Jen Finally Comes Home! - Click here to see pictures
Dateline: Rock Hill, SC August 27, 2005
Who in the world is Jen? We finally have another girl in the DeMarche family. Well, Jen is actually Colby's new gal. He takes her out and holds her in his hand and he always makes sure she is taken care of. What in the world is an eleven year old doing with a gal?
Jen has finally come home!! And all of your questions are about to be answered. The newest addition to the DeMarche family is Jen --Colby's new veiled chameleon. About three months ago we were visiting good friends Tommy and Linda Roland. Their son Jeff has recently opened Once Bitten Exotics, a pet store specializing in all sorts of snakes, lizards, geckos, tarantulas, frogs, and of course chameleons and other creepy-crawly critters. Colby loves animals and when he saw this cute little green baby chameleon he fell head over heels in love with her. He even went so far as to name her before we had agreed to take her home with us. Since Colby was about to leave on his People to People trip and a trip to Illinois after that, we bought Jen but left her at Once Bitten until he came home. The staff at Once Bitten were very kind and generous to watch over her until Colby's return.
Of course this delayed homecoming fueled speculation and rumors as to her identity since no one but us had ever seen her. After checking her out, we're not yet convinced that she's not actually an alien from outer space. Come on - What kind of animal can make her eyes spin around 360 degrees and look at you when you're standing behind her (actually I had a teacher in 9th grade that could do that - editor)? I recently sat down with Colby for an interview and this is what he had to say about Jen:
Editor - So, Jen has finally come home!
Colby - Yes, I can't believe she's actually home!
Editor - What do you keep her in?
Colby - I have a cage for her that is made out of wire mesh.
Editor - I see, so it's an open air type cage?
Colby - Yes.
Editor - What does she eat?
Colby - She eats crickets and drinks water that I mist into her cage several times a day.
Editor - Cool. Can you hold her?
Colby - Yes. I love to take her out of her cage and she likes to walk on my arm and from one hand to the next.
Editor - You have other pets too, right?
Colby - Yes. I have two dogs and eight fish.
Editor - I'm not too concerned about the fish, but what about the dogs? What do they think and what do you do to protect her from them?
Colby -My dog is too stupid to even meet her! (Laughs). I keep my door closed and keep her in her cage when they are in the house. It's going to be hard to protect her at all times!
Editor - What would you say is the most interesting aspect about Jen?
Colby - Her feet and her ability to change colors. It's cool to watch her eat flies too. She sticks her long tongue out and zaps them.
Editor - How does she change colors?
Colby - She has four layers of transparent skin. The outside layer has yellow and red color cells. Just inside this layer are two more layers that reflect blue and white light. The innermost layer has pigment granules.
Editor - WOW! I'm impressed!
Colby - Me too.
Editor - I mean I'm impressed that you know all this.
Colby - Well, I've been reading about chameleons on the internet. She changes color based on temperature and mood. She can change the size of the color cells to create different colors. It's pretty complicated actually. If you want to know more there's plenty of stuff on the net.
Editor - I'll have to check that out! Is she cold blooded or warm blooded?
Colby - Cold blooded.
Editor - So how do you help her regulate her body temperature?
Colby - I have a heating lamp and a thermometer.
Editor - Excellent! Thank you for taking time to talk with us today!
Colby - You're welcome!
Click on over to Jen's page to see more pictures of this beautiful new addition to our ever growing zoo!
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