Wakka's Gift

 

            On October 28, 2016, I adopted a bearded dragon. They’re called “bearded dragons” because they’re lizards that inflate their chin with marking that makes it look like a beard.

            I never thought a reptile would steal my heart. I’d only ever had cats or a dog as pets before, so this was going to be new to me. When I went to PetSmart to get my new baby, I thought it would be a difficult choice. There were three beardies in the tank. I looked, and one beardie saw me, climbed over the other two, and placed its hand on the glass. I knew this little baby wanted me.

He was hatched on September 1, 2016, and was very tiny. I have a grip that is way too firm, and I was afraid I’d smush he was so little, and I didn’t actually start holding him until January 2017.

Picking the name was easy enough for me, as I knew the boy or girl names for whichever I brought home. There are several common beardie names, like Norbert, Puff, or Toothless, but I wanted something unique, something different. My favorite video game is Final Fantasy X, and my favorite character is Wakka. I saw this baby and looking at him, I knew Wakka was the right name. He would even eventually learn and understand that his name was Wakka.

He also learned a few other words. He understood me as “Dada.” He also learned the word “bugs” (but what reptile wouldn’t learn that word?). He learned “cartoons” and if I said “Wakka, want to watch cartoons” be got very excited.

I’m living with bipolar disorder, and I saw Wakka as my emotional support animal. We did a lot of things together, including reading and, of course, watching cartoons. He was a very happy little creature, full of happiness and love. Some scientists say bearded dragons don’t know how to love. I think those scientists need to do better research on that. If you saw how he looked at me and played with me, you could see the love.

If I had a horrible day, I could just walk into my room, look at that little guy and how he’d look back at me, and it felt like if that little creature loved me that much, my life honestly couldn’t be all that bad. He always made me smile.

One of the hardest days of my life was December 4, 2021. I woke up to find he had passed over the night. It was devastating. I loved that little guy so much, and now he was gone. It was hard to comprehend, and to cope and deal with. I never thought losing a reptile would be so difficult. My emotional support animal had left me, and life would now be so difficult.

I know, though, that those five years together were some of the happiest of my life, and I had to remember that I gave him a good, happy life, full of nothing but love. I honestly have absolutely no bad memories of Wakka except the morning I found his stiff body. But to pass right before Christmas, well, it was going to be awfully difficult. Five years of being a dada now over.

I’m on several bearded dragon and reptile pages on Facebook. I’d asked around and learned the average bearded lifespan is 8-13 years. I felt like I’d done something wrong, like I had messed up and his passing was my fault, and I highly blamed myself. I should have known something was wrong, felt like I could have done something to keep him alive. I felt guilty. What if I had done something different? Would he still be alive?

My dog Casper had passed away December 3, 2013. It was like mourning one pet one day, then another one the next day, and it was extremely difficult to get through.

Therapy sessions after that were extremely difficult, but they really helped me through the rough time. I accepted it was not my fault, and that there was nothing more I could have done. He showed no signs of being sick, it was so sudden, he wasn’t suffering or in pain. And I also had to accept that he had said goodbye to me that last night. I gave him his goodnight hug and kiss, and he clung to my chest and nuzzled me. It was all going to be alright and things would get better.

I knew nothing about reptiles, and five years with no prior experience was not too bad. I’d heard of beardies who never breached two. What I did, I did right.

I plan to get another new beardie baby to love, and give a good life to, and find more happiness. In May of 2022, I was going to get a new baby, but unfortunately I got a really bad injury on my hand, requiring stitches, and I was now in no shape to handle a beardie. It’s now almost August 2022 and I’m still not fully healed, so getting a new beardie was now on the afterburner. But knowing the kind of joy a bearded dragon can provide, I definitely will get another.

Still, in 2021, the prospect of Christmas was rather dim for me. Yes I had my cat, Rose, but I shared her in the family, and she was not fully my cat, compared to the way that Wakka was my beardie.

Then, something happened that saved my Christmas.

If you’re reading this, years after my writing this short story, there might be something new, or better, but in 2021, this was cutting edge technology. I’d wanted to get the Nintendo Switch ever since I first heard of it. But coming from a low-income family, getting it would be difficult. I found I had gift cards and store credit for Game Stop. I also learned about the Nintendo Switch Lite, a portable version of the system. The regular Switch could hook up to a television and also be portable, but it was very expensive. Plus, I only have one main television in my house, and my neighborhood is notorious for losing electricity, so a version that was just portable was ideal. Plus it was $100 cheaper. Earlier in 2021, I had gone to Game Stop and asked about a Nintendo Switch Lite. The clerk checked the computer and saw that there were three in the back of the store. The clerk went into the storage room, and for six exciting minutes, I thought I’d be walking out with one. As it turned out, the worker who usually did inventory had failed at their job, and they actually did not have any Nintendo Switch Lite. This was rather devastating. I had also looked on Amazon to see the availability status, and the wait period on the Nintendo Switch Lite was five to seven months. It looked like I’d be waiting until at least 2022 to get one.

