There’s a lizard’s tail in my bedroom

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All the animal activists and general animal lovers out there, this posting is not for you. Please stop reading and go do something else because this is something that I’m sure will not appeal to you. For Indians (and other people living in third-world countries), this is likely a run-of-the-mill every day occurrence. But for me and my fellow Americans, this story is one worth sharing.

We, as Americans, live in very sterile environments. If we see a tiny spider or a fly in our homes, we chase after it until it’s expelled out the door. Now, after traveling in remote places and living in cockroach-infested hostels, I’ve learned to accept the fact that these creatures inhabit this world with us. While I don’t like seeing creepy, crawly insects, I don’t get so queasy anymore at the sight of them. However, there is a big difference when these creepy, crawly insects are in my home … my bathroom, my bedroom, my kitchen. The small things like spiders and bugs I can live with … even the tiny baby lizards aren’t such a big deal anymore. But there are three things that I can not stand to have crawling around in my home: cockroaches, big lizards, and rats. Thankfully, there are no rats in our home (otherwise I’d be checking into the Marriott next door). We do get the occasional cockroach when it rains, mostly they come out from the drains in the bathroom. The first couple of months I was here, I would close the bathroom door and wait until Homyar got home from work to deal with them. Gradually, I’ve learned to handle the cockroaches and get them the hell out!

Now, for the lizards, giloris as they are called in Hindi or Gujrati (not sure which). Most homes are fair game for these slimy little things. And most people have no problem letting them into their homes. But I am not most people. The baby ones are ok by me - they’re pretty easy to chase out or sometimes, yes, I do kill them. I’m not proud of it but it’s survival of the fittest here. I even found one swimming in one of the glasses in the sink a few weeks ago. (It’s the truth - you can’t make these things up!)

The big mama lizards, however, still creep me out. If I see one in the house, it has to be driven out … immediately! Usually it takes some running around by the two of us to corner it and point it towards the nearest door or window. But there has been a particularly stubborn one in our house. This one has been lurking around for about 2 weeks - hiding in dark corners and scurrying about at night. We tried unsuccessfully to chase it out last weekend but it escaped inside the little holes under the sink.

For the animal lovers, if you’re still reading, I implore you to stop at this point because this is where it gets a little … shall we say … inhumane. Again, we aren’t proud of these things. And Homyar is happy to let these things roam around on their own. I take full responsibility for it.

Last night, we came home from having dinner with a friend at BBQ Nation (more on that some other time) to find this lizard on the wall in the dining area. It’s about a foot long, dark greenish-black, and just having a good ol’ time hanging out. We spray some insect spray on it to weaken it because these little suckers can run really fast! It jumps off the wall right onto Homyar and runs into the bedroom. Rookie mistake! We should have closed the bedroom door! We dash after it to see where it goes - straight under the bed in between two suitcases. And the chase is on. We run from one side of the room to the other trying to corner it and lead it out because there is no way I’m sleeping in this room with this thing on the loose! Suitcases are flying from one side to the other … Homyar is jumping on and off the bed trying to find it. Despite being sprayed with insecticide it’s still racing around the room. In all the chaos, somehow the lizard gets trapped under the wheel of one of the suitcases. And it stops moving. I can see just the tail sticking out. Gingerly, I move the suitcase to see if it’s still alive. It’s been crushed but it’s still moving. And there is its tail a few inches away, wriggling around on its own. Ewwww! Now what do we do? The lizard is in shock … this is our time to go in for the kill. So we hit it a few times with a broom and it’s still moving around. Right about now I’m feeling really bad and hoping that this thing would somehow just find it’s way out the door. The tail is still wriggling around and really … that’s not something you want to see. After a few more hits with the broom, it seems to be dead. We sweep it up and out the door.

So after two attempts, the lizard is finally gone. Unfortunately, it had to die and in such a gruesome way. So for all of you who scream whenever you see a bug (you know who you are) … be thankful you’re in your comfy lizard-free, cockroach-free, bug-free homes.

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Comments

[Lamis]

OMG
OMG! I would totally freak out!! You're so brave to even let it hang out for 2 weeks in the house! I remember I saw a small one this past December in Pakistan and I was freaking out!! I hope you're not going to use that glass again :)

[behram]

I prefer a snake than a lizard in my house. It is the spookiest creature one can see. I hate to lay my eyes on it. We have lots of them at Udvada. Want to import some ?