#but i have to make sure no one's under the substrate before i can add to it

[brdi3s-beasties]

Next big project is going to be moving every crab I see to the 55 gallon tank so I can fully revamp the 40breeder

[dogwise]

I'm not sure if you've been asked this before so sorry if you have been! But could you give a little guide or some tips on how you take care of your crabbyboys??? Because you seem to take such amazing and thoughtful care of these guys, so passionate. I'm so inspired by you to have some lil shell guys!!!

Hi!! This was so so so nice to read!!! Thank you!!! I really can’t tell you how much it means!😭

I compiled this list mostly from the Land Hermit Crab Owners FB group’s 101 post, but cut it down to its bare bones. Just let me know if you have any questions and I’ll do my best to help!!

Set Up

Tank: The smallest tank you want to have is 20 gallon tank for 2 crabs (you’ll want to start with at least 2 because they are social critters). Add additional 10 gallons per crab. The lid needs to hold humidity and heat - so should either be full glass or cellophane covered mesh. Hermit Crabs require a consistent humidity of 85%.

Substrate: The crabs’ substrate needs are pretty specific: play sand (usually sold at department stores; pet store sand like calcium sand and dyed sand is dangerous and should be avoided) and coconut fiber mixed at a 5 to 1 ratio -- ie five cups play sand for every one cup coconut fiber. The mixture should be sand castle consistency and be no less than 8” so the crabs have enough room to molt.

Pools:  You need at least two pools deep enough that the crabs can full submerge. One of the pools should be freshwater and the other saltwater (the saltwater use Instant Ocean Salt Mix). Both need to be dechlorinated if you’re using public water.

Heat: Hermit crabs require a consistent temperature of 85 degrees F. Use an under tank heater mat (UTH) for the source of heat. The UTH should cover the  back of the tank, not the bottom, and not go below the substrate line.

Décor: Plenty of fake plants and coconuts/log hides -- hermies are naturally prey animals so get stressed without plenty of places to hide. Climbing objects like cholla wood and driftwood are also good. Hermit crabs are actually pretty smart too so will enjoy things like mirrors and “puzzle toys.”

Shells: Hermit crabs need plenty of natural shells (not painted --  all paints are toxic to crabs) available, otherwise they will start getting aggressive with one another. There should be 5 shells per 1 hermit crab that are similar or larger than the size of the shell the crab is currently in (measure the shell size by the hole opening). Turbo shells are the most popular!

Care

Handling: They’re mostly hands-off critters. Being prey animals, being picked up and played with a lot only stresses them out.

Molting: This is when the crabbies go under the sand and shed their old exoskeleton. All we can do is give them time and privacy. It can take weeks to months for a crab to finish molting. As tempting as it may be though, never go digging for them.

Feeding: As omnivores, they need a well-balanced diet. Calcium, Fruit, Veggies, Proteins, Cellulose, and Chitin are the four musts. There is a huge selection of food they can eat (pretty good list here!), but in general, you just want to make sure it’s pesticide-free. I generally opt for freeze-dried food to lower the risk of mites.

[0ut0fmych3st]

I redid Patroclus’s vivarium~

It’s certainly not my most impressive or naturalistic enclosure but I quite like how it turned out. His enclosure needs to be more functional than aesthetically pleasing, which is something I find easier to balance out with lizards rather than snakes.

He loves to dig because he’s a saharan sand boa and he’s very confident and outgoing so aside from his hides, I didn’t worry about giving him a lot of coverage since he prefers to hide by burying himself anyway. He typically digs underneath his hides rather than using them as one might expect, but they’re always a good idea anyway. I did make him a tunnel out of a toilet paper tube and duct tape that leads under his water bowl. I’m not sure if he’ll use it, but he likes being under there so it’s worth a try.

The plants (pothos and one really sad spider plant I don’t have much faith in) are more for decoration than anything, but he does like to use the leaves as pillows when he’s basking. I rearranged his driftwood so that it’ll be sturdier and not move when he climbs it, and so that he can climb easier in different areas.

I would’ve loved to add a bunch of leaf litter because it actually makes a huge difference in a vivarium’s appearance in my opinion, but I tried that before and he just mixed all the leaves into the substrate when he dug, so it’s not worth it lol

[is-the-snake-video-cute]

Snake Health: Bad Sheds

On today's installment, I want to talk a little bit about what bad sheds look like, how to help a snake with a bad shed, and how to make sure your snake has beautiful sheds in the future!

Dysecdysis, more commonly referred to as a bad shed or a stuck shed, is when a snake fails to shed all of its skin in one complete piece.

What causes a bad shed?

Dysecdysis is most commonly caused by poor husbandry, specifically inadequate humidity. A bad shed can also be caused by extreme stress. Severe stuck shed that has been allowed to pile up over time without providing increased humidity can result in split, cracked skin and open wounds.

Sometimes, snakes will also have bad sheds if they eat during a shed cycle, as the digestion process uses moisture. Some snakes can multi-task better than others. This varies by individual snake, but it's one reason why some keepers recommend not offering food while a snake is in shed, even if it'll take the food.

What does a bad shed look like?

Dysecdysis will look like a patch of dry, wrinkly scales. Inspect your snake's shed to make sure all of it came off, and pay special attention to the eye caps, the area under the chin, and the tail tip. It's okay if the shed tears or rips after it's off of your snake - fresh sheds are extremely fragile and easy to tear - but there should be none left on your snake.