But the week after Wakka passed away, my mum and caregiver (as I am disabled and cannot live on my own) randomly went to Game Stop. She had no idea she would even go there that day, but she decided to check out to see if the clerk knew when they were possibly getting a shipment in. The clerk checked and saw that he did not know when they would possibly be getting new copies in. But, as it turned out, the computer said the store had a used copy right there in the back. The clerk went back and actually, in fact, they did, indeed have a used copy.

When I watch television at home, I usually ignore the phone if I’m truly invested. But as I sat watching television, my mum called. I was mostly ignoring it, until I heard a few choice words. “Game Stop.” “Nintendo Switch Lite” “Used.” “At the store.” I raced for the phone, picked it up, and cried out “BUY IT!” Unfortunately, however, my mum did not have the funds to purchase it… WITH her. But I had the Game Stop gift cards and store credit and knew, from the last experience, that I had more than enough to purchase both the system and a game. My mum told the clerk to hold on to it. Being disabled, including having seizures and brain damage, I’m not permitted to drive. So I gathered all my cards, my mum rushed home, and we rushed back. And with luck, the color they had in was turquoise. In all honesty, if it was purple with pink flowers, I still would have bought it. Honestly, who’d really care? A Nintendo Switch Lite is still a Nintendo Switch Lite. So before dinner, on that day, upon returning home, I now possessed a turquoise Nintendo Switch Lite.

I believe this was a Christmas miracle. I believe it was a Christmas gift for his Dada, for taking such good care of him and giving him so much love for five years. I know he would not have wanted his Dada to be sad on Christmas. I could just imagine him saying to the previous owner, if he could speak English “You! Hooman! You don’t use your Nintendo Switch Lite anymore! Bring it back to the store so my Dada can have it!” And I can imagine him saying to my mum “Gammy! The Game Stop in the Cortland Town Center has a used Nintendo Switch Lite! Get Dada here so he can buy it!” I refuse to believe that anything other than Wakka wanting me to have a happy Christmas occurred. It was Wakka’s Christmas present for me. As I set up the system, it even asked if I wanted to give the console a nickname. I actually did, and coming up with a name took less time than it took to actually read the prompt. My Nintendo Switch Lite is officially named Wakka. It may not have been an actual replacement for Wakka (as how could ANY animal be a replacement for a lost pet), but it was a nice, pleasant, happy surprise. A Christmas present from my dearly departed little goober. I believe this no matter what anyone might say, no one with ever convince me otherwise. And so, with my turquoise Nintendo Switch Lite, nicknamed Wakka, I actually had a happy Christmas.

A Tribute to Wakka, Part Five

The following is Part Five of a tribute to my bearded dragon, Wakka, who passed away December 4, 2021. This series will include favorite memories and stories of my life with my companion for five years.

