As I walked through the sliding glass door at the entrance of the store, my heart began o race, I just could not wait. It was the day before my sixteenth birthday and my boyfriend told me I could pick out my present. We pasted by the fished and walked by the birds. As we finally made it to the reptile a smile came upon my face. There was python snakes, snapping turtles, and even baby alligators. But, on that special day, all I wanted was a Chinese Water Dragon.

A million little lizard crawled around waiting all waiting to be taken home. Some were big, some were brown and red with big eyes, and some were fat with big teeth. Yet, there was only on e that stuck out to me the most. His skin was dark green with tiny black and green spots all over. He looked to be the tiniest in the bunch. I pointed him and said, “That one.” The lady grabbed him and placed him in a small cage and handed him to me. She explained to me how to take care of him and his special needs. She said he likes to be held and loves to play in the water. I learned very important information from her.

Now, to care for a lizard you have to buy him live food, an aquarium to live in, and also a water bowl. You also have to buy food for his food. A lizard eats crickets and there is a special kind of food that the crickets eat. It can gets a little expense having a pet lizard. Thank goodness he only eats once a day. And he like when I put the food in my hands so he can eat it.

After a few weeks of having him, I learned just how big of a responsibility a lizard can be. He loves playing in his water bowl so you have to change it often. We put him in the bath tub so he can have a wide range to play in. He runs extremely fast. He is as fast as a drug dealer running away from the cops. That’s why I named him Speedy.

As I watch him run around in his cage he is so happy. He is free to run around and play as he pleases. I look at him and wonder how can someone love something so small.