Me and him “When Picasso is happy, he is quite lime green” – Piritta Hagman has a very sensitive lizard at home

“Daughter wanted a parrot. He yanked and yanked, and I imagined I could get away with suggesting another pet. There was talk of a beard agave, but at the pet store I noticed a small, finger-length chameleon baby. I fell in love and asked if this would work. The daughter agreed to the exchange along the teeth. Soon Picasso moved into our family, daughter’s room. We have a lot of pictures of her doing homework and a little chameleon sleeping on her finger.

The daughter decided on a name. Picasso has little eyes here and there in his paintings, and our Picasso’s eyes move in a bit of the same style.

We now have two cats, two dogs and a chameleon. Picasso is our own Supper. He gets hurt and gets upset about things quickly if they are not routine and in the right way. It is affectionate and fits into this Finnish mentality. When Picasso is satisfied, he is quite lime green, but the more dissatisfied he becomes, the darker brown the color changes. When hunting, he is dotted.

He comes out of the terrarium when he offers his hand, and the higher he gets, the better. He often leans on his head.

If you need affection and scratching, then a lizard is not such a pet. Picasso is exceptionally social as a chameleon and makes contact with people, but we don’t have the kind of communication we have with a cat or a dog. We have started from the premise that the animal must be able to live as species-like a life as possible. Not that a pet is just fun and entertainment for a person. Trying to arrange for him a life as peaceful as possible and good conditions. It means that kind of mutual respect. I don’t wear pitch black or polka dot clothes, which she hates.

At Easter, Picasso was in treatment and we found out he was overweight. It was a shock to me because I had imagined he was underweight. It turned out to me that the overweight in the chameleon is not visible on the body, but they collect on the extra chubby cheeks and plump beak.

Now he is on a diet.

When you get a lizard, then not only that lizard will come home. There will also be crickets. Sirko has its own terrarium and needs to be taken care of as well. Our Sunday starts with me shouting if anyone has watered the crickets and given food.

Crickets make a damn noise. Locusts are always bought for us because they do not squeak. The second Christmas we heard the chirping of crickets, which of course takes place mainly at night. I took them to the sauna and yet we heard those crickets.

Picasso is probably our last lizard. But as long as he’s with us, I’ll do my best to have the best possible chameleon life.