            Wakka has now been lain to rest. It had been one of the hardest things I have ever had to do in my entire life, matching up with the grief of losing my dog Casper. Wakka was my baby, my son. To all my other pets, I’m “Brojah”  (a form of “Brother” that I once said to Casper which actually stuck and that’s how he knew me, and as my cat Rose knows me as well), but to Wakka I was Dada. I even have a mug that says “Bearded Dragon Dad” which I have not made coffee in for the past six days, as I am no longer a Bearded Dragon Dad, and that, over the past five years, has been my favorite mug, the mug I made coffee in every morning. I’m also in doubt of ever having hooman children, not completely ruling it out, but it may not ever happen, so he was my first child. I loved him like a dad and he was my son, and I was a single parent. (I have no woman in my love life at the moment, so there was no mom.) I couldn’t have loved him more if I were a contributing factor in his conception. I had several nicknames for him as well, which, fortunately he never thought were his real names. “Li’l Goober,” “Mister Grump Grump,” “Wakka-Man the Grump,” “Mister Lizard-Man,” and “The Wakka Monster.” I think every parent has nicknames for their children, hoomans or fur babies. I’ve been called “Timbo,” “TimTim,” “Master Timothy,” and, to my hatred, “Timmy,” by my grandmother and at one of my last jobs (which I cringed every time I was called that, by the way, if anyone from my job at Test America is reading this, which I HIGHLY doubt) over the course of my life. (My full name is Timothy, but I’ve preferred to be called “Tim” since I was four years old.) This is probably going to be the last part of “A Tribute to Wakka,” so I’m going to talk about the present and the future. Wakka was buried December 7, 2021 under the deck of my house, and am working on a headstone. I’m going to be visiting him a lot, for sure. But for now, well… Wakka’s tank is in my office, where I am typing these essays. The room and the house feel so empty. It’s so dark in here (bearded dragons need heat and basking lights as they are coldblooded animals) the lights being off. I have all the lights on in my office except for Wakka’s lights and it feels like there’s no electricity in here. And I keep glancing over, which I constantly did, just to look at my little guy and see what he was up to, and I have to remind myself that he’s not here over and over again. I also imagined the things Wakka would say and say “Wakka says…” and realize he’s not here anymore to “say” anymore. All the things I try to say or do and have to catch myself. He was a fixture in my life for five years, and accepting he’s gone has been so difficult. For those who don’t know, I’m bipolar and mentally impaired (and the fact I’m so articulate is rather surprising, and I’m a college graduate with a bachelor’s degree English major and Journalism minor, which, being disabled and unemployed, is why I do this blog, it’s my job and my life, how I feel like I have a purpose). Wakka was my emotional support lizard, so the past six days have been EXTREMELY difficult, and my grieving responses have been badly elevated. Now, let’s talk about the Kübler-Ross model, commonly known as the five stages of grief. They are: denial, anger, bargaining, depression and acceptance. I’ve been all over it. The fact I keep expecting Wakka is be here is denial. I’m so angry at God for taking my lizard the day after the eighth anniversary of Casper’s passing. Why is my beardie gone? It’s not fair! (Bargaining). I’m so sad Wakka’s gone, so depressed. It’s been a total jumping mess on the model for me. And I just can’t accept that he’s gone. This is just so difficult for me, as I’ve just explained in seven-hundred words. So, where do I go from here? My life just feels so empty without Wakka. It’s like a huge hole has been ripped from my heart. But I know Wakka would want me to celebrate his life, not mourn his death. Which is why I have been doing these five essays. So, I’m going to adopt a new beardie baby in January, (January 19^th, 1988 is my birthday), one that needs a nice loving home, and a hooman who can take good care of it. I have to say, becoming a beardie dad was difficult. I’d never had a reptile companion before. He was my first. I had bought a bearded dragon handbook, but I know those of you with human children know they cannot properly prepare you for what parenthood truly is. This book was not useful AT ALL! So, in all honesty, I had absolutely no idea what I was doing October 28, 2016 when Wakka entered my office. And yet I was able to create a nice, safe, loving home for Wakka, where he was happy and healthy for five years. What I did raising him, I did absolutely right (the average beardie life is about five to ten years, so I did the best I could and got him to an average age). Well, he was usually happy until I had a kidney infection in October 19, 2020 and was hospitalized for a month. I think he felt I abandoned him. After all, a hooman’s life threatening illness is not something a beardie can truly comprehend, and when I came home he had a different personality. Or it just could have been as he was growing up, he hit… well, it was a transitional stage that human kids go through when they grow up and give their parents great frustration. But, whatever the reason, when I came in my office, he looked up at me with that big Wakka smile and it always made my life seem so much better, seeing that little creature look at me like I was the most wonderful thing in the universe. Which is why his death has been so difficult for me. But having a new beardie who might give me that look is something I very much want. I know it won’t be a replacement for Wakka, it’ll be a whole new being, but every human is different, and that’s how my new baby will be. But I think of this: going in with my new beardie baby, I have experience. I know what I’m doing. And THAT is a very big difference. This new beardie will have a great life with a loving dad. With Wakka, I was a “slather” (a male smother, a term I may have come up with, but I hope will soon be popular vernacular), but he loved it. He loved me, I loved him, and a new beardie baby will give me more love in my life and I will have all the love for it. Wakka knew nothing but for how to be loved and how to give that love back. And I want that again in my life. I actually have names for my next beardie (I know it's still more than a month away, but I love thinking about the future), which I am keeping hush-hush for now, it’ll be a surprise to everyone. I will say, however, the names come from some of my favorite video games, just like Wakka’s was, so it will be rather original and not a common pet name, which will make our lives very special. I can’t wait to bring it home, and you can expect to hear about this beardie when I get it and share the story of this beardie’s adoption with you. And I’ll leave you now with things to think of. If you’re reading this post, you should totally look at the other four posts of “A Tribute to Wakka” if you still haven’t done so yet to get a larger view of the life of Wakka Auron Cubbin. And if you are looking for a pet, totally consider a bearded dragon! They are great, loving companions, relatively easy to raise, and lots of fun to share time with! And, as ever, I have tons of other content on this blog, so you should totally check them out. And ‘til next time, Tim Cubbin… out! 

A Tribute to Wakka, Part Four

 

The following is Part Four of a tribute to my bearded dragon, Wakka, who passed away December 4, 2021. This series will include favorite memories and stories of my life with my companion for five years.