How do you treat a bad shed?

A soak is the most common method. Find a container with a locking lid and fill it with warm (not hot) water, just enough to cover about 1/2 of the snake's body. You don't want your snake to have to be swimming. Add something for your snake to hold onto, like a rock or piece of wood, and a washcloth.

An optional step I use with particularly bad or stubborn sheds is to spray the areas of stuck shed with ZooMed's Repti Shedding Aid. Just spray and gently massage into the shed before the soak.

Put the snake into the container, and put the entire thing back into the snake's enclosure. Let them soak for about 30 minutes.

Then, remove the snake from the container and help them slither through the still-damp washcloth until the shed comes off. Don't pull it, just let it slide off.

You shouldn't have to repeat this process more than once or twice to get all the shed off. If the shed is in an area, like the head or neck, that is seriously stressing the snake when you try to remove it, it's often better to just leave it be, increase the snake's humidity, and correct husbandry so it comes off with the next shed.

How do I prevent a bad shed?

The best way to treat a bad shed is prevention. Humidity is the biggest factor when helping your snake shed. Always increase humidity during a shed cycle. If you're struggling to maintain humidity, consider switching to a humidity-retaining substrate, like cypress mulch, and make sure there's always fresh water in the enclosure.

Providing a humidity hide can also help a snake shed. Simply cut a hole into the lid of a food storage container big enough for your snake to curl up in, and fill it with damp moss.

When should I be concerned about bad sheds?

Bad sheds happen to everyone, and they're usually no more than a reminder to be diligent about increasing humidity during shed cycles.

You should only become concerned about stuck shed if your snake is continuing to shed poorly despite having appropriate humidity, or if the stuck shed is piling up and/or causing wounds in the snake's skin. Consistently poor shedding despite proper husbandry can be a sign the snake is suffering from skin diseases, parasites, or other illnesses.

[raptorsandpoultry]

Can a chicken’s gut feelings cause her to peck her flock mates?

I did my undergraduate thesis on poultry behaviour and welfare, and my research was part of a bigger project looking into feather-pecking, a serious behavioural disorder in captive chickens. It was recently published - you can give it a read here, or check out a quick summary under the cut below!

In the wild, the red junglefowl that all of today’s commercial chickens are descended from spend 60% of their waking hours foraging – scratching and pecking around in leaf litter. This tendency still persists in their domestic counterparts. But what happens to this naturally high motivation to forage under farm settings, in which egg-laying hens have little or no access to foraging substrates? It’s been suggested that foraging behaviour becomes redirected towards the feathers of other hens, and that’s when you run into a problem called feather-pecking.

Feather-pecking is a serious animal welfare concern on many commercial egg farms, and it includes abnormal behaviors such as repetitive pecking at the feathers or cloaca of other hens, the act of pulling out and consumption of these feathers, and in the most severe cases, it can lead to cannibalism. The development of this abnormal behaviour depends on a hen’s environment, as supported by numerous studies that have shown that the occurrence of feather-pecking is reduced, and subsequently feather condition scores improve, when hens are provided with things like wood shavings as a substrate, but not when they’re housed on a bare floor (this is why providing enrichment in the form of foraging toys/activities is so important if you’ve got backyard chickens!). Genetics is also an important factor, as demonstrated by studies that have created two experimental lines of hens divergently selected for high or low tendencies of feather-pecking. There are tons of hypotheses as to what exactly causes chickens to feather-peck, but there’s no solid answer yet since there are probably so many other factors at play.

Apart from having significant differences in mortality due to feather-pecking and cannibalism, some of these studies also found gastrointestinal differences between high and low feather-peckers. One of the findings was that high feather-peckers have accelerated feed passage times in comparison to low feather-peckers. This is thought to be due to the fact that high feather-peckers also eat a significantly larger number of feathers, which may enhance grinding activity of the gizzard (stomach) and promote peristaltic movements throughout the rest of the GI tract. One part of the GI tract in poultry that sets them apart from most other groups of birds are their large and well-developed caeca. The functions of these paired organs include fermentation and further digestion of food particles, especially insoluble fiber, primarily through the microbial action of bacteria. 

Given these previous findings, and the fact that cecal contractions produce mixing or stirring movements that might aid in feather digestion, researchers wondered if high feather-peckers had altered cecal motility in comparison to low feather-peckers. Specifically, we defined altered motility as any statistical difference in the average velocity, frequency, or amplitude of the contractions from normal, healthy animals, which in this case, were the hens selected for low feather-pecking. 

We found that hens who engaged in feather-pecking behaviour more often had greater contraction velocities and amplitudes than those who did it less frequently.This is consistent with results of previous studies that have looked at feather-pecking and GI tract physiology. Makes sense, given that keratin, which is the protein that makes up feathers, is not readily digestible, and may require more robust mixing and stirring activity of the ceca.  

It’s interesting to consider these results in the context of the microbiome-gut-brain axis, since previous research done in our lab found that high feather-peckers have higher microbial activity in their ceca. We know that in humans and mice, dietary changes can alter gut microbial function, which can affect GI transit and motility, and vice versa. If any of those factors change the composition of the cecal microbiome, and therefore the types of bacterial metabolites that are produced, any of those can then go on to influence behaviour.

