Pioneer Status? Wore out my first pair of shoes

I finally wore out the shoes I've been wearing for the past 7 and a half months. I don't know if it's "pioneer status" yet, but getting there...

 
I don't really know what kind of lizards these were but one of the members (the teenage boy in the pic) is in charge of feeding them so he let us "pet" them. it was gross and scary.