Last time, I talked about activities Wakka loved to do. Now I’m going to talk about how I physically handled him.

I was originally afraid to handle Wakka when he was so tiny. I’d originally called it “male postpartum lizard depression.” In all honesty, I’d never heard of a bearded dragon until about four months before I adopted him. When my mom brought it up, I pictured something that anyone who has never heard the phrase “bearded dragon” would imagine. If you’re reading this and this is the first time you’ve ever heard of a bearded dragon, Google it (or you could use any browser to look it up, any one of them works). It was not what I expected; it was cuter. If you watched “Game of Thrones,” the dragons DO NOT look like a beardie, by the way, but the names of Dany’s dragons are actually popular names for beardies (I’m actually reading the books and never seen the show, but I’ve seen the still images, so I know what they look like). While we’re on that, there are several other popular beardie names. For example, Toothless (from “How to Train Your Dragon”), Spyro (the video game dragon), Charmander, Charmeleon, and Charizard (from Pokémon), and Puff (the magic dragon), are popular names. These are all popular dragons and lizards, so the names are often thought of when adopting a beardie. I’ve said “Wakka” came from “Final Fantasy X” and “Kingdom Hearts.” Wakka was my favorite character, and I wanted my beardie to have a unique name, an uncommon name, a special name, something original that people wouldn’t think of. And for some strange reason, it worked. I told people his name and showed them his pictures (which, I took, like, ninety-nine trillion pictures of and would show them off to anyone who would stand near me for any length of time, bragging “this is my son,” and my dad said “I always wanted a grandchild, I just didn’t think he’d have scales”, and though he never met Wakka, he loved the photos) and people would say, “Yeah, he looks like a Wakka.” And yes, he learned his name, and if I talked about him on the phone, he’d turn his head and give a look that said “I know you’re talking about me.” He was always a friendly little guy. He only ever bit me once, and that was only because I had bugs in my hand and was hand-feeding him (beardies have eyes on either side of their heads and cannot see directly in front of them, so he was aiming for the bugs but missed), it was not malicious and he immediately gave a look that said “Oops, sorry Dada. And you don’t taste very good.” Bearded dragons also have no vocal chords, so the only sound that can ever escape from their mouths is a horrible hiss, but Wakka never hissed, even when I knocked his hand log over on him (but he was grumpy about that for three days after that), so he was a quiet-mouthed little beardie. And oddly enough, beardies are actually mildly venomous. But don’t be turned off, it’s only fatal for small animals like rodents, but it will sting for several hours after a bite, and beardies don’t usually go around just biting hoomans like snakes do for no reason, so they’re a lot safer than snakes and don’t require live mice as part of their diet. But I’ve totally gone all off-topic, so I’ll move on. Beardies tend to start off very small (fully grown they’re about eighteen to twenty-four inches). I have a firm grip. When I was in school, I constantly broke pencils by holding too tight and writing. So a little baby beardie was scary for me as I was afraid I’d smush it. When I first held Wakka, I got a little scared and only held him for a minute when the breeder handed him to me. Fortunately he was very docile and didn’t squirm, or I’d probably have dropped him. So it took a few months before I every actually truly held him. When he was about a foot was when I started handling him (he grew to eighteen inches as a full-grown adult), but when I did, I didn’t want to stop. Wakka’s earliest human contact was with my mom, who was able to hold him in one hand and pet him with her thumb, and she has small hands. Wakka grew to love hugs and cuddles and snuggles. His favorite thing was to be held over my heart. When Wakka wanted a hug, a true hug, he would place one paw on my chest, then the other, then put his head on my chest (yes, there were times he didn’t want hugs and would not hug back, he’d just look at me with a look that said “put me down, hooman, no snuggles!”). On December 3, 2021, right before he passed, he gave me what turned out to be our final hug, and he didn’t want to let go. I think he knew it would be our last hug and held it as long as he could. I think the sound of the beating of my heart was comforting to him. Contact he didn’t like, however, was baths. If you put him in water, he would climb out of the tub as quick as possible, and look at me with a look that said “I don’t want to be wet, Dada, I want to be dry!” When I dried him up, he was so happy. He would sway back and forth (like a wet dog shaking itself. He also scratched his head with a back leg at times, like a dog. Sometimes I don’t think he realized he was a lizard). He also did some… unpleasant activities in the bathtub, but let’s not talk about that. I also had the boops game, where I’d circle my hands, tap his snoot with my index finger and say “boop!” Honestly, I don’t know if he liked it, but he never bit my finger, so I guess he didn’t hate it. He gave two looks during the boops game. The first was “No, hooman, no boops. NO BOOPS! (Boop!) Why you do that hooman? I said no boops!” The other was “I am NOT amused!” Also, as you probably know, like every reptile, Wakka would shed. He just wasn’t very good at it. He would only shed a few body parts at a time. For example, he did the “toga.” For those who don’t know what I mean, his back would partially shed, but it would leave one shoulder not shedding, so it looked like a toga. I said he would scratch himself like a dog, that was during a shed. And only part of his head would shed at a time. One time, he had the COVID mask shed. All around his snoot there was a shed, but the rest of his head wasn’t shedding. If you’re reading this in the twenty-second century (which is altogether possible) and COVID is relatively non-existent (and I honestly hope it does, 2021 is a disaster), and don’t know about masks, we have a pandemic where we had a highly transmittable disease and have to wear masks to try to prevent spreads. So Wakka was shedding and looked like he had a mask on his face. Sometimes one leg would shed, then after that shed was complete, parts of the other three legs would shed. One time, his belly completely shed at once in his water dish. But as you can imagine, Wakka didn’t like EVERY form of contact. I know if you have a pet like a dog or a cat, you often give them kisses. Well, I think beardies deserve it too. So I gave him many smooches over the five years I had him. But he made a face that said “My dignity! Hooman lips have touched me! Get me disinfectant!” One time I kissed him and a shed came off on my face (that was rather gross). So he did NOT like being kissed, but he was my baby and I did it anyway as a gesture of love.