For example, propionate, which is found in higher levels in the ceca of high feather-peckers, has been found to alter social interactions, induce hyperactivity, and increase the frequency of abnormal repetitive behaviors in rats. It’s also been implicated in the regulation of satiety, which could have an influence on foraging behaviour. I could go on forever, but that’s just one example. So, it goes without saying that the interactions between gut microbes, gut function, and behavior are all very complex, and we know even less about them in chickens than we do in mammals. This was sort of a pilot study that will hopefully pave the way for further investigations on how gut motility influences behavior, or vice versa, what the roles of specific bacterial metabolites are, and so on. It might also reveal promising targets for therapeutic strategies against feather-pecking. What we actually did after recording baseline motility was add in a probiotic, since it’s been shown that changing the gut microbiome through the use of probiotics can alleviate stress-induced gut dysmotility and behavioural anxiety in mice, among other things. While the probiotic did have a noticeable effect on gut motility, we’re not entirely sure yet what this means, and how it would translate to changes in feather-pecking behaviour. Still, it’s been really interesting so far and we’re excited to keep going forward with this work, as no one has ever looked into solving the issue of feather-pecking quite like this before!

Sources:

All references can be found at the end of the article: https://www.nature.com/articles/s41598-020-69928-6.epdf?sharing_token=4S5k7a6AmE3LWyQ5tfR6ztRgN0jAjWel9jnR3ZoTv0Ozvq_6r6IerQhqItZc7d0bjDkRMGVBbUZbfixBBTtDIZgZkUGkZuUcOWrIYmioNbq4RPKPSiQ04K9lc43k2XqYJGbrsabrWBdhu8msLeM9RHi97F9QaU7iLIkwilZ8qb8%3D

[ramblinganthropologist]

MER Week 6 - Pets

Summary: Saren is the cutest little hamster in the world if you ask his owner. However, he is also territorial as fuck and he WILL bite. Grunt’s about to learn that one the hard way. Rule for the wise kid: don’t stick your finger in a hamster’s face.

---

“Shepard.”

“Grunt… hello there.”

Ok… he’d bite. Who brought Grunt up?

Honestly, Alistair was more than a little confused right then. He had expected once they got back to the shuttle that he and the young krogan wouldn’t see much of each other. After all, he was pretty sure he bored Grunt – except for that first time with the gun. Yet there he was, standing in the entrance to his quarters, looking rather uncomfortable.

Was he being punked?

“Still in the elevator, Grunt.”

Bo’s voice called from over his shoulder. Much like a good son would, he shuffled to the side to allow her entrance. Even as large as she was, she was a little on the small side compared to the krogan. That didn’t matter of course – she was well versed in taking them down. It was why she had gone 25-0 in the ring back on Omega.

Well, at least that answered who let him up. Still didn’t answer anything else, mind you. Alistair was left watching as Bo sidled past her son and entered into his quarters. Luckily for him, his sister was direct: whatever was on her mind, he’d hear about it soon enough.

She looked around the room for a second. “Surprised Mandibles isn’t up here. Aren’t you two planning to- “

“He had calibrations to run.” Alistair’s cheeks flushed as he rushed to cut her off. Grunt snickered behind her – asshole. “Anyway, what’s brought you two up here? Everything alright after Tuchanka?”

Nothing like a krogan puberty ritual to get the blood pumping after all. Alistair was going to be having nightmares about that thresher maw for weeks, and that was if he was lucky. On the bright side, he was pretty sure it counted as exposure therapy. That was fine by him; he hadn’t done his therapy homework yet and with his workload he doubted it would happen at all. His therapist was understanding, but she was also a stickler. At least he had something to turn in the next time he saw her.

Much to his surprise, Grunt looked uncomfortable. He shifted from foot to foot, eyes darting around. Dare he say it, but to him he almost looked embarrassed. Apparently, krogan could do that as well as anyone else.

“I could have just looked on the extranet, Shepard…”

Bo shook her head, clearly amused by this. “What’s better than a real-world example? You asked about him anyway.”

She turned back to Alistair. “Grunt wanted to meet Saren after hearing you talk so much about him. Is the little guy awake or do we have to come back later?”

…

“You want to meet Saren?”

His gaze slid from the embarrassed krogan teenager to the wall on the far left. Even before he looked, Alistair had known. He knew the sound of bedding shifting anywhere, practically heard it in his sleep. That alone made him get up and take the trip to what at one time had been an aquarium.

Good thing for him he hated fish – it was perfect to make a hamster enclosure out of.

The theme that month was jungle. Among the scattered green bedding and wood chews, he found a little ball of white sitting next to his food dish, digging through the contents. At the sound of his footsteps, two red eyes focused straight on him, and some food went right into well-adapted cheek pouches.

Saren was a practical hamster like that.

“Hey, little guy.” Alistair smiled as he opened the enclosure and put his hands flat. A few moments later, the hamster was climbing up to rest between his palms, just like they had trained to do. Then he was out, held close as the Spectre returned to his desk. “Someone wants to meet you if that’s ok.”

Saren of course didn’t answer – much as breeding had improved, sentience wasn’t on the list of traits – but his eyes were bright and he seemed calm enough as he sat there, chewing at a seed from his pouch. These were good hamster introduction traits, especially considering who the interested party was.

Grunt didn’t look too impressed though. He gave the hamster a rather blunt look, then glanced over at Bo. When he didn’t get the reaction, he might have been hoping for, it went from pink to red Shepard.

Talk about being in the hot seat.

“Is it supposed to be so small?”

