Against all the odds, Sooke’s most famous chameleon has been reunited with his family after over two months on the lam.
Nicknamed ‘Houdini’ by Sooke Veterinary Clinic, the scaly escape-artist made headlines last month when it was snapped talking a walk outdoors near the sport box on Phillips Road.
Shared online, the photo sparked a community effort to locate the chameleon, with over 20 people giving their time to help.
And his rescue on Oct. 22 came just in the nick of time, with temperatures plummeting, and showing signs of dehydration and a weakened immune system, the cold-blooded chameleon was potentially days away from death.
Taken into care by staff at Sooke Veterinary Clinic, the lucky lizard was then reunited with its owners after they read about his adventures in the Sooke News Mirror.
“They are so beyond happy to have him back and eternally grateful for the amazing Sooke community,” said the vet clinic in an online post, which revealed the chameleon’s name as Zeke.
“We at Sooke Vet also want to extend our gratitude to everyone who helped spread the word and bring this little guy back to his family. Zeke fought against the odds and made himself famous in the process.”
It was then vet clinic staff discovered just how incredible Zeke’s story was – he had been missing since mid-August.
Taken outside to soak up some natural summer sunlight, the lizard disappeared after he was left alone for a fleeting moment.
“We thought maybe a bird or a cat had got him,” said Zeke’s owner Veaira Heisler. "And chameleons can move a lot faster than you think."
With the help of their neighbours, Heisler and her teenage son, Malakai, searched for the elusive reptile for several days before giving up hope of finding him.
“I couldn’t believe it when I saw him in the newspaper,” said Heisler, who estimates Zeke was found over one kilometre from home. “It’s so funny to imagine him out for a stroll, going about his business. He’s quite the little survivor.”
Zeke’s return home could not have come at a better time, turning up days before Heisler’s son’s 14th birthday on Nov. 8.
“I picked him up from school and told him there was a surprise waiting for him back at home,” said Heisler. “He was very happy to see him.”
How the domesticated chameleon survived over two months in the wild remains a mystery, but vet Dr Andrew Crookes, who has a special interest in exotic pets, said Sooke’s semi-Mediterranean climate in August and September will have met Zeke’s needs “reasonably well.”
“If he had been left out there any longer, we were definitely getting to the point that he wouldn't have been able to survive the night, probably within a matter of days,” he said, explaining temperatures below 10 C would have sent the critter into “cold shock”, causing major organ damage.
“And he would have been be a lovely snack for many wild animals, so the fact that he beat the odds in that way is fantastic.”
A captive diet of live insects and bait, also played into the chameleon’s favour, arming it with the skills needed to capture live prey.
“So oddly enough, being out in the wild and potentially getting a wide diversity of different insects was probably a benefit for him,” said Crookes. “It's one of the big challenges we have in captivity: giving them a varied diet.”
Regardless of how Zeke survived, there is one thing Crookes is certain of. “He’s one tough critter,” he said. “I'm pretty blown away by his story."