We’re going to stop here for now as there are a LOT more Wakka memories to share, so please, keep coming back for more stories of my five years with Wakka! And if you are looking for a pet, totally consider a bearded dragon! They are great, loving companions, relatively easy to raise, and lots of fun to share time with! Until next time, Tim Cubbin… out!

A Tribute to Wakka, Part Three

 

            The following is Part Three of a tribute to my bearded dragon, Wakka, who passed away December 4, 2021. This series will include favorite memories and stories of my life with my companion for five years.

            Last time, I talked about some of Wakka’s favorite words and activities. There is, however, another activity not mentioned last time that Wakka truly loved, and we’re going to talk about that now.

            I must say beardies are good listeners. Yes, he often didn’t know what I was talking about (beardies can’t learn a whole lot of words, what with their brains not being very big), but he listened. He was always a good sounding board, despite not knowing how to respond. I’ve been doing this blog for over a year now and talking to him has created A LOT of the posts on this site. Yes, he knew the word “cartoon” and what it meant, but he also loved hearing stories from Dada. My regular readers know I LOVE Marvel, and we read comics together. My bachelors’ degree is in English and Journalism (and being an unemployed journalist is the driving point of this blog) so reading and writing are my passions. Let’s face it, when we read, we all imagine in our heads what the characters are saying and how the characters are saying these words. Well, when I read out loud, which I did for Wakka, my passion ignites and I try to get the words out the way I imagined reading it. These stories were fun for both me and Wakka. I know he loved the sound of my voice because he always looked at me as I spoke (he always looked at me like I was the most wonderful thing there is, with his big Wakka smile, so no matter how bad my day was, I would go to my room, see that little guy, and that always made my day better). So when I read to him, the story was exciting and fun and I totally got into it, and he totally got into it. We could read together for hours. I think that’s why he liked cartoons, the stories and the voices, but I think also due to the colors (I’m on many bearded dragon groups on Facebook, and most beardies love cartoons, again due to the voices, the sound effects, and the colors. And yes, when we read comics I made the sound effects). Also, my associates’ degree is in elementary education, and for a while I wanted to be an English teacher, so I got to be Wakka’s English teacher. I also give my cat school (an excuse to read things I want to read but on average don’t have time to read). Great way to pass the time. (And a lot of my book reviews were read in class with my cat Rose so she gave me quite a lot of content for this blog). Also, there’s another post “I Wanted a Dog,” where I talk about my dog Casper, so all of my pets are responsible for this blog in several ways. I hate that I have to make these posts about Wakka posthumously, but he was a good companion. This past Saturday morning, December 4, 2021, I unfortunately found that Wakka had passed on. A term for the passing on of a beardie is that it “earned its wings.” My cat Rose has a bell on her collar, so several minutes afterward, I thought of “It’s A Wonderful Life” and the quote “Every time a bell rings, an angel gets its wings” and tapped on Rose’s collar bell, just so my little angel truly earned his wings. As I said about the beardie owner groups, I got a lot from them over the entire course of Wakka’s life. Now, I’m going to explain a little thing about beardies that you might not have thought about. There are different morphs of beardies. You shouldn’t be surprised, though. Look at dogs. Think of all the different breeds of dogs there are. Well, beardies are the same. They come in different patterns and colors. Wakka actually had a morph not mentioned in The Bearded Dragon Manual I bought when I adopted him. As I said in prior installments, it really didn’t help all that much, and the beardie Facebook groups got me through these five