Alistair chuckled as he stroked Saren’s tiny head with his thumb. “Well, the European wild varieties back on earth are much bigger, but they max out at about a foot long. Saren’s a Syrian male, so he’s a fairly decent size all things considered.”

Grunt probably didn’t care about most of that – it wasn’t exactly new. However, his eyes never left the hamster. Saren either hadn’t noticed or didn’t care; he was too busy on chewing away at his seed to pay attention to the krogan. It was a feeling Alistair knew well.

He loved the little guy, but sometimes he ran hot and cold with affection.

“If you want to see him up close, come over slowly. Hamsters are prey animals, so he’s easily spooked.”

Much to his surprise, Grunt listened. He approached the desk slowly, eyes never leaving the small ball of fur in his commanding officer’s hands. He was interested, even if he wasn’t showing it on his face. No surprises there – kids loved hamsters, didn’t matter the species or the fact they were born fully grown and ready to kill. They just did.

“Why did you name it Saren?”

Now Alistair was chuckling again as he watched the hamster continue to chew. “You’re going to have to ask Bo about that, she’s the one who got him for me.”

Bo’s answer came quickly as she observed the introduction. “They said he was a biter and ate a cage mate. Made me think of the real Saren.”

Well, made sense he supposed…

“They eat each other?” Grunt’s tone was definitely more interested with that. Now they were getting somewhere. “That means they fight.”

Alistair nodded as he made sure Saren stayed in his hands. “Yep. They’re fiercely territorial. It’s why you have to house them separately. Hamsters kept together can fight, sometimes to the death even. This little guy had some healed scars when I got him, so he’s been through it. I guess Omega and the Citadel gift shop share husbandry tendencies…”

His voice trailed off. Grunt hadn’t taken his eyes off Saren the entire time he had been talking. There was curiosity there and a raw interest. That made the Spectre smile as he slowly brought his hands within range, eyeing his hamster’s body language the entire time.

“You can say hello if you want, he’s pretty calm right now.”

To his credit, the krogan didn’t retreat. However, there was some definite anxiety there. He briefly glanced back at Bo, and then he returned to keeping his eyes on Saren. Finally, he managed a brief nod and came a little closer.

“Do I just stick my hand out?” A finger got a little too close to Saren. Before Alistair could warn him, the hamster eyed it and did what he always did when someone got into his space without proper caused. Tiny teeth were soon chomped down hard in the classic signs of hamster bite.

It probably wouldn’t hurt a krogan, mind you. They were tough.

“Grunt, don’t pull your hand away. He’ll go with you and he’ll fall.”

The krogan shot Saren a dirty look as he watched the hamster bite down. “That does nothing to me, rodent.”

Saren, naturally, didn’t care. Alistair’s hands were part of his territory. More importantly, Grunt was big and round. Honestly, he wouldn’t have been surprised if the hamster thought he was an overgrown member of his species. Add a little fur, and he could honestly see it. He’d never say that of course – Wrex would hate it.

“He’s just defending what’s his. All he has is his teeth.” Alistair kept his voice level as he gently rubbed the hamster’s head with his thumb. “Come on, buddy, he’s not going to hurt you. You can let go now.”

After a few more moments, Saren let go. He went back to his abandoned seed, but his eyes never left the krogan. Grunt was in a similar mood, eyeing up the hamster with a rather brutal gaze. At least he had the good sense to take his hand back, the offended digit tucked away.

Bo’s voice carried over the chaos. “So… what did you learn, Grunt?”

“Don’t stick my finger in an animal’s face…”

There was a definite sulk to his tone. It was strangely cute, in a weird sort of way. Meanwhile, Alistair was just glad he hadn’t pulled back. Saren may have trusted him, but he would’ve gone for a ride. Then he would’ve had to eject Grunt out the airlock if anything happened.

Was he biased towards his hamster? Absolutely.

“It’s his way of making sure his space is safe. I used to get bit a lot when we were establishing ground rules.” He stood, crossing the room to return Saren to his enclosure in case he was overwhelmed. Much to his surprise, Saren didn’t burrow under the substrate as he often did to hide his food. Instead, he stayed on top, eyeing Grunt. “Huh… how about that.”

Grunt gave Saren the exact same look. “Your hamster’s hungry for battle.”

In another surprise, the krogan smirked. “Shepard was right, Saren is appropriate for a warship.”

Well… there was a stamp of approval he hadn’t seen coming. Maybe pigs would start flying…

Alistair at least managed a nod. “He’s territorial, it’s part of the breed.”

“Don’t sell the little guy short, he took a krogan on full force.” Bo was definitely amused as she surveyed Grunt’s finger. There was a definite scuff there – Saren had left his mark. “Damn, little guy bit down hard. The hell are you feeding him, concrete?”

Oh… just lab block, some seeds, extra protein if the mix didn’t come up right…

“He’s got a nasty bite; I’ll give him that.” And he was also done with the room – Saren was soon digging back under the substrate. “He’ll be out for a while; he has food to hide and some sleep to catch up on.”

His gaze found Grunt soon after. “Well, I hope he lived up to your expectations. If you want to come visit again, just let me know.”

“As long as you don’t try to convert him to the gospel of hamster.”

He made no promises there. Anyone who could be swayed, he would sway. That’s what it meant to have a hamster as cute as Saren.

Still, at least Grunt didn’t seem too upset about the bite as he nodded. Maybe it had taught him not to fuck with small animals -a win in his book. At any rate, it felt as though things were ending.

