The sign on the door might say “No Pets Allowed,” but then again, Rambo is no ordinary pet. He is the Morinville Public Library’s newest member, its first permanent resident and its only mascot. Also, he’s a veiled chameleon with a whole host of cool physiological talents.
“He can look in two different directions,” explained Kaitlin Erdmann, the library’s summer reading programmer and chameleon wrangler. Chameleons have stereoscopic eyes that move independently from one another.
“She doesn’t have the best depth perception.”
She then corrected herself that Rambo is actually a “she” as well. Erdmann was mistaken about Rambo’s gender when she first got her. Then Rambo laid eggs and dispelled the misunderstanding. She lays eggs twice a year now.
Rambo was brought in last Monday as a new attraction to complement all of the library’s unique materials for loan, including its graphic novels and BluRay discs. The two-year-old lizard spends most of her time in her glass terrarium but Erdmann will bring her out when the occasion arises.
Library patrons need not be afraid of the alien reptile so far from her natural home in the rainforests or the mountainous regions of the Middle East around Yemen and Saudi Arabia.
As animals go, she’s a pretty safe acquisition. Rambo is fairly tame and enjoys climbing arms and clothes. Once she gets her strong four-toed zygodactylous feet gripped onto your hair, however, people might feel differently. She doesn’t bite though, only preferring to take a purely defensive position by hissing, going flat like a leaf, or camouflage herself with adaptable skin colour whenever she feels threatened.
In some ways, the library is an appropriate place for her to call home. After all, she was named after a literary character. Rambo is an excellent hunter, much like John Rambo, her titular namesake who was the lead protagonist of First Blood, the 1972 post-Vietnam War novel of alienation and anti-authoritarianism.
Erdmann explained that Rambo the reptile can keep quite still and move stealthily, and blending in with her surroundings. Rambo is an excellent hunter but no one needs to fear her unless they are harbouring insects in their pockets.
“She has a springy tongue same as a frog, but she goes after crickets.”
She also likes apples and lettuce but please, don’t feed Rambo.
So far she has received a warm reception from the public. Well, most of the public. “Everyone who likes reptiles loves her.”
The library is located in the newly renovated and reopened civic hall called St. Germain Place, located at 10119 100 Avenue. Call 780-939-3292 or visit www.morinvillelibrary.ca for more information.