years with Wakka where the Manual didn’t suffice. We beardie owners are VERY proud of our beardies. We constantly share pictures and ask for help from each other when we are in difficult situations and offer support when our beardies earn their wings. Wakka was a dark gray color with no back pattern, and a pure white beard and belly. Being a Marvel fan, I’ve thought of Wakka as a mutant. He was one-of-a-kind and very unique. And he was one of the most loving souls I’ve ever encountered, knowing nothing but love, and knowing nothing but to give love. One beardie group admin actually made a cartoon out of Wakka several years ago, and it was beautiful. But again, proud beardie owners. This past year, on Wakka’s September 1 hatchday, he got more birthday wishes on Facebook than I did… and I don’t even personally know any of these people! And upon posting of Wakka’s passing, I’ve gotten nothing but great support, great words of comfort and even poems, and yes, The Rainbow Bridge. Now, I’m Catholic, and immediately I thought of selfish things about Wakka’s passing. People always say “They’ve gone to a better place,” and “they’re not suffering anymore.” My thoughts against that were “He was in a great place with me” and “he never suffered his whole life.” How am I supposed to believe and accept these? Many people have heard of the Kübler-Ross Model of the Five Stages of Grief. Now, prior readers may be aware of the fact that I have bipolar disorder. But the model isn’t working right for me. I’ve been hopping all around the Stages in different order every few seconds. Why is my beardie dead? It’s not fair my beardie is dead? How am I supposed to live without my beardie? Wakka was a constant fixture in my life for five years. I always visited him to talk to him, to tell him “It’s not called ‘reptile dysfunction,’” “There is no Statue of Lizardy,” “These are noodles, not worms,” all our little jokes over the past five years. And now he’s gone. I’m alone in my room, the tank is empty, there’s no one to look at, to talk to, the house feels empty. There’s a hole in my heart, there’s a part of me missing, I’m alone. Why him? Why now? My dog Casper died December 3, 2013, Wakka died December 4, 2021. Why do the days have to be so similar? Why do I one day mourn my dog, the next I have to mourn my lizard? It’s not fair! But we have to remember that pets are just borrowed, God gives them to you for a limited amount of time, you just have to make the best time of it you possibly can. A beardie’s average lifespan is five-to-ten years. Wakka made it to five. I just have to appreciate we had five happy years together, cherish them, remember them fondly, and hold Wakka in my heart for the rest of my life until I join God in Heaven and am reunited with my little guy. But my life feels so empty without a beardie. And I have to think Wakka wants me to be happy and welcome a new beardie into my home and give it a happy life as I gave Wakka a happy life. I have a Bearded Dragon Dad mug, and will make it mean something again. To Wakka, I’ll miss and love you forever, and while in death we are apart, your Dada loves you with all his heart.

            Now as I finish this, I prepare to place Wakka to his final resting place. This series has been powerful and emotional to me, and I hope it means something to you, as well. And if you are looking for a pet, totally consider a bearded dragon! They are great, loving companions, relatively easy to raise, and lots of fun to share time with! Be on the lookout for my more content from this blog, I post fairly regularly and hopefully I have other pieces to tickle your fancy. And I say to you, until next time, Tim Cubbin… out!

A Tribute to Wakka, Part Two

The following is Part Two of a tribute to my bearded dragon, Wakka, who passed away December 4, 2021. This series will include favorite memories and stories of my life with my companion for five years.

Last time, I told you the story of my first day with Wakka and other details pertaining to the early times of raising a bearded dragon. I will admit continuity will be a little jumbled in the telling, but important details are inserted at times to explain what raising a beardie is like for people unfamiliar with raising a beardie.