“I might.” And then he was heading to the door. Soon he was gone, leaving Bo and Alistair alone. As soon as he was out of hearing range, the larger of the two Shepards slumped down on his cough, doing her best not to laugh.

She did alright, but he failed miserably.

“God, that was fucking adorable.” Alistair wiped a tear from his eye as he chuckled. “I mean, apart from when I thought Grunt was going to toss my hamster.”

Bo nodded, snickering a little. “Yeah, he’s been wanting to come up for a while but he couldn’t figure out how to ask you. I agreed to be a buffer after it took him a half hour to spit it out. You might have just converted him to the dark side.”

Apparently, he was a sith now. Just because his face glowed red…

But still. Alistair nodded as he glanced back at the enclosure. He could see Saren’s tail from a gap in the bedding – he was pressed against the glass, no doubt making himself comfortable for a long nap. He’d had a long day after all – he’d just taken on a krogan.

“I think if he’s a little slower next time, they’ll get along just fine. Maybe I’ll give him a couple seeds to try.”

Baby steps, after all. Rome wasn’t built in a day and becoming friends with a hamster was just as detailed and complex. If Grunt put the effort in, he could see them getting along great. Hell, he might even get a new Saren sitter out of it.

He needed one of those. His normal ones went on missions went with him half the time.

“Thanks for letting him try. I knew Saren would be tough enough to handle him, little dude’s from Omega after all.”

Terminus system, born and bred – it was in his DNA. He’d never be as sweet as some hamsters, but that was part of his charm. It made their moments together even more special in his mind, honestly. He’d managed to get an Omega resident to let him pet him – that was a win in his book.

“Just let me know the next time he wants to come up.” Alistair returned to his desk – he still had work to do. “Now, unless you want to work on these reports…”

And just like that, he was alone as Bo beat a quick retreat out the door. He shook his head, chuckling once more as he went back to his reports. Still, he kept an eye on the glass enclosure across from him. Somewhere inside, the toughest hamster Omega ever bred was enjoying his rest. Maybe he was dreaming of fighting krogan, who knew?

One thing was for sure – they had definitely started on Grunt’s conversion to the dark side. Excellent. He had wanted an apprentice one day.

[katalyna-rose]

Kat’s Rat Shopping List

I’ve gotten a few requests for a shopping list of my rat setup (tagging @collapseofthesky because they requested this, specifically, but I’ve had a few others message me), so I thought I’d give it a try and also add a few explanations for why I do some things the way I do. As such, this is going to be a very long post and is therefore under a cut. There will be a basic shopping list without all the explanations at the very end of the post under TL;DR if you don’t care about the rest or whatever.

I had a lot of fun with this and spent way more time on it than I meant to, and might be open to doing more of this kind of thing in the future.

Cage

First up, the cage. Obviously. I’ve said it before but it’s a Double Critter Nation and a Single Critter Nation with the side panels removed and zip tied together. These are sometimes sold in pet stores (the locally owned pet store I prefer has them in stock). I bought mine online because of a really good sale, but you can sometimes get really lucky and find them for resale on Facebook Marketplace or Craigslist for super cheap. I love this cage because the whole front opens up and that makes it super accessible and easy to clean, decorate, and get to my pets wherever they may be. It’s also huge!

US minimum for rat cages is 2 cubic feet per rat, with a minimum of two rats because rats cannot be housed alone as they are extremely social animals. No, human companionship is not enough, rats need same-age, same-species companionship at all times. Please be aware, as well, that minimums are not the ideal to strive for. Whatever space you intend to dedicate to your rats, fill it! Fill it all up! And if you don’t have enough space for a large cage, don’t get rats. My setup, with the Home Depot/Lowe’s large cement mixing tubs in the bottom, is roughly 45 cubic feet of space. If we’re looking at minimums, this means I could house 22 rats! There’s no way that 22 rats could ever actually be comfortable in my setup. It would be insane, chaotic, and extremely messy. So why would 2 rats be comfortable in 4 cubic feet? They wouldn’t. More space is always better, hard stop.

Also remember that wire cages with bar spacing of no more than an inch for adult rats and no more than half an inch for small or young rats is a must. Tanks are absolutely not recommended for rats due to poor ventilation, which will cause respiratory issues and allow ammonia to build up much faster.

Bedding

This is different from nesting. Yes, it is. Bedding is the substrate used at the bottom of the cage or on shelves to catch errant droppings and urine, and is generally left where it is by the rats because they have no interest in it.

My main bedding is pine wood horse stall pellets. They are as dust free as the alternatives like shavings or paper pellets, and combine the best aspects of both those types of bedding with the ammonia-neutralizing effects of wood shavings and the compact, easy-to-clean nature of pellets. I love them. I also get them super hilariously cheap from Tractor Supply Co, so despite it being a little bit of a drive for me (about an hour round trip) the fact that it’s half the price of the next cheapest option more than makes up for it. I buy a bunch all at once and currently have a few bags left in my trunk because I didn’t have enough closet space for them. It’s great stuff. It crumbles when wet so it helps me keep track of how much and where they’re urinating, and it’s easy to spot clean those areas in between deep cleans.

