016, wild capture, she was just a juvie then, so her age would be closing in on 5 years of age by June. I would bring her to local reptile shows and the local breeders were stunned that I had a wild captured Collared that didn't try run off. She also showed me that the species would also eat dandelion leaves , something I was unaware of. When I bred them in Tucson I found out they would eat prickly pear fruit that was ripe and reported it to the Herpers at the Arizona Sonora Desert Museum. They were at first doubtful, til I showed them my lizards merrily munching down on the fruit. Later at the museum, I proved it with their lizards on display. Plus two of my Collareds would be photographed for two reptile books (along with a Clarks Spiny Lizard I owned).

Chunkbutt, as I named her, was a greedy lil lizard when it came to eating, she also would park herself on top of her terrarium in late fall through early spring to catch sunny days. In warmer weather I would take her outside to bask and exercise. Though early last year, she was basking in her usual spot on top of her cage inside, looking outside. When a bird crashed into the window near her. She panicked and leaped off the cage and hard into the window and landed hard upside down. She suffered some nerve damage from that point forward. Unable to run and partial paralysis in the left rear leg.

Two weeks ago her weight started crashing, and a week ago she suffered a cold when the weather seriously turned extremely cold and the front window had poor insulation. And despite having a hotrock it still got cold inside. I knew then her time was limited.

I'm going to miss that bright little lizard.