Believe it or not, my first time pet sitting is not a dog, not a cat, but a gecko. What an adventure. Why would anyone have a gecko as a pet? So interesting…
I had so many questions. Do I have to take him home? What does he eat? Will be bite? Will he jump at me? What if he runs out of his cage?
The first day I met him was the day I learned to feed him. He sits in his cage inside a walk-in closet, which was decorated with branches, logs, and leaves, and he even has this small stool that I guess he sleeps under. His food sits on the floor inside the cage.
The first step is unlocking his cage by turning the knob. This was simple, but the terrible part is that it’s the top two-thirds of the front that opens, not the third on the bottom. That means he can easily jump out if he is sitting on his branch. As my friend reached inside to grab his food and water container, the gecko ran to the back of his cage and disappeared into the dark leaves. Wonderful.
Preparing his food was pretty easy. Clean out the dish, scoop in his powder, then mix it with water. The hard part is taking out and putting the dish back into the cage. Luckily, he only needed to be fed every two to three days.
My pet sitting shift started out fine. I would see him when I entered the closet, he would run away, then I would prepare his food and water. His cage was located a bit high for me so I needed a chair to reach in, adding to the difficulty of taking his dish out of his cage. He doesn’t blink either, which was scary to see. As the days went by, I would not see him when I entered. This was the worst. Where is he hiding? Is he hiding in the back or is he just waiting to jump out? Is he sleeping under the stool? Where could he be? I tried getting in and out of there as quickly as I could as I hoped he wouldn’t pop out of nowhere.
I was so happy when my friends returned from their vacation. This was truly an experience I never thought I would have, and is probably good enough to try it once. Hopefully my friends can take him with them the next time they travel!