When choosing a wood, if that’s the route you want to go, remember to check what is safe to use. Pine is only safe when it’s kiln-dried, since it contains fragrant oils that can cause respiratory issues in rats, mice, and hamsters. Some people will advise you to stay away from it entirely, and that’s fine, but since pine is often the cheapest option it’s not always viable. Aspen is a safe wood, but harder to find in pellet form and slightly more expensive as shavings. I use aspen shavings in my litter trays. Cedar wood is NEVER safe, no matter how it’s treated. I don’t think cedar is ever safe no matter what for any animal it’s marketed to, actually. It’ll cause respiratory distress in rats, mice, and hamsters, and guinea pigs and rabbits should never be on shavings regardless though I’m pretty sure they’ll still experience respiratory distress. The oils naturally in the wood are not safe, do not use cedar. Also make sure your bedding is as dust-free as possible, also for respiratory reasons. If you have a small animal, their respiratory system is extremely delicate, and that’s just a fact of pet ownership that you should have learned before getting a pet when you were researching how to care for it.

Since I have two shelves in my cage and they are both shallow to the point of not even having a lip (Critter Nation’s only flaw is the trays that come with the cage), I line my shelves with fleece over an appropriately sized bath mat. Fleece makes a great shelf liner, but I don’t recommend using it in the entire cage because it gets dirty really fast and most rats will chew it up, so you’ll both be changing it every other day and going through it super fast as it is destroyed. However, it makes great shelf liners, especially when very little of the shelf is actually available to the rats like in my setup, where the shelves are mostly covered in other things. Remember that fleece must always be lined with an absorbent layer underneath because the fleece itself allows liquid to pass right through it. That’s the point: the fleece stays relatively clean and dry while the absorbent layer takes all the gross stuff away. Towels are generally not recommended for this because rats can get their nails stuck in the fabric and rip them out, which is painful and distressing for the rat and also you. Anything super absorbent with a really tight weave will do lovely here, hence the low pile bath mats I use. I get them for one or two dollars at Ikea and wash them every week. I keep several around to rotate through. The fleece I use is also a fleece blanket from Ikea for a couple bucks that I cut into four sections because that rendered it the perfect size to tuck around the shelves. This makes my bedding extremely cheap, and that makes me happy because I can spend that money on enrichment instead.

Nesting

This is the material that the rats like to push around, dig in, and sleep in. It’s important to provide soft but preferably absorbent materials for the rats to nest in because it’s enriching, comfortable, and helps them regulate body temperature. Multiple types of nesting are recommended for enrichment purposes. Rats like texture! I use unscented, unlotioned tissues as a main nesting material for within their hides because they’re cheap, safe, absorbent, and soft. I bought 30 boxes of 100 tissues each for super cheap online, but you can also buy dollar store tissues or whatever you have access to. Just make sure they don��t have scents or lotions, because those are not safe for your rats’ delicate respiratory systems. The empty boxes (plastic removed) can also be given for the rats to chew up and play in, or you can save them up to DIY some fun toys later, which is what I’m doing.

I also have two dig boxes, which will also go under the enrichment section. The bins I got for cheap from Target, but obviously you can get bins wherever you want to get bins. Just measure to make sure they fit in your cage properly. The only dig box I want to talk about in this section is the hay box, because the dirt is not actually a nesting material but rather an enriching one. So, hay. My girls love this stuff so much that they drag it all over the cage to shove it into all their sleeping areas. They build actual rat nests in the box, tunnel through it, stash food in it, shred it for fun, and generally spend as much time as possible with the hay. I use oat hay for the seed heads that provide additional enrichment and snacks because the rats have to get to the seeds in order to eat them. If you are feeding a low-quality diet to your rats, do not use oat hay because they’ll fill up on seeds instead of eating their nutritionally-balanced food and that is not good. My rats love their food so much that the seeds are a sometimes snack that I don’t need to regulate because they do it themselves. Any good quality hay will do for a hay box, however, and timothy hay tends to be the cheapest option. Just make sure it’s not super low quality, because low quality hay tends to be dusty. As mentioned previously several times, rats have delicate respiratory systems and dust is bad for them. I buy my hay from Small Pet Select because I like supporting small business, ethical business, and businesses that provide excellent products. They are, however, primarily a rabbit site. I keep hoping they’ll expand the other sections of their shop. Also, make sure your rats aren’t trying to eat the hay. This is highly unlikely because rats are smart and know what’s edible and what isn’t, and hay is not edible for rats. If for some reason your rats are eating hay, do not give them a hay box.

Other nesting options I’ve used in the past include cut up bits of fleece, cut up old clothes you might have lying around, and generally just bits of fabric. Just remember to change out/wash them regularly. Ammonia will build up, and once again that’s bad for your rats’ respiratory systems.

Hides and Hammocks

Rats are prey animals. Surprise! As such, they need plenty of places to hide and feel safe. Rats love small, dark places to rest in. Much like many introverted humans, myself included! Make sure to include plenty of hides all over the cage. Variety is excellent here for enrichment reasons. My rats absolutely love Space Pods! Lixit makes the ones I use, but there’s also a brand called Sputnik that’s basically the same thing. I’ve never seen them in stores, but they’re all over the internet. For rats, make sure you get the large size. Honestly I wish it was larger than it is, but oh well. The girls love it anyway. I kept getting sent only the bottom halves, which is why I have two half space pods in my cage. I got a refund or replacement on both because it’s not what I paid for, but, like… I received the usable half, so I’m gonna use it. The girls don’t like to sleep in them without the covers, but they’ll hang out in there and clean themselves, and they climb through them to get from one spot to another.

