DannyBoyinExile

I used to be amazed at some of the exotic pets I’ve seen in prison, until I became accustomed to them. Now it’s nothing for me to see a guy with, for example, a black jumping spider crawling all over his upper body. Surprisingly, they don’t even try to get away! (Either one of them!) After a few days, they realize how good they’ve got it.
One inmate had a green lizard for over three years! Their relationship lasted longer than many marriages have. The guy would walk around the rec yard, lizard on his shoulder, with an empty pill bottle in hand, to collect bugs to feed it. Every human he saw petted him, fed him, or walked around with him on their shirt.
And who knew lizards loved candy? The guy would sit a piece of a mint stick in front of him – and the lizard would lay there licking it until he literally fell asleep with his head on it!
I’ll never forget how their relationship ended… As the inmate is coming from work one day, the guard on the wing (a recent African immigrant) tells him,” I saved your life today.”
Of course the guy had no idea what he was talking about, so the guard says,” There was a snake in your cubicle today – a mean one! – but I killed it…”
Apparently the guard searched his cubicle for contraband, and the lizard (probably expecting some candy!) runs up the guy’s leg – nearly giving him a heart attack. After yelling some native African curse words, he stomped on the poor guy’s pet.
It was hilarious in a way, because this guy was so mad he was literally crying. ” That wasn’t a fucking snake! That was a lizard! That was my pet!”
But the guard had no understanding whatsoever. ” There are no pets in TDCJ.” Officially, no. But that’s like saying there are no drugs in America because they’re against the law!
The guy calmed down, and we all pitched in to buy him a new lizard someone else had caught, so he was mollified.
Honestly, it may be against the rules for inmates to have pets, but it is a victimless crime. It’s not necessarily a “bad” thing, as long as they take care of them. It does people good to care about something, and have to feed it, and be gentle with it. Little things like that can keep people from becoming “hardened” here, and help to keep them in touch with their humanity. So says DannyBoy.