NEWS

Woman helps chameleons blend into new homes

Kristina Smith
mksmith@gannett.com
Cheryl Garcia, of Pemberville, is the reptile extension of Another Chance Sanctuary, based in Clyde.

PEMBERVILLE – At 5:30 a.m. most mornings, Cheryl Garcia is checking on the 32 reptiles, mostly chameleons, that share her rural home.

Before she gets to work at 9:30 a.m., Garcia checks each cage to make sure the creatures are healthy and have enough dripping water and plants to nestle in — and sometimes blend into.

She makes sure the bulbs that provide the various types of light and temperature they need throughout the day — basking, ambient and nighttime cool-down — are working correctly.

Chameleons' metabolism requires the changes in temperature so they can digest their food. If the reptiles don't get the specific care they need, they get sick and could die. They change colors at certain times of the day, when they are stressed, or when blending in to protect themselves from predators.

"It's not that they're hard; they're specific," Garcia said of caring for the chameleons. "They're not hard to care for. You just have to treat them right."

That's how she has come to have so many chameleons and other reptiles. Her home is the reptile agency for Another Chance Sanctuary, an animal rescue group based in Clyde.

She works to rehabilitate the reptiles and send them to new homes and a coalition of breeders who keep rare populations going.

"You have to love it," said Garcia, who rarely takes a vacation because she needs to care for the animals. "If you don't feel well or you're overwhelmed, it doesn't matter. You still have to care for them."

There are few reputable reptile rescue centers in the United States because taking care of such animals is so involved, said Debbie Leahy, Humane Society of the United States manager of captive wildlife protection.

Finding new homes for the unusual reptiles — which are native to the jungles of Africa, Madagascar and other exotic places — is no easy feat. They come to Garcia from across the country.

"Most of what I get has such medical needs that people don't want to deal with it," said Garcia, who takes her reptiles to a Toledo veterinarian who used to be chief veterinarian at the Toledo Zoo.

Many times, they arrive in the U.S. with problems because they are plucked from trees and thrown into pillowcases in their home countries and shipped here, Garcia said.

"They'll put an ungodly amount of chameleons in pillowcases," she said. "They get pregnant. They fight. Their horns and nails get ripped out."

Cheryl Garcia holds a reptile she rescued.

Others have dealt with owners who didn't understand how to properly care for them or didn't have time for them. Chameleons can be expensive to maintain because of their specific diet and the added electrical costs for their special lighting needs.

There is Mason, an emerald green chameleon whose tongue was accidentally ripped out when he lived with his past owner. He has recovered from a massive mouth infection that started when he lost his tongue.

Garcia feeds him dubia, an insect that resembles a roach, on a stick. She breeds dubia in order to keep a good food supply on hand.

A few cages down is Max, who is 6, which makes him an old man in chameleon years. Chameleons live about seven or eight years, Garcia said.

Max is a greenish yellow and orange, and he is mellow and likes being held. He takes a few stabs with his long tongue at the worm Garcia holds in her hand until he catches it and chews it up.

Max is one of the chameleons who will stay with Garcia permanently because of his age.

Another bright chameleon, who has not yet been named, is green, blue and red. His owner, a college student in Michigan, gave him up because he didn't have the time and resources to care for the animal correctly.

"It's nice when people realize that and give them up," she said. "He'll probably end up going up for adoption."

The more rare chameleons, such as the giant three-horned Ugandan chameleon she has in one cage, are less likely to go up for adoption because their care is less forgiving of husbandry mistakes than chameleons such as Mason and Max.

Garcia, who studied horse husbandry and barn management at Ohio State University, has loved reptiles and unusual animals since childhood. When Another Chance needed someone to specialize in reptiles, she stepped up.

"All reptiles, to me, are fascinating," she said. "They have their own personalities. They're quiet, clean and colorful."

Giving them up can be difficult. Garcia is picky about who adopts the reptiles because she wants to make sure they will be cared for properly.

"It's cool to know you were a part of that chapter to get them to their forever home," she said.

mksmith@gannett.com

419-334-1044

Twitter: @kristinasmithNM

Fundraiser

In addition to reptiles, Cheryl Garcia has rescued dogs and cats. She has Elliot, a tiny white Maltese dog who has been through a plethora of medical issues.

Elliot is so popular that he has his own Facebook page, Life with Elliot and Friends. To raise money for Another Chance Sanctuary, the group has published a photo book of Elliot.

It is available for $20 at Paw Patch Veterinary Services in Clyde. It also is available for shipment for $22.

For more information, go to www.anotherchancesanctuary.org.