In addition to the space pods, I also have various other hides. Lixit also makes a pill-shaped plastic hide that I keep on the shelf over the dirt box. They used to use it a lot more than they do now, and I’m not entirely sure why. Even so, they still use it! I also have a woven grass tent that they enjoy, and a cork log. Neither of those are really for sleeping, but they do hide in them sometimes and generally like to hang out there.

Hammocks are great, and also available in wide variety all over the internet and in stores. My favorite banana hammock was just retired, but I intend to get another. The girls loved it and so did I! Hammocks come in all sorts of shapes and sizes, and can pull double duty as both a place to sleep and a way to break up the cage so there aren’t any dead drops where your rats can fall from a height and hurt themselves. Fill your cage with hammocks! All the hammocks! Support small creators by buying homemade hammocks! Learn to make them yourself! They’re cheap and easy! Hammocks are great.

Enrichment Part 1: Levels

Rats are climbers. Rats need vertical space as well as horizontal space. Rats are sometimes clumsy idiots who fall off of things. As such, all vertical space must be filled with all kinds of fall breakers. As mentioned before, hammocks are great for this. So are ladders, bridges, ropes, and that Ikea tie hanger I have strung across the back of my cage. If your rat falls from anywhere in the cage, make sure there’s something to catch them!

Also make sure there’s something to do on all the levels of the cage, even if that thing to do is just get from one level to the next. Rats are dexterous and adventurous. Ramps are boring because they’re easy. If you have sick or injured rats, absolutely use ramps! Accessibility matters! If your rats are of sound body, however, make them work for it. Lava ledges and bird perches make great alternatives to ramps. Screw them into the cage walls and watch your rats hop around! They love it. Ladders are also fun, especially if they’re not used the way ladders are meant to be used. Suspend them from things, put them at weird angles, just make sure they’re secure. I get a lot of my levels from the bird aisle at the pet store (or virtual pet store). Be aware that sometimes your rats are going to prefer to climb directly on the bars of the cage. That’s normal! The bars are there, so the rats will climb them. That’s all there is to it!

Climbing frames like the wooden wine rack from Ikea that I have in the bottom of my cage are also good to have. My girls love it, and it does double duty as a chew toy.

Enrichment Part 2: Chewing

Contrary to popular belief and old science, rats do not actually require chews to keep their teeth trimmed. Rats trim their own teeth by bruxing, or grinding their teeth together. This does not, however, negate the need for chews. Rats like to chew! What your rat likes to chew best is entirely subjective. Some rats love wood and sticks, some rats will always chew fabric over anything else, some rats will never chew fabric. Every rat is different! Try as much variety as you can and keep stocked up on the things your rats like best. My rats really like woven grass, and I try to keep at least a couple different kinds around for them. I keep a grass mat on a shelf that they like to pull apart, and the woven grass tent will likely have a short lifespan, as well. There’s a woven grass tunnel thing that they’ve put into the dirt box and are slowly but systematically shredding. My girls also like willow sticks, so I’ve got a couple hanging toys of willow that are very slowly being chewed because there’s so much else to chew. The wooden bridges see a fair bit of chewing, and even the lava ledges get chewed on the edges. My girls also love destroying rattan and wicker balls. I bought a bunch of them for cheap and toss a new one in there about every week or so. They love them. I also got a couple things from Small Pet Select like a pine cone, a bit of natural loofah, and a dried okra pod. So far the okra pod has seen the most action and is shredded halfway to infinity. I think they like that it has seeds inside, but the others get chewed sometimes, too. There’s enough variety in my setup that everything lasts a decently long time. Except the rattan balls.

Enrichment Part 3: Digging

As much as rats like to climb, they also like to dig. That’s why it’s highly recommended to have a dig box. Safe substrate is important here. If you’re going with potting soil, make sure it’s just dirt and doesn’t contain any fertilizer. Personally, I found potting soil to be kind of annoying a little expensive. I prefer coconut soil. I use Exo Terra terrarium soil, which is sold in compacted blocks that you have to hydrate. I use two thirds of the recommended water because my rats don’t need humidity. I use three blocks per dig box, and replace the soil every month because the girls will do their business in it sometimes, leave food in it, leave bits of tissue or hay or various shredded chews. Basically, the dirt gets dirty in bad ways and needs to be replaced sometimes. It can also grow things if left too long because of the humidity (which will be a problem regardless of the type of substrate being used). So every deep clean, both dig boxes get emptied, wiped out, and refilled.

The hay box gets an honorable mention here, since it pulls double duty as both nesting and digging. Triple duty, really, since it’s also a forage toy.

