Not the typical lounge lizards you may be used to meeting in bars, these reptiles are the highly trained and skilled models whose photos are created by one Henry Lizardlover of Los Angeles, California. Chilling out on chaises lounges, cuddling beneath bedcovers, swinging in a hammock, jet skiing and even plunking strings of a guitar, these creatures look as if they’re living the lifestyles of the rich and famous.
Henry Lizardlover — who changed his surname from Schifberg — is an unusual fellow living with his unconventional family of 33 lizards since 1982. He photographs them in a series of bona fide, live poses, as pampered pet lizards. Henry insists that no tricks of any kind are ever used.
“It doesn’t cause them any pain or discomfort” he says. “But out of 50 or 60 lizards, only 1 or 2 are going to be calm and comfortable enough to be posed up like this.”
“Some lizards will develop precious calm, trust and intelligent behavior, with ability of accurate memory to learn and live in peaceful harmony with other creatures.” says Henry. “A safe, friendly environment helps the lizard build trust and grow out of the primal state. By careful cultivation or fluke of mere happenstance, the New Lizard may be born. To what degree, there’s no guarantee.”
“Many people fear lizards or lack lizard love, but hearts moved are hearts improved. To see lizards do the unexpected is but one of the mysterious ways that can stir us up with radical amazement and the sense of awe and wonder.”
“It’s important to me to shrug off old stereotype views of lizards — they have potential for good and intelligent behavior. Besides their good looks, it’s all something to be recognized and admired.”
“I’ve lived with some wonderful lizards and observed impressive behavior, such as calm, trust, memory of people, places, animals, cars, etc.” adds Henry. “And just like humans, I’ve seen lots of egocentric and violent behavior in lizards.”
Henry Lizardlover says that lizards are individuals that vary in significant ways from one ato the next — very much like people, there are those that naturally become very calm and civil while others are overwhelmed with fear and have difficult behaviors, no matter how well you raise or treat them. They have various forms of intelligence, all sorts of body language, human-like behavior, and human-like character and ego — they truly want to live and enjoy being alive and basking in the sunshine just like people.
BUT he says, as pets, iguanas are a considerable gamble to get involved with. They can become too large for most people to deal with. Male iguanas pose a potential of getting into serious aggressive breeding season moods once they grow up and there’s no way of preventing or predicting that behavior, no way of knowing whether your iguana will or will not develop a grave attack mood and change from being sweet pet to raging bull.
Henry has always maintained a group of 30 to 50 iguanas since 1982, including Chinese water dragons, Solomon Island tree skinks and Sneider skinks.
“I felt sorry for lizards I would see in pet shops and knew I could give some of them a good home at my place and place others in ‘qualified’ homes. I raised hundreds of iguanas and lizards including ones that were difficult and not suitable for placement in other homes.”
“By actually living with a large variety of iguanas and lizards, I came to realize things about them that few people ever have a chance to see. There is a radical variation in behavior and personality among the whole population of iguanas — the temperaments will vary as much as they do among humans.”
“Many iguanas have a natural ability to adapt and get along with humans in ways that a cat or dog will.” says Henry. “I found that once the iguanas / lizards feel safe and take on their potential state of calm if and when they develop a relative absence of fear, they will demonstrate all kinds of intelligence and civil ‘tame’ behavior, automatically on their own, without any training. They can develop amazing qualities of genuine trust and harmony around humans and other friendly animals.”
“I often had to find good homes for some male iguanas once they became adults and started fighting. There was a limit to the number I could keep, as the males required separate rooms but females did not in most cases.”
“As time when on, lizards became a major part of my life — I was even sleeping with one of my favorites, a male iguana that started sleeping by my side from the age of 6 months and for the next 14 years.”
“I was taking [them] with me everywhere I’d go — to work traveling to auto dealerships and auctions, to restaurants, movies, on dates, to weddings, funerals, banks, even to the dentist.”
“I could take some of them out to places like empty parking lots or the mountains and with all the bushes and such, none of these adult iguanas would ever try to leave me. They just pace around, bob their heads to show off and explore a little or follow me.”
“They would go up to my vehicle and climb in on their own, something you expect a dog to do. But when a lizard does that, it can make you rethink your whole idea of reptiles and small brains.”
“Most all of my iguanas had free roam within certain rooms and pens. Some could be trusted to wander the house without any restrictions, even wandering outside in the back yard all day long, and always returning back to the house on their own.”
“The ultimate thing that impressed me the most about lizards, is the state of perfect calm and trust they can develop around people [which] is a most significant thing to behold.”
Henry quickly recognized the truly human-like character in the reptiles. “In raising hundreds of iguanas throughout the years, I was able to let go of preconceptions and the same limited views that most people tend to have of lizards.”
“My lizards became so incredibly calm and trusting, I found out they would easily cooperate and sit in human-like positions for long periods of time — not stuck or hypnotized, not stressed, not chained down, no tricks of any kind, free to get up and go if they felt like it.”
“I love to photograph and soon started into production as a popular line of picture post cards and greeting cards. There is a lot of controversy about the posing thing that I do with lizards.”
“False and ugly assumptions are made that these lizards must be either drugged, chilled, hypnotized, unhealthy or dead to get them to do this.” said Henry. “Over time in raising these lizards, some of them do become very calm and trusting — or tame if you like — no longer afraid of people or even dogs. Then and only then do they become ready and good enough to bring out in public and do these human-like poses.”
Since 1988, Henry has attracted media attention world-wide. These uncanny lizards have been featured in numerous TV news spots, newspapers, magazines and talk shows both local and international.
But Henry doesn’t encourage anyone to take on lizards as pets, as so many remain scared and freaked out. Iguanas get very large, and some turn treacherously violent — a dangerous dilemma for owner and pet alike.
“Most lizards make for HORRIBLE and difficult pets.” says Henry. “Better to adopt a dog or cat instead.”
About Henry Lizardlover
“I decided to go all the way to having a house full of lizards by collecting iguanas, to keep in my home as pets and eventually as subjects for a photographic project I wanted to do, which later became the images I would use on a line of post cards and greeting cards. I had plenty of room in my house and garage and the time was right.”
“This was long before the iguana fad and frenzy of the 1990’s, when iguanas were not popular pets and very little was written about them.”
“Early on when I started collecting iguanas, I got all the vital tips and basic principles that covered iguana diet, health problems and general care from a wise veterinarian, DVM Clyde Pitts of the Studio City Animal Hospital.”
“By 1986, I changed my last name to “Lizardlover” to promote my new line of post cards and greeting cards featuring photos I did of my lizards and to show my love and dedication for my pet lizards.”
Henry wrote the Iguana Owner’s Manual in 1992 which he sells through mail order and various pet shops.
Henry Lizardlover and friend
Henry Lizardlover provides more than one could ever need to know about lizards and iguanas on his site, as well as his greeting cards and postcards. Visit his website to learn more, or you can contact him by email
All photos property of Henry Lizardlover.Lounge Lizard Photoshoot