Wakka turned out to be quite playful. He often exercised, running around the tank and interacting with his decorations. Decorations are VERY important when raising a beardie. They need things to climb on and hide under. If you read Part One, you will know what decorations I gave him, but I will describe them in slightly more detail. I had bought him a hideous thing the register at PetSmart identified as the “Tree Demon.” This had a rough surface, good for helping a beardie’s body as they do have parts that need to be scratched for their bodily health. The Tree Demon also had shelter underneath it for him to crawl and hide under. Wakka had a large tail however, so hiding under the Tree Demon did not make him invisible. He also had a plastic interpretation of a triceratops skull, and a plastic cactus which he had somewhat of a… fixation on (keeping this post G-Rated, so you don’t need to know anything more). And he had his food and water dish. In his tank, he saw a reflection of himself and did not realize it was him, instead thinking another beardie wanted to eat his bugs, and he sometimes decided his water dish was a bathtub. In the last part, I told you my friend Chris had set me up with Bearded Dragon communities on Facebook. We beardie owners are VERY proud of our dragons and LOVE to share pictures of their antics. Wakka had an activity known as “glass surfing.” He would walk around and drag with pancake belly across the glass of his tank. (I say “pancake” as that is what their bodies look like when they lay flat of the floor). And for those of you who don’t know why the species is called a “bearded” dragon, it is because they have scales under their chin which, at times they will inflate, and resemble the shape of a beard. He also had unusual positions that he would assume for hours that did not possibly look like they would be comfortable. And he had a sleeping position of sprawling against the glass with his front feet up. My family came to meet him one day. I have an amazing Uncle Frank and cousins Gina and Kate. I was Wakka’s “Dada,” a single father (and he was my son in every way imaginable except for coming out of my body). My cousins Gina and Kate are so close to me that I consider them more as sisters than cousins, so they were Wakka’s Aunt Gina, Aunt Kate, and Great-Uncle Frank. Wakka loved his Aunt Gina, they played together for ten minutes straight. Wakka was a sweet little creature who not only WAS loved, but COULD love in return. He also knew a few words. Sure they have very little brain because of their size, but beardies can learn some words and associate what they mean. He knew his name, Wakka. If I was in my room on the phone talking about him, he got the “I know you’re talking about me” look (and sometimes gave stank eye, but that didn’t always involve anything other than him looking at you). He also knew me as “Dada” and my caretaker, my mother as “Gammy.” We also had “Cartoon Sundays,” while my mom was at work. My regular readers, who have read previous posts such as my prose and graphic novel reviews, know I am a HUGE Marvel fan. When we got Disney+, he was in heaven. He loved Spider-Man and always liked watching all of his animated series’ (I think personally he liked the villain the Lizard and thought he was just misunderstood, but I could never truly know what he was thinking because HE COULDN’T TALK! In fact, beardies have no vocal chords, so the only noise they can make is a hiss, but Wakka never hissed at anyone.) And that was a word he learned: “Cartoons.” If you said the words “cartoon” or “cartoons,” he knew EXACTLY what they were and got very excited. In his tank, he had the optimal viewing position. (He rarely left his tank except for cleanup time or contact, which he never seemed to mind, showing no real interest in leaving it. My house is small but cluttered and he could very easily get lost and would never be found again, so staying in his tank was a requirement. One time I actually left his tank open and unattended for over ten minutes and he never moved from his position, so obviously he liked staying in his tank). As soon as cartoons started, he got in the optimal viewing position and stayed in it until my mom came home and cartoons went off (for me, yesterday was Sunday and watching cartoons just didn’t feel right or the same, but in his honor I watched “Star Wars: The Clone Wars,” as show he never watched, and that was the only cartoon I felt like watching. He passed away sometime during a Friday night or Saturday morning, not sure when exactly). However, I think his favorite word was “bugs,” but I think a lot of beardies will agree with that. I said last time I fed him freeze-dried bugs as breeding live bugs just seemed pointless (I only wanted to raise a beardie, after all, not any other pets, especially live bugs, which I absolutely hate and I would freak out if I ever opened a box of live bugs), but that never seemed to bother him, he did “happy nom nom” either way. He also knew the word “nama” (short for banana, his favorite fruit). I honestly don’t know on average how many words a beardie can truly learn or exactly how many and which ones Wakka knew, but his little brain could do associations of those words and their meanings.

We’re going to stop here for now as there are a LOT more Wakka memories to share, so please, keep coming back for more stories of my five years with Wakka! And if you are looking for a pet, totally consider a bearded dragon! They are great, loving companions, relatively easy to raise, and lots of fun to share time with! Until next time, Tim Cubbin… out!

 

A Tribute to Wakka, Part One

            The following is Part One of a tribute to my bearded dragon, Wakka, who passed away December 4, 2021. This series will include favorite memories and stories of my life with my companion for five years.