Enrichment Part 4: Misc

Yeah, I didn’t know what category to put this under, so here we are. Litter boxes! No, seriously, this counts as enrichment. Training your rats, whether it’s to do tricks or just poop where you want them to, counts as enrichment. Rats are incredibly smart! They’re at least as trainable as the average dog, especially if they come from an ethical breeder who breeds for health and temperament (let me just slide a reminder not to buy live animals from pet stores that source from highly unethical breeding mills in right here; please support ethical breeders and rescues), and will happily take to any training. Remember that positive reinforcement is the only ethical way to train an animal. Treats are great for this, and your pet will love you even more because every living thing loves food. My rats actually didn’t require much training for their litter trays. Make sure that whatever you’re lining the litter trays with is not the same as their normal bedding. If you’re using aspen shavings in the main cage, use pine in the litter trays, or literally any distinct safe bedding. I use shavings in my litter trays and pellets in my main cage. This helps the rats distinguish the litter trays from the rest of the cage and makes it easier to identify where to do their business versus where not to do so. When you first put the litter trays in, just go in at least once a day and toss any poops you see into the tray. If you see your rats using the litter tray, offer a treat while they’re doing so. Rats are extremely clean animals and they like their mess contained as much as you do. It would not be possible for me to only deep clean once a month if I didn’t have litter trays that I clean out about twice a week (or more, if necessary) to get rid of the majority of the mess and smell. I’d be deep cleaning every two weeks at least without them, so the litter trays are a great investment overall. Your rats will never be perfect about using them, because they’re still rats, but they’ll help a great deal.

Also under this section are forage toys! Do not feed your rats from a simple bowl, it’s boring and encourages stashing, which means you’ll never know when they’ve actually run out of food because they’re just going to pick it up and take it somewhere else and have a great big hoard that you’ll find on deep clean day. You can definitely scatter feed, that’s enriching as well because it makes the rats go looking for their food, but forage toys are the ultimate way to feed your rats, I think. I mostly don’t get my forage toys from the small animal aisle. I do have one that’s small animal specific, a little ball that they roll around the get the food out. I also have some marketed for cats, and some marketed for birds. Having multiple kinds is really helpful. I’ve also noticed that while some stashing still occurs, it’s greatly reduced. I refill the toys as they empty and everyone’s happy.

Food/Water

What you feed your rats is extremely important, obviously. Many commercially available pellet foods marketed for rats are actually extremely not good for rats. The same is true cat and dog food. It is a sad fact that the companies that make these foods tend to be far more interested in their bottom line than the health of your pet. As such, do your research! Always do your research! Know what’s in the food and what your animal should be eating, and try to match those two things up as closely as possible. In the UK rat owners typically will avoid pellet foods and prefer homemade mixes for these reasons, but making your own mix is not always feasible and can be tricky if you don’t know what you’re doing. Most US rat owners tend toward pellets because it’s a lot harder to mess up the balance of nutrients when it’s done for you. Also, the UK does not have Oxbow, which is one of the most popular brands of healthy rat food. It’s the brand that I use, and my rats adore it. Mazuri is another popular and healthy option, but my rats prefer Oxbow over anything else. I kind of want to try making my own mix at some point, but I’m not sure I ever will. Like with most of my rat supplies, I buy food in bulk because it’s cheaper. A 20 lb bag of Oxbow Essentials Adult Rat food runs me about 40 bucks. Be careful to buy adult rat food, even for baby rats, because any food that says Young Rat and Mouse is not going to have the appropriate balance of fat and protein even for young rats. Adult food will do just fine for babies, too. If you want to add some extra protein to their diet, try a boiled egg or bits of meat every now and then, but it’s probably not necessary as long as they’re getting enough food and some extra fruits and veggies now and then. If you want to try making a mix, do so much research before you try it, and make sure your ingredients are good quality.

Rats should also receive other foods in addition to their pellet or main food. Rats are omnivores and love fresh veggies, fruits, milk, eggs, and meat! Make sure you research safe foods before giving them to your rats, as not everything is safe. If you adopt your rats from an ethical breeder, they should have resources available to you on what’s safe and healthy. If you rescue, you can still reach out to established ethical breeders for tips and tricks, or find lists online as you do your research. Some veggies are only safe cooked, some parts of certain plants are unsafe while others are safe, and some foods are only safe for males or females but not the other sex (citrus and mango are the ones I remember that fall into that category). Just do your research and try to keep processed foods away from your rats. Sodium is also not good for them. Any raw meat or fish should be frozen and then thawed before being fed to your rats to kill any potential contaminants. Like always, do your research first!

Rats obviously require water, as well. Water bottles tend to be the most widely accepted way to give rats water, because they don’t evaporate and are easy to keep clean. I, however, have a terrible time with bottles, and they always leak or break. Thus, I have opted for water bowls instead. The girls love them more than the bottles I’ve used in the past, and they’re a little more enriching, as well. The only downside is that I have to wash them out daily. But since I spot clean daily anyway, I don’t mind at all.

First Aid Kit

Any responsible pet owner should always keep a first aid kit around, no matter what kind of pet they have. Pet owners who have particularly vulnerable pets should especially be careful to make sure they have a well-stocked first aid kit. This should include single-use sterile syringes without needles, gauze pads, vet wrap, infant/toddler ibuprofen or acetaminophen, medical tape, cat nail trimmers, and probiotic powder like Benebac. But most importantly, it should include the phone number and location of a vet that will see and treat rats. Have a vet picked out that you have confirmed will see and treat your pets BEFORE getting pets. If an emergency arises and you’re suddenly scrambling for a vet last second, not only do you waste precious time getting your pet the help they need but you may find out too late that the nearest rat-friendly vet is too far away. That means your pet will suffer unnecessarily and you are an irresponsible pet owner. Hard stop. If there is no vet within reach that will see rats, do not get rats. Rats will require a vet trip at least once in their lives, since all rats are extremely prone to respiratory illness. Sometimes this happens for no reason at all, because all rats possess a bacteria in their respiratory systems called mycoplasma. There’s no way to get rid of it and nothing you can do about it except make sure your rats live in a clean, well-ventilated environment with safe