Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1893-04-22
THE PET ANIMAL BALL.
Where the japanese Mice Took the Frise
for Dancing.

Where the Japanes. Mice Took the fHss
for Dancing. !
QUEER LITTLE ANIMALS AND THEIR INTEREST
ING wArs-PRErrY cHAMELEoSs-How THEY
ARE kKPT-rHE BOA CONSTRUCTORS AND TEE
MoSKEYs-A PECULIAR TIsR.
The pet animals gave ball last night at the
bird fancier's and 1t was the most remarkable
Of its kind ever given The music was fur
nished by the mocking birds and canaries, with
an occasional note from the parrots and para
keets. The prize for the best walters. strange
to say, went'to . quartet Of japanese Waiting
mice, and whenever they took the floor every
thing else stopped and gazed on in wonder
ment They are tiny little fellows, black and
white. with long pink tails and shiny black eyes
As waltzers they are a great success, and like
the society belle of today they never get tired.
Some OF the movements ludicrous in the
extreme, and when one little fellow whizzed
around on his left ear the monkeys ran away
screeching.
These mice said the bird fancier in
answer to query from STAR reporter, .come
all the way from Japan and are without doubt
the most interesting pets we have. As you
they are constantly moving, but why 1t il l am
sive, costing $500 each. and / know of no
others at present in this country. They are
easy to tame and not much care is required 10
keep them alive. They seem to be especially
fond Of the ladies and when taken up in their
hands will waltz if they whistle to them.
PRETTY LITTLE cHsMELEoNs.
"Have you seen the latest fad?'i asked the
man of pets, opening large cage surrounded
by small wire mesh. They are the chame-
Icons. Notice how this little fellow will change
his color" and he took q small lizard-lile ami
mai from the cage. The little fellow. when the
reporter first looked at him, a light brown
and almost Immediately rapid change took place
and he turned a most beautiful green. The
skin. upon close inspection, was chagreen. or
had the appearance OF rough grained leather.
The back is sharp, the tail long, round and
prehensiie. There are five toes on each
foot united by the skin as far as the
claws. The change is the most peculiar
| feature of the animal 1t is feshy,
i cylindrical and capable of an elonga-
| ton OF six or seven inches. Chameleons live
| on flies and other insects, which they seize by
means of their long sticky tongue. They are
| slow to move. but the unwary fly ofttimes
| fingers too long. fo- when this tongue shoots
out like an arrow it seldom misses its mark or
| loses victim. Chameleons have been known
| for generations, in fact they are one of the
animals mentioned by Aristotle in mis- history
! OF alliIlals. nc name Is OF TrSek organ and
| means little lion OK as some maintain camel
| lion. 1t has been generally supposed that
| these animals live on air. but such is not the
| case. although there are instances where they
| have gone for months without any food. This
probably gave rise 10 the statement that they
| live on air.
Can you tell me-" asked the reporter ..how
it is that the color Of this animal chanses?''
Il understand" said the trainer. that the
change IN the color OF their skin is due to
| fear"
There was q gentleman from the Smithsonian
! Institution who seemed to know something Of
| this remarkable little creature and he voiuu-
| tered the following:
The change of color is perhaps due to the
contraction OF the muscular fbers of the der
mis- and the imitation of the lungs and body,
while they have something 10 do with it, are
| merely secondary agents. l have seen these
little fellows puff like pufIer pigeon until
their bodies even TO the tips OF the tail were in
| Hated and they lost ali symmetrical proportion
| They are very slow creatures and Will remain
| for days in their natural state without moving
| When you treat them kindly they are very
gentle and Il valuable &C QUESTION to any house
| hold, for they prey upon upon waterbuss and
insects of all kinds
The other Gay had call from a lady who
| lives in Florida for some food fo- one. She
sid she had the little fellow with her and Civ
| ing 4 whistle out popped a chanSleou from the
! folds of the neck of her dress with gold ring
| surrounding his body and attached to a tiny
| gold chain which secured him. They are great
| pets and very fashionable, understand
TEE GOA CONSTRUCTOR AWAKE
by the way, did you know the boa cons.ric-
tor had awakened from his long sleep ard par
took OF three frogs yesterday. This is the one
| that fell from bunch Of bananas some months
ago on Louisiana avenue while n banana mer-
chant was unloading a cargo OF fruit from Gem
trail America. All winter he has been perfectly
docile and have handled him without any
fear. but now that spring has arrived and lie
has awakened up have issued strict orders to
| leave him alone.
"A member of the Society for the Prevention
! Of Cruelty to Animals visited me soma time
ago to request me not to feed him on anything
| alive. OF course l would like to o5liYe Them
/ but in doing SO would kill the snake. 1t is a
! fine question to decide. which is the more
human itariap."
| new arrival to the collection is a gaudy
| toucon from South America. He belongs to
| the species OF soft-bill birds and has e. she'll
/ like bill, some three four inches To-: He
| Is a great banana eater and delights in having
| his head scratched.