Pets

[GlassWalker]

@Buri - I briefly interned at an all animal Veterinary Clinic (for about 8 months). How much do you enjoy working with animals? Prepare to study, because as with all medical fields, it's going to require lots of hours both in your book and lab. You'll do everything from the ground up: cleaning messed kennels, taking stool samples and temperatures, to assisting with euthanasia, assisting the doctor during surgery, and hovering around a microscope. I suggest job shadowing or interning with a local clinic - they love extra help.You'll get a feel for what it's like and some of the things you'd be doing.

I'll never forget helping to clean a horses' teeth, or taking x-rays of a crazy cat - and then there are the tougher days, when you can hear an entire family sobbing over their dog you just helped to euthanize. It's tough some days. It's fairly stressful, but as with most jobs, super rewarding.

Also, pertaining to both Buri and the thread. I have a super crazy tom cat, too. Adopted him from a shelter (almost) 5 years ago. He's orange and white. He has a bobbed tail - no idea what breed he has and I refrain to call him an American Bobtail. His tail is about 4 inches long, and has a very noticeable kink within it. I'm fairly sure he was born with it since he was 4 months when I adopted him, but I could be wrong. Could also be a deformity. However, he seems to match the characteristics of the A. Bobtail. Who knows. He just loves to fetch, meow, and play hide-and-attack.

And points for Atuin, because yeah, I agree that few people clean up after their dog. I get so frustrated because I'm extremely adamant about cleaning up after my brittany. It was terrible this winter - people would just kick snow over their dog's mess. Grinded my gears.

[darkdemon130]

(this goes with the first page of the thread)

No I dont agree with the abuse and testing, But I feel that if we do want to test something why not test it on WILLING humans or ones near dying because how it affects an animal maybe totaly different then how it effects a human,though we all know through moral's they wiggle out of it because its INHUMANE Well isnt Testing random drugs that we dont know whats going to happen Inhumane? Humans can just as easily repopulate as any animal can honestly :\

[Rainwater]

@Buri - I briefly interned at an all animal Veterinary Clinic (for about 8 months). How much do you enjoy working with animals? Prepare to study, because as with all medical fields, it's going to require lots of hours both in your book and lab. You'll do everything from the ground up: cleaning messed kennels, taking stool samples and temperatures, to assisting with euthanasia, assisting the doctor during surgery, and hovering around a microscope. I suggest job shadowing or interning with a local clinic - they love extra help.You'll get a feel for what it's like and some of the things you'd be doing.

It also will help to show if someone has the ability to do the work. Surgery does mean blood and guts, so one must be prepared for that. As for euthanasias, they aren't all old pets that lived good lives. Working in a clinic is a great idea to get experience first. For the certified tech program that I know about, they started out with a curriculum similar to veterinary students. They just didn't get involved in the "how to treat" or "how to fix" parts. And, if you become a tech, it all depends on where you work. Working in a clinic can be very different than at a teaching hospital for example. You might want to seek out info from a school that has the program for more info.

(this goes with the first page of the thread)

No I dont agree with the abuse and testing, But I feel that if we do want to test something why not test it on WILLING humans or ones near dying because how it affects an animal maybe totaly different then how it effects a human,though we all know through moral's they wiggle out of it because its INHUMANE Well isnt Testing random drugs that we dont know whats going to happen Inhumane? Humans can just as easily repopulate as any animal can honestly :\

If you don't mind me asking, how would we then get medications for animals? While tests are often run for our benefit, so many medications are used in animals despite some species differences. Antibiotics (penicillin, cephalexin), steroids (prednisone, hydrocortisone), antihistamines (diphenhydramine, hydroxyzine), antifungals (ketoconazole, itraconazole), anesthetics/premedications/pain relievers (midazolam, buprenorphine, atropine), and even cancer medications (cisplatin, doxorubicin) that people use are also used in the veterinary world. I hate thinking about the animals that react poorly to medications based on species differences. I find it even harder to think about them seeking out the values for LD 50 (and thinking about LD 100 makes me want to cry), but I understand where they are coming from. The only other option I can see is simply not treating them when they get sick or injured.

