Firelizard question...

[Roxanne]

I was talking with Angie T about this and thought I'd bring it up to see what everyone else thought.

How long do firelizards generally live?

[emma]

i got the impression from the books that they lived as long as their owners.  I may be wrong though.

[PastMember]

As I recall (always an iffy proposition at best), the only example we had to go by was Robinton and Zair, which would agree with Emma.

However, unlike dragons, not all firelizards impress, so they do not have that special link, and in the wild it would be a different story.  Otherwise we'd be buried in flits up to the Star Stones.

On Terra, smaller animals generally live shorter lives than larger.

There.  Eighty four words, all to add nothing at all.  Debate away.

[PastMember]

I'd have to dig out my books to reference it (or is it fanon rather than canon? *g*), but there is no proof that a firelizard dies with its owner.  Zair is the only one really covered in the books, even though Meron had a flit of his own when he died.  I *want* to say that they thought she'd gone wild after he died, but until I can remember where I tucked away Dragonquest, I can't check.

But like the dragons bred from their genetics, firelizards have a long lifespan - some estimates that it's much longer than a human counterpart - although that's debateable because of their memories being passed on to offspring (aka the firelizards around Landing telling Ruth of the volcanic eruption that buried the place).  Dragons and flits don't age as fast as their humans do, at least from everything I've ever read.

And to dispute the "small animals have shorter lifespans" theory:  

African Grey Parrots:  50-65 years
Goffins Cockatoo:  70+ years
Russian Tortoise:  40+ years

There are reasons older folks shouldn't get young birds of the parrot type.  The birds will grieve themselves to death if they lose an elderly owner.  And the jury's still out on lifespan of turtles (30 years documented, some estimate 50+ lifespan).

There was a recent discussion thread at the KTBB regarding firelizards leaving their owners, with quotes from the books (particularly TWD) regarding the fact that flits *will* abandon an abusive or inattentive owner.

[PastMember]

This doesn't speak to the issue of the flits outliving their owner (going wild after an owner's death) but it does speak to their natural lifespan:

"Curiously, once a dragonet has lived through it's first moments, centuries might pass before it dies....Unless trauma occurred it would live on and on."

(The Dragon Lover's Guide to Pern, 1997)

[Roxanne]

I remebered the part about passing on memories to their offspring.  

I'd look in my books, but they're all over at the apt until tomorrow when they get sorted through and boxed up until I get my own place.

[PastMember]

I remember reading in COP:FF 'Rescue Run' that one of them released her flit into the wild before being rescued. So evidently they don't need their human counterpart to survive. And I don't remember any other firelizard dying besides Zair.

[Paula]

I've just reread the Skies, and they were wonder about the same in it! So, nobody knows for sure, even in the books!