Subhuman

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Sneaky Sneaky

The Gravekeeper

on May 6, 2009

I was hoping to have this arc wrapped up on Monday, but that's not going to happen.

I've been a herper (reptile keeping as a hobby) for a few years now, and have a group of leopard geckos. One of them, a young male, passed away on Monday. While his passing is sad, it is a bit of a relief. He was bred to have a different colouring from what the species has in the wild; this often calls for a little inbreeding to solidify the trait in that family line, and this usually isn't a problem since reptiles aren't as likely to have genetic disorders as mammals do when they inbreed. This little guy, however, was an exception: he had a lazy eye that made it difficult for him to see his meals, he had frequent prolapses, and he had the reptilian equivalent of Down's syndrome.

His passing means no more pain, no more visits to the vet, and no more worrying about him. At least those of us who've been looking after the group (my family took care of them while I was at school since reptiles weren't allowed in the dorms) can be grateful that the other geckos are doing well and are likely to live out their 10-15 year lifespan.

We're taking his body to the farm on Saturday to bury him, so, naturally, I won't be doing a whole lot of work on this comic this weekend. Since there are only 2 (or, potentially, 3) pages left in this arc, I should have the whole thing wrapped up by next Friday.

On a much lighter note, I do have another project planned for the summer. It shall be silly.