[TxCat]

I'm so excited! After years of careful planning and saving, I am finally a step closer to getting my budgies.

We bought a cage today, to be shipped here in five to seven days, which meets the rigid specifications for the birds. I don't like the standard "parakeet" cages because they're generally way too small to allow the birds to be comfortable and to give them flight room. This one is meant for two cockatiels but the bar spacing is acceptable (1/2 inch) and it's made of a material which will not chip or corrode or otherwise be harmful to the bird. It has a stand and a tray below which will make cleaning easier.

Once it gets here, I will have the fun of gradually decorating the new home. I need to get various sized wooden perches, a few toys, an acceptable bird bath (the bird books discourage the use of ones with no foot grips and a mirror on the bottom because it can startle the bird and cause it to injure itself), and feeding and water containers (stainless steel or ceramic to cut back on microbes and soiling).

The Petco near us is excellently managed and their bird person knows her stuff. All the budgies are hand raised and young (some of them haven't yet had the ring around the eye disappear). They're all healthy and active and they come in all colors. I want one of the slate blue varieties and one of the green-yellow varieties as I don't like the pieds or the yellow phase or the pastels. I would prefer two males because I don't have a good rapport with female animals.

We have names picked for them: Whirr and Wobble.

This is the cage we ordered.

Also, I already have a vet who is certified in exotic animals, particularly parrots. They'll have the very best care possible.

I hope I'll make a good bird-friend. I want them to like me.

[Rainwater]

Also, I already have a vet who is certified in exotic animals, particularly parrots. They'll have the very best care possible.

If you don't mind, I'd like to say thank you on behalf of those that are not certified in exotics. It is so frustrating when people call and want to have their ferret/bird/rabbit/snake seen because not everyone has the expertise. I did a short two week rotation at an exotics clinic, but that simply was not enough. It does sound like your birds will get great care.

[TNHawke]

To TxCat - Congrats! I love to see when people actually do their research and prepare BEFORE getting a new pet. I did parakeet rescue for a while, and was quickly in over my head. I had to force myself to stop taking them in, and concentrate on rehoming the ones I had. It was rewarding though. Gawd, the horror stories I could tell...

That cage looks wonderful. However, you'll want to get some kind of skirt around the base. Keets will fling seed and seed hulls and then when they fly, it blows everything out of the cage.
I do recommend males over females for hand pets. Female keets tend to be... well... "nippy" is putting it nicely.

I'm sure you know about getting lots of toys and trading them out, but keeps especially LOVE papery things they can shred. (In general) The girls like wood chew toys a lot more than the males do.
For perches, I HIGHLY recommend the natural manzita ones. They are tough enough that the keets won't chew through them too fast (unlike pine), the bark is smooth and that makes it super easy to clean. Plus, because it's a natural branch, it gives the keets lots of diameters and positions to sit in, which is good for their feets. A few rope and rough bark perches are good too, they like textures under their toes.

For water- get them on a water bottle! I've NEVER had a bird that didn't take to it almost instantly, even my older rescues (8+ years old) figured it out really quick. (do keep a bowl for drinking nearby until you see them using the bottle, but their natural curiosity will have them checking out the sipper pretty quick) My current birds, a raven and my little diamond doves all use water bottles.
Get one that is small enough that the birds will drink 3/4 of the bottle worth in a day or two, that way you can clean it frequently. For the little birds, I prefer this kind- Lixit cage hugger flatback water bottle I connect it to the outside of the cage, and have the sipper fit between the bars.

For food dish- I loved this model for the keets. Lixit Quick Lock Bird Bath I never used it for a bath, but it's PERFECT for a food dish. The shallow pan allows them to get to all the seed with out having to fling so much- and there's much less chance of accidental starvation because the seed is buried under hulls. You can also get two or three and keep seed in one, pellets in another and fresh treats in another. I used these for finches, keets and cockatiels.

For baths, I would shy away from this particular model, it's sold as a keet bath, but is better for finches and other smaller birds Penn-plax Bird Bath Adjustable Deluxe for Cage Doors
The Penn-plax Cockatiel bath works better for keets (and is too small for 'tiels... lol)
Both can be found for really cheap, even in many grocery stores. The only problem is sometimes they don't fit on the doors properly. A lot of times, I actually just put them inside the cage (I always keep birds in big cages, so that was never a problem)
I discovered this model after I no longer had any parakeets, but this would also work really well for them. JW Pet Company Insight Bird Bath I actually used one as a 'toy box' for the raven until he managed to kill it. Lol.

I've got all kinds of bird experience- just not parrots other than cockatiels and parakeets, so feel free to hit me up for info if you like-- that goes for all readers too.

[DevilCrest]

I used to own two Pekingese and a Chihuahua (at separate times) when I was a kid.

Back in '09, my sister adopted a yellow lab from the shelter and I've pretty much "inherited" Abby since, apparently, my sister saw adopting a dog as the latest fad. -_- (Won't get into that...)

Since the minute she got out of the car coming home from the shelter, I started a "leadership" program with her - teaching her boundaries of the house and yard, door control and food control. For the first few months, she did wonderfully and she didn't have many issues to begin with other than jumping on people and obsessing over high value chews to the point she'll guard them. Because of my brother-in-law (whom Abby obsesses over), I sought out and hired a canine behavior specialist to come over and address the leash walking and overall rudeness Abby was displaying.

Abby still has some socialization issues, severe separation anxiety outside the home environment and is just a nervous/anxious girl due to environmental factors. I'm working with her the best I can with her issues. ;)

Back in December, I started an internship with the same behavior specialist and I have learned A LOT about canine communication and pack mentality. Even now, I continue to learn more every day.

For people who have questions/issues regarding their dog, I can attempt to give advice, but of course, it's a 'at your own risk' type of thing.

Fluffy white cute 1yr old puppy here!
I always pick up after my doggy when we are outside. I don't understand why some people don't, it's not that hard to, takes literally 2 seconds to clean up ..
We never had a problem with toilet training for our doggy. I am just so grateful that she is so smart and considerate, we never "properly" trained her but the few times we did she got the point really fast.

The only problem we have with our doggy is she barks at every other dog and occasionally even other humans (with people it seems to be random, 10% of the time, the other 90% she loves the attention). She does have some doggy friends she meets every few days at the park but when we are driving or walking and she sees another dog, she yips and barks, even growls and if they try to come near she tries to run away. ?? lack of socialization? Not sure what to do since all the dog owners we meet don't really like to stop to let my doggy socialize. Anyone know what we should do?

Based on your description of what your dog does (yips, barks, growls and tries to run away) has me thinking she may be defensive. When she's rushed/crowded by other dogs, she feels pressured and flees - this tells me her flight drive is higher than her fight drive -- she will rather run than take on a challenge. Most dogs will not take on a challenge they know they cannot win - especially when it's just one dog having to face a "pack" (A pack = 2+ dogs). That said and assuming my assumptions are correct, then it's not lack of socialization. If she walks in front of you and reacts to another dog, then you have given her the position to take control of the situation - she's telling the other dog off and protecting herself and you. What you'll need to do is to fire her from that job -- most dogs aren't fit for this job and they shouldn't have this job if they're not feral dogs for safety reasons.

Forewarning: Generally, if you know your dog will not redirect his/her frustration on their handler (bite their handler) when they're on leash for a correction, then it is usually OK to do this on a walk assuming you have your dog on a regular 4ft or 6ft leash (not the retractable kind as these do not give you much or any control over your dog). Otherwise, seek a professional trainer or behavior specialist dealing with aggression who is well-versed AND experienced in canine body language and communication.

When you're on a walk and another dog (also on leash) and owner are passing by, put your dog behind you using your leash and your body. Move your entire body in front of her by sidestepping into her neck/shoulder area -- you'll bump into her but DON'T feel bad since you aren't hurting her -- just move her with your body so that she's behind you. While you are 'body checking' her, gather up the slack on the leash to where she only has enough to where she cannot do the 'doggy twister' and get around your legs to take control of the situation (bark, growl, carry on telling off the other dog). Make sure your dog still has enough slack to sit comfortably behind you. Lock the hand that's holding the slack behind your back to prevent your dog from being able to get around you. Face the dog/problem she's reacting to until it passes. <-- that's one of the most important parts to this.

The most important thing about this is to remain calm! Even if your dog is barking, growling, dancing, flipping around like a fish out of water behind you, you must ignore her until she calms down and sits behind you calmly -- she may even give a 'sigh'; that's indication that she's giving up her control of the situation. Remember to keep yourself between your dog and the dog&handler passing by - body block your dog and the other person's dog. This effectively communicates to both dogs that you're in control of the situation and that it's neither dogs' jobs to control any greeting and/or rude behavior.

When they have passed by completely, move to the side to let your dog back into position next to you and continue on your walk. If she tries to go after the dog that just passed by, ignore her, don't talk to her, don't touch her and just keep giving short, quick tugs on the leash and keep moving -- don't let her reaction stop your movement; STOP tugging on the leash when you feel her following you to catch up and don't drag her with the leash.

I'd go through an effective leash walking technique with you, but it's difficult to tell you how to do it...on top of the fact I don't know your dog. The most effective (and proper, imo) leash walk is when your dog is completely focused on you. Most dogs, nowadays, have their handlers/owners perfectly trained in leash walking - they literally walk you: take off in whatever direction they want whenever they want without saying a word to you; they just 'do'. Proper leash walking is the same thing -- don't talk to your dog, don't touch your dog and just go in whatever direction you want to go in. Sounds simple, eh? But the rest really is very difficult for me to explain without showing you.

That's the tip of the iceberg when it comes to 'leash control'. xD There's also food control and door control for anyone interested in hearing me rave about it. /flees

[Rosehill]

Please note that I'm not a dog training professional nor a behaviorist and I do not claim that what I say is the only way to do things or that they could be applied as is to each and every dog. I've been studying positivie dog training methods as well as canine behaviour the past year and a lot of what I'm saying (now or in future about dog training and behaviour) is based on authors like Patricia McConnell, Jane Killion, Jean Donaldson, Leslie McDevitt, Ian Dunbar, Turid Rugaas and Brenda Aloff (and a ton of others once all my book orders are shipped, I spend way too much money on dog training and behaviour books ) as well as techinques and tips described in this livejournal dog community that concentrates on positive dog training methods and has many professional dog trainers as members.

I'd like to present an alternative approach to a situation where a dog barks or lunges whether due to agression or for being on defense.

I would say that waiting for such a dog to calm down and sit behind you might be too overwhelming for the dog, especially if she's truly afraid of the other dog.

I would start counterconditioning the dog with for example the Look At That game found in Leslie McDevitt's book Control Unleashed (a short version of how the LAT game work can be found here) and work with the dog while she's under treshold, i.e. not reacting to the approaching dog in any way. This might require starting with quite a distance from the other dog instead of taking the dog straight into the middle of the situation.

Another possibility would be to teach the dog to pay attention to you on walks (as in Debbil's ideal leash walking scenario) so that the dog can default to that desirable behaviour instead of feeling insecure about what to do, thus possibly resulting in an undesirable behaviour e.g. barking or lunging or biting.

For me there are a couple of different stages of leash walk. There's the "attention walking" where the dog needs to pay attention to me, which I mostly use in crowded areas when I want to or need to keep the dog close to me and not pay attention to the poeple or dogs or happenings around us. Then there's the more relaxed stage where the dog can walk freely, as long as he stays within the reach of the leash without pulling. He's free to go in front of me, behind me or skip to the side, as long as the leash stays loose. If the leash tightens, I stop dead on my tracks. Nothing happens while the leash is tight. The dog might want to go sniff something extremely delicious (like a dead rabbit or somethin other equally "nice"), but he has to remember to be polite. If he finds that he can no longer move forwards he might try to pull a bit harder. When that proves fruitless as well he usually checks back in with me and slackens the leash, which is the behaviour I want, so I praise him for that and let him go sniff that gross carcass or whatever it was he wanted to sniff, thus strenghtening the association that looking at me and having a loose leash is what gets things done and using the Premack Principle.



To tell you more about my dog:
Picture!
He's a 4 year old belgian shepherd tervueren and I've had him since he was a pup. We've trained obedience and agility and at the moment we're practicing self-control and politeness, since he tends to overheat when exciting things, like agility, are happening. We do a lot of shaping games with a clicker and take long off-leash walks on nearby woods and fields. He likes belly rubs and ear rubs and back rubs and rubs in general as well as anything that can be eaten or torn. One of his biggest fun time activities is to tear up any cardboard boxes he can get his paws on, especially if therer are hidden treats inside them. He's not too fond of all the boring stuff like nail clipping and grooming and not playing but gets compensated for them with lot's of brain puzzling activities and chances to earn noms. He's quite a velcro dog, always following me around and curling next to me to sleep.

Recently he's had some butt issues; it appears he has an infected anal gland and now he's on antibiotics and pain medication. The antibiotics don't seem to help though, so he's scheduled to have the gland flushed and biopsied next week. Poor beast.

He is also bit of a resource guarder, and I've now worked with that intensely for the past year and he has got tremendously better. Before he would stiffen and possibly growl when you entered the room and he had something edible. Now he usually brings his yummy bones for me to hold while he gnaws them and even if he doesn't, I can walk right past him and pet him and he'll go on eating his treasure as if nothing happens.

After studying about canine body language I've come to understand my dog and how he feels in different situations better. I'm currently reading Patricia McConnell's book "For the Love of a Dog" that presents a very interesting, though a bit scientistic approach to how human and dog brains work and what similarities and differences there are and debates what kind of emotions dogs can have. Her other boog "The Other End of the Leash" also gave me a lot of insight about why my own behaviour (that I, as a primate, regard very natural) might completety be baffling to my dog and how I could take it into consideration to not unnecessarily confuse my dog.

[TxCat]

Having a nasty bout of chemo related problems, so I hope this still makes sense...

To TxCat - Congrats! I love to see when people actually do their research and prepare BEFORE getting a new pet.

I have been wanting birds of some sort for three to four years. When I was younger, we had budgie and we really had no business having one. It lived in a small cage like you see in the pet shops which really aren't all that adequate for them. It had one mirror, a cuttle bone (which I have since learned they don't/won't use), and that nasty sandpaper grit in the bottom of the cage. I don't even remember why we had one because no one ever really seemed to have time for it or to spend time with it. It was just...there.

Then one winter my grandfather, on the golf course, had a love bird fly down out of nowhere and perch on his golf bags. They don't migrate over Colorado so we speculated it was either blown off course or had escaped someone. We ran ads for it but no one ever claimed the bird.

He lived with the budgie for a while, until they fought and the budgie pulled out a bunch of his feathers and he cracked the budgie's beak. Then they got separate cages and he went into one of those awful round things meant for display on a tottering three legged stand.

We don't know why he died, but one day he just did. Then my Ma moved the budgie's caged to clean under it and left it in a draft in front of the fire place all night long. The bird was dead the next morning.

Since then, I've vowed that when I get more birds, I would know what I was doing and how to care for them. So far, so good. We chose budgies in part because they're easiest to care for and because they're not as expensive as the other parrots. That doesn't mean we think they're expendable, that just means that if heaven forbid something happens to them we aren't out the money. Once I've had these guys a few years, I plan on adding zebra finches and one of the medium parrots (I adore green cheeked conures and sun conures and I like the cockatiels). We have the room and the means to take care of them; it's only a matter of saving the money for the proper cages, toys, and other needs.

However, you'll want to get some kind of skirt around the base. Keets will fling seed and seed hulls and then when they fly, it blows everything out of the cage.

We're not terribly worried about the mess. The rabbit and the mouse both kick litter, as do the cats. About 90% of my housekeeping consists of vacuuming up after them I always tell folks who are visiting that we don't have nice things because we prefer to keep our animals.

I'm sure you know about getting lots of toys and trading them out, but keeps especially LOVE papery things they can shred.

When the cage gets here, we'll start fitting it out. While it was best in terms of size for flight and roominess, it does have a few drawbacks. The bars are all vertical, so the birds won't be able to climb unless we install perches and ladders. Because we live in Florida, the manzanita branches you mentioned are readily available and not too expensive. I'm planning on getting different sizes and types of approved wood and lacing them throughout the cage so that they will be able to maintain the muscles in their little feet.

I know this sounds silly, but my girlfriend has a strong affinity with birds. It's almost like she can get into their heads. We figure that if she doesn't want to play with the toy, a bird won't touch it Our Petco --- the lady there really knows her stuff --- is stocked with just about anything and everything that a bird could want or hope to play with...and the clappers on the bells are all the solid kind that they can't pick off and swallow.

For water- get them on a water bottle! I've NEVER had a bird that didn't take to it almost instantly

I had heard and read about that, but wasn't sure if it was true. These guys are young --- some of them aren't quite fully fledged --- so it's entirely possible they could learn that. It seems to me it would take care of a lot of potential mess (I've been told they like to bathe in their water supply and that they can't help pooping in it if it's an open dish...ick!)

We can get the Lixit brand from our local Petco! (Mail order is always a mess because of the rural route and if you can't get into your PO box, they tend to send things back).

For food dish- I loved this model for the keets.

That looks interesting, but I'm not sure I'd be able to find one locally. Until we can --- you know we plan on upgrading to better and better the longer we have them --- I'm thinking the ceramic ones they have at the store work well. They look sort of like the cockatiel bath you linked to but without the perch. The books I have say to set the food dishes (multiples, at least one for each bird, in different locations) on the bottom of the cage. These have that wide curved opening so they can get into the dish and a shallow cupping at the bottom.

They won't get just seeds either! We all eat a lot of vegetables here, including the stuff that the books say the budgies enjoy. They'll have the best organic fruits and vegetables too. One of the books says once a week they should be fed a few tablespoons full of cottage cheese mixed with other things I can't remember. How odd? Another friend occasionally gave hers fresh sardines and other small fish, but I thought these guys were primarily seed and fruit eaters?

I actually used one as a 'toy box' for the raven until he managed to kill it.

That doesn't surprise me. Jenna likes old cigar boxes...to peck apart. First, she'll work the latch. Then she'll beak the wood until the lid falls off. After that, she doesn't want it any more. I've discovered that saying to a raven, "Please stop breaking stuff" just doesn't work.

Right now, we're still waiting for the cage delivery. When we get it, we'll put it together and clean it with a mild bleach solution. It'll stand empty for at least a few weeks while we slowly accumulate toys and other supplies. Only when the cage is furnished will we start assessing the birds they've gotten to see which ones will come home with us. As I said, I do have color preferences but you never know...maybe someone who isn't a color I originally wanted will insist. That often happens: I go looking for a particular pet and end up with something different because some other little guy won my heart.

[ShenziSixaxis]

Perhaps I'm the oddball here, but I much prefer reptiles as pets as opposed to dogs or cats. They don't make hardly any noise, the snakes only poop as often as you feed them, they don't stink, they don't shed their smelly and sneeze inducing fur all over, and they don't complain if you forget to to feed them one day or go on vaction.

I've always had some sort of interest with reptiles, but it didn't really spawn until about a year ago when my 12 or so year old leopard gecko died. After that, I was left with a 20 gallon long tank, and decided I wanted a snake instead of another lizard. A few days of searching and I found corn snakes, and did a bunch of research. I decided to go with that.

So on Feb 17th I went into a pet store with the intention of killing time while my mom was doing something elsewhere, and found that they had a trio of nice sized corn snakes, one of which was a bright normal, perfectly happy to explore my hands and everything without hardly flinching. This was after a few weeks of research and after buying supplies and setting the 20g tank up after cleaning it, so I brought her home that day.

She calmed down even more as she grew, became a snake that could care less if she was on your hand and going to fall off (we call snakes that hold on tightly when held "dear lifers" ), ate with gusto, and never really seemed like a bad choice. Because of her easy going nature and how well she's done with me, I named her after the first continent you visit in Sonic Unleashed (which was released a few months before I got her, go figure), Apotos, which is based of real life Greece. Point is, Apotos was the name of a place that was shown to be laid back, easy going, blah blah blah.

The first time she shed with me was interesting. I didn't notice the signs of her eyes getting a milky blue color, nor her scale's getting extremely muddy looking. I hadn't bothered her for two days for whatever reason, and one day when I went to get her out, she had a shedded skin that had cracked down her back stuck to her. That was... fun to get off. She was fine; it was more so a "holy shit" thing to me.
Pictures
From when I first got her.

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This was about two months later, the day or two after I got my Nikon L110. By now she had colored up quite a bit and was supposed to be around 6 months old.

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Here I caught her 'deep in shed', as we say. This is the midway point in the shed cycle, where they will lighten up in color over about 3 days and then shed the skin.

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A recent photo, with tongue!

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A few months later I went into the same pet store, and they had some more corn snakes, even bigger than before. One of them was a snow morph, which is produced by breeding an Amelanistic (red albino) and Anerythristic (black albino) together, and one was another normal like Apotos, but an okeetee, distinguishable by the orange colors, deep red saddles (circles on back), and thick black borders on the saddles. She had a wonderful temperament in the store, was at least twice the size of Apotos then, and was very strong. Brought her home too.

Things went quite a bit smoother with this girl (who I original thought was male), but she was not very keen to taking furry mice from me. I ended up having to cut into hopper sized mice (age of mice that are about to be weaned by their mothers) and make them ooze blood before she readily accepted food from me. Ever since then, and especially since she's been getting rats instead, she has had a feeding response that puts Apotos to shame.

I ended up naming the okeetee girl Lotem. I have no idea why, it just seemed to stick.
Pictures
This was one of the first good pictures I got of Lotem. She was in a pudding mix box and I just kinda dumped her out onto my palm.

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This is another good picture of her whole body, but more recent.

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One day I ended up putting Lotem and Apotos together while I cleaned their homes out, and I found them curled up together, with Lotem kind of mashing Apotos. xD

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Quite a few months later, after summer's big heat had been gone, I saw a few ads posted by someone, two of which were for a pair of 2006 hatched ball pythons and a leucistic Texas rat snake. Not too much I have to say about those...

The male ball python is a reduced pattern normal, and has a patch of bright yellow near his eyes. He is very good with handling, and takes great pictures.

"Up periscope" as as BP enthusiasts say.

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This shows off his yellow spot.

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The female python is very very shy a just a simple normal, though she has nice "blushing" on her dark spots, which is a sort of fading that is desirable. I don't have any recent photos of her.

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Daemon is the batshit crazy rat snake. He was okay when I got him, but just looking at him wrong makes him open his mouth a gape at you, hiss, strike, and tail rattle.

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With the snakes, yes, I do feed them rodents. I currently breed domestic rats for them, which seem to have a better nutritional value than mice. I've also offered pieces of hard boiled eggs to the corn snakes, which are usually accepted and eaten.

At some point I'd like to take the 20 gallon long tank I have and turn it into a small anole colony that freely breeds, as anoles are sometimes used for snake food as well and would be another good thing to add to the diet.

Since I mentioned the fish tank, no, except for Apotos, all my reptiles are housed in plastic sterilite tubs. The reason behind this is:
- cheaper than tanks
- lighter and easier to move
- stack-able without worrying of screen tops breaking
- the opaque color of the plastic makes the tub inside a bit darker and thus should make the animal feel more secure than an open tank
- there's not a lot of wasted vertical space that terrestrial snakes would ignore
- easier to clean

All around just better.


The other reptile I have is a red stripe gargoyle gecko. I'd been doing research on Rhacodactylus geckos for quite some time, and this girl looked really good, wasn't acting nervous, and was nice and hefty. She's a total garbage gut. x)

As a rhacodactylus gecko, she is a fruit eating gecko and gets a crested gecko diet (which is okay for all rhacs) that is fruit and honey based, and can be fed only this. Rhacs do prey on insects if they get a chance, though not all accept them or only certain kinds.
Pictures
Being a "rhac", Felix changes colors a bit. This is her at her duller stage ("unfired").

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And this is her "fired up" on the same platform.

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I also took her outside for the first time today, as it was almost 80F, which is on the highest end of the temp rhacs can handle.

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