Postby Lea » Sun Apr 07, 2013 4:13 pm
Oh, poor you! I'm glad you found him. I know exactly the pain you feel, as it happened to me.
I had a breakout a few months ago, from the outdoor enclosure. We'd had some high winds and I thought nothing of it, as the lizards are sheltered, but I was also unaware that the wind had thrown so much weight around, it had loosened a few nails on one corner, forming the tiniest gap.
I went to feed them during the day to find I was not missing just one skink, but five! I couldn't work it out and thought someone must have broken in and stolen them, but i suppose one decided to go and the rest just trotted along like little shingleback sheeplings! The gap was so tiny, I didn't see it in my frantic search for why this had happened and I spent the whole day, cancelling work, searching everywhere!
I found a couple only feet from the enclosure, in a cosy spot under some bushes, another near the pool, but two were still unaccounted for. I dropped in on all my neighbours (a lot of residents in their 80's!) explained what had happened while they looked at me like I was a crazy person, but they all said they would keep an eye out.
After a few days, one of the little old ladies came running to my door, which was quite a comical site, shouting I've found a lizard! Dashing out with slightly less grace than the old duck, we both pelted to her front garden and saw one of my shinglebacks pootling along the pavement!
Kiah was still missing, my mostly blind and slightly disabled eastern, so I feared the worst. A few weeks later, I heard a scuffle in a dry, unused drain pipe, under some foliage. To my delight I look to see kiah's "butter wouldn't melt in my mouth" face looking back at me from his new den! He was hungry, but unscathed and I rewarded him with a lovely boiled egg for coming home. I doubt he went further than that, which was only feet from his proper home, because his sight is so poor, but he's pretty wary and clued up, so I think he did what he felt was safe.
I learned never to use nails to secure outside and have switched nearly every one to screws to make sure it doesn't happen again.
I'm really sorry you had to go through that, Laurie. At least you know it will never happen again after such an ordeal, as I doubt you'll let yourself lose attention again when you are feeding etc!
Shinglebacks - Nippy, Lava, Suunto, Lutea, and Hermione
Easterns - Kiah and Jade
It's a sliding door, not a lift up lid. Barnum's viv is on the back verandah and a couple of hours later I went back out to feed Bliss and saw a fresh pile of lizard pooh on the floor. Oh no! 
Yep I'd lost a lizard. Oh well. After a search around the verandah, no Balto. My fault and I thought that's that. Gone. Hope he survives.