            When I first adopted Wakka on October 28, 2016, it was a whole new experience. I’d never had reptile before, and frankly, I never wanted one. After my dog Casper passed away in 2013, I always figured I just wanted another dog. I live with my mom as I am disabled, and as some of you regular readers may know, unemployed, without the funds to live on my own and also as my mom needs assistance. Two years passed, no dog. (For more background on this, I posted a poem called “I Wanted a Dog”). Then my mom heard about bearded dragons and how they make wonderful pets. I was resistant at first. I’d only ever had fur babies and fish prior to that, and a lizard just never hit a ping on my radar. When I finally saw a picture of one, I had to admit it was adorable. (If you’ve never seen a bearded dragon, look them up so you know what I’m talking about). So finally, I was sold on it. So we bought the tank and some decorations. As I looked, I saw the most hideous decoration, and for some reason, I just thought my beardie would like it (it rang up at the register as “Tree Demon.”). Then I had to meet my new friend. The breeder at PetSmart brought me to the holding tank. There were three beardies in the tank. They were hatched on September 1, 2016. I couldn’t believe how tiny they were. Then one looked at me. Two were right near each other, the other was towards the back. As I looked at the ones in the front, the one in the back crawled forward and actually STEPPED on the other two and put its foot on the glass. You know how it is. You’re in a pet store, you want a pet and if you see an animal do that, you HAVE to take it with you. This little creature practically SCREAMED “TAKE ME!” So the breeder took the little creature out for me to hold for first contact. I have a firm grip and was a little afraid I’d smoosh it. I jokingly referred to this as “male postpartum lizard depression.” But this little thing looked up at me and gave me a huge smile. I asked for its gender, and was told it was a boy and asked to name him. Sometimes a name doesn’t instantly come to you, but I thought of my favorite video game “Final Fantasy X” and the character Wakka and I just thought he looked like a Wakka. So I adopted him and brought him home with me. The breeder placed him in a cardboard box with little air holes. Wakka was skittering around in it. When I got home, I set up his tank in my room and placed him in it. He stood there for a moment, looked around curious, then turned and climbed on the Tree Demon. His look said, “Hmm, I think I’ll like it here.” He also had a food and water dish, a plastic cactus, and a plastic triceratops skull, and over the next hour he explored. This totally confirmed “I think I’ll like it here.” And then came the feeding. I had bought a Bearded Dragon Manual (which pretty much was useless) and read the diet. I had bought a package of Omnivore mix, which had a combination of bugs, fruits, and vegetables. The diet also contained bugs, obviously. So I got freeze dried crickets. Honestly, live crickets would be a disaster. I’m a klutz and if I knocked over a box of live bugs, I’d have then crawling all over me at night and make so much noise that I’d never get a good night’s sleep for the rest of my life. And breeding live bugs would be excessive. I mean, I only wanted a bearded dragon, not a hive of dubia roaches, hornworms, and crickets. Only one pet was needed. Fortunately, Wakka LOVED his crickets freeze dried. He ran over to his dish, looked at them for a few seconds, then his little pink tongue came out, snagged the bugs, and crunched. We called the look “Happy nom nom look.” His eyes lit up in excitement as the tongue came out, and as he chewed with his little teeth, a huge smile stayed on his face as he crunched. After he finished his feeding, he actually licked his lips, to get all the bug pieces off his face. BUT! The problem came to eating his veggies. He looked at the plate, then at me with a look that said “You want me to eat THAT?” I don’t have any hooman kids, but from all I’ve seen on them, I knew exactly what that look meant. If he were a hooman, I’d say, “Eat your veggies or no dessert,” but he was a reptile so I couldn’t use that bribe. Then, to my surprise, he looked at a pea and munched it up, then a carrot, and the other veggies, then looked at me with a look that said, “Hmm, not bad. I’d rather have the bugs, but not bad.” Then he went to his water dish. I had heard that some beardies have trouble drinking water and needed a pipette. But Wakka stuffed his little face in and the tongue came slowly out, then in, then out, then in, then… well, you get the point. Then, of course, came the identification of his hooman family. So I became known as “Dada,” my mom as “Gammy,” and my cat as “Aunt Rose.” We, of course, could NOT let those two anywhere NEAR each other as my cat is dominant and would not tolerate anything trying to be cuter than her and would not be a pretty picture. So Wakka stayed in my room, Rose had the rest of the house. Their first meeting terrified Wakka, and if you knew Rose, you would know that this is normal even for hoomans and that you SHOULD be terrified of Rose. Wakka turned out to be very playful. My friend Chris is a reptile enthusiast, and set me up with bearded dragon support groups on Facebook, which turned out to be more help than the Manual. There were also certain other… behaviors… we don’t need to discuss, of course. Wakka’s first night in the house was interesting. He went to the corner or his tank, got his front feet up, and plastered himself against the glass. I don’t know how he could possibly be comfortable like that, but it turns out this is actually normal behavior. We actually found out he hated the dark, and had given him a red light for at night. Now, some people actually say a night light disturbs their sleep cycle. Five years tells otherwise. The lighting for a bearded dragon is also important as they need a certain temperature to be healthy, and the balance of periods of light and dark should be twelve hours of each. So Wakka made it through his first night and his start of five years of great happiness.

We’re going to stop here for now as there are a LOT more Wakka memories to share, so please, keep coming back for more stories of my five years with Wakka! And if you are looking for a pet, totally consider a bearded dragon! They are great, loving companions, relatively easy to raise, and lots of fun to share time with! Until next time, Tim Cubbin… out!