Mr. Heckles

Amelia Hetch, after a lot of research being done, now has a Panther Chameleon that can change color based on it’s mood. 

Amelia Hetch has an uncommon pet compared to most. Instead of playing catch or rolling over, her pet changes color. 

Amelia lives in a two-story house with her parents and two sisters, Maddie and Evie. When Amelia was 13 years old, she asked her father for a Panther Chameleon. After doing an immense amount of research about the reptile’s needs, the two went online and ordered him. The day the small creature came in the mail, Amelia opened the package up and gave him the name Mr. Heckles. 

“I remember when I first got him,” Amelia said. “He was really tiny and could wrap around my finger.”

Amelia said he started out tan with little to no color, but now, one and a half years later, Mr. Heckles’ vibrant colored skin is something the rest of her family and friends admire about him. Unlike how they depict the chameleon’s color-changing abilities in Tangled, chameleons change color based on their mood and the temperature of the current environment around them. Amelia’s little sister, Evie, expresses her love for the colors and explains his colors change throughout the day. The family says their favorite colors are the light, vibrant green and blues he shows when he sleeps. 

“I like how his colors are always cool and different,” Evie said. “I like it because it’s like an explosion of color.”

Of course, a reptile is not cheap. Amelia says she paid $250 for Mr. Heckles and the whole cage set up cost around $500. Although the price is high, maintenance has become easier due to the help of research and her family. Amelia says she only needs to feed him bugs every few days and clean his cage, as well as give him distilled water. To preserve the plants in Mr. Heckles’ cage, she will take them to the sun room in her house and let her little sister take care of them. Also, her father Keith Hetch, helps with changing the puppy pads in the terrarium.

“I don’t like feeding him bugs,” Amelia said, “I’m kind of scared of them and some of them get pretty big.”

Although taking care of a pet is never easy, it is definitely worth it. Like any pet, Mr. Heckles has a wide range of emotions, but he is grumpy most of the time. Although he does not like to be held, he and Amelia get along very well. Maddy says Mr. Heckles has bonded to Amelia and she cares about Mr. Heckles. He makes Amelia happy, especially when Mr. Heckles lets her hold him. Even though she jokes every once in a while about giving him away, she cares too much for Mr. Heckles and would never actually do it. Amelia has done everything to make sure Mr. Heckles is at home with her and the rest of the family. 

“Chameleon might sound like an unusual pet for a high school girl to have but he has proven that he is an important part of the family,” Keith said.