RandomWiktor
Critter Keeper
Myia, TBH I rarely use heaters, so I probably chose a lousy one (though it did work fine for four years). Most of my fish are in my nice toasty herp room, which stays between 78-82. Never again with the heaters, though. To me, it's worth just keeping one room warm enough for all of my fishies from now on, at least until they die out (I plan on getting out of tropical fish for the most part after my current ones are gone, we'll see how well that actually works out). This is my second heater related death, the other being due to a malfunction that spiked the temp up over 100. That was, incidentally, my first Chinese Algae Eater. Bad juju with this species for me, I guess, which is a shame since they're one of my favorite species (more than bettas!). Oh well. I'm sure some day I'll find another person getting rid of one, since virtually everyone who has one eventually wants to get rid of it once it matures.
In less severely bleak news, Fetus is doing AWESOME *throws a little party* I've been feeding him lots of varied, probiotic dipped prey items, administering calcium glubionate, and giving him electrolyte soaks every few days. He's supporting his own weight, has a good feeding response, and can even hop a little without flipping onto his back.
I'm paranoid about how he'll do while I'm away in Alabama this weekend, but I've definitely left my frogs much longer than three days before, so I'll just have to keep my fingers crossed. If I get worried enough, I can probably convince my dad to feed him once or twice. My mom normally pet-sits while I'm away, but she is HORRIFIED of the horned frogs ever since one of them leapt past the feeding tongs and turned my hand into a bleeding mess. She now thinks that they are "creepy, mean, and awful" and can't wait until they move out.
My mom is a little ignorant when it comes to animals. She "loves" them, but I think she "loves" them in the way a doting grandmother thinks its OK to feed her grandkids endless candy and never discipline them. She doesn't know how to do what's best for animals, especially if its something the animal doesn't like. Perfect example: the other day, our family kitter Leo needed to have his teeth checked, and this became a HUGE ordeal for poor mum.
Leo is vicious at the vet office; one vet told us to never come back with him after he very badly attacked and bit the vet and several techs during an exam (to be fair, we warned that he was fearful and aggressive and they didn't take us seriously). Our existing vet office also had horrible luck with him during his hospital stay for a blocked urethra, so when we said we wanted his teeth thoroughly examined, they gave us 10mg of Ace and said to give him half a pill. We gave him half, and he didn't seem remotely drowsy. In fact, he was HYPER! So they said to go ahead and give the other half, as he's a big cat.
Well, of course, this got Leo quite doped up. He had the whole droopy third eyelid drunken staggar going on. He also had some uh... loose sphincter issues. The vet told us to let him rest somewhere secure and quiet when he got home. But my MOM, oye! She was freaking out because he kept wanting to hide in the closet, doubtless doing what animals do when they feel vulnerable by hiding. She became convinced that he was "running off to die" and that he was "terrified," so she kept dragging the poor sleepy beast out of hiding and trying to make him sit on her lap. He wanted nothing to do with it.
Now she's been wailing nonstop about how the cat "doesn't trust her anymore" and how "traumatic and terrible" being mildly doped up was for him. *Giant eyeroll* Yeah, because I'm sure needing to be man-handled by a team of vets while fighting tooth and claw, peeing all over the table and being yanked into compromising restraint poses would have been WAY less stressful than a day of being mildly sleepy and having his teeth examined while he placidly sat on the table dozing off.
Now she says we're *never* sedating him for a vet visit again, which I'm sure is going to go over great with our vet next time he needs something delicate examined. I know her heart's in the right place, I just wish her head would follow suit.
Here's a pic of the big wicked beast. Don't be fooled by how sweet he looks: he's certifiably nuts. As in, will come charging across the room to leap half way up your leg and imbed his fangs and claws in your thigh for no reason. And god forbid you dare to oblige his "pet me" pleas, because at some point, he'll either decide he's done or that you're NOT done. And you will get bit, badly. Kitters got major issues, and so far all of the different behavior modification strategies have failed. The thing that works best is keeping him on a very rigid, consistent routine - but man, all it takes is a day of having company over, or a hectic work week, or a missed mid-day feeding while we're out of town, and it's like having an angry friggen tiger as a pet.
In less severely bleak news, Fetus is doing AWESOME *throws a little party* I've been feeding him lots of varied, probiotic dipped prey items, administering calcium glubionate, and giving him electrolyte soaks every few days. He's supporting his own weight, has a good feeding response, and can even hop a little without flipping onto his back.
I'm paranoid about how he'll do while I'm away in Alabama this weekend, but I've definitely left my frogs much longer than three days before, so I'll just have to keep my fingers crossed. If I get worried enough, I can probably convince my dad to feed him once or twice. My mom normally pet-sits while I'm away, but she is HORRIFIED of the horned frogs ever since one of them leapt past the feeding tongs and turned my hand into a bleeding mess. She now thinks that they are "creepy, mean, and awful" and can't wait until they move out.
My mom is a little ignorant when it comes to animals. She "loves" them, but I think she "loves" them in the way a doting grandmother thinks its OK to feed her grandkids endless candy and never discipline them. She doesn't know how to do what's best for animals, especially if its something the animal doesn't like. Perfect example: the other day, our family kitter Leo needed to have his teeth checked, and this became a HUGE ordeal for poor mum.
Leo is vicious at the vet office; one vet told us to never come back with him after he very badly attacked and bit the vet and several techs during an exam (to be fair, we warned that he was fearful and aggressive and they didn't take us seriously). Our existing vet office also had horrible luck with him during his hospital stay for a blocked urethra, so when we said we wanted his teeth thoroughly examined, they gave us 10mg of Ace and said to give him half a pill. We gave him half, and he didn't seem remotely drowsy. In fact, he was HYPER! So they said to go ahead and give the other half, as he's a big cat.
Well, of course, this got Leo quite doped up. He had the whole droopy third eyelid drunken staggar going on. He also had some uh... loose sphincter issues. The vet told us to let him rest somewhere secure and quiet when he got home. But my MOM, oye! She was freaking out because he kept wanting to hide in the closet, doubtless doing what animals do when they feel vulnerable by hiding. She became convinced that he was "running off to die" and that he was "terrified," so she kept dragging the poor sleepy beast out of hiding and trying to make him sit on her lap. He wanted nothing to do with it.
Now she's been wailing nonstop about how the cat "doesn't trust her anymore" and how "traumatic and terrible" being mildly doped up was for him. *Giant eyeroll* Yeah, because I'm sure needing to be man-handled by a team of vets while fighting tooth and claw, peeing all over the table and being yanked into compromising restraint poses would have been WAY less stressful than a day of being mildly sleepy and having his teeth examined while he placidly sat on the table dozing off.
Now she says we're *never* sedating him for a vet visit again, which I'm sure is going to go over great with our vet next time he needs something delicate examined. I know her heart's in the right place, I just wish her head would follow suit.
Here's a pic of the big wicked beast. Don't be fooled by how sweet he looks: he's certifiably nuts. As in, will come charging across the room to leap half way up your leg and imbed his fangs and claws in your thigh for no reason. And god forbid you dare to oblige his "pet me" pleas, because at some point, he'll either decide he's done or that you're NOT done. And you will get bit, badly. Kitters got major issues, and so far all of the different behavior modification strategies have failed. The thing that works best is keeping him on a very rigid, consistent routine - but man, all it takes is a day of having company over, or a hectic work week, or a missed mid-day feeding while we're out of town, and it's like having an angry friggen tiger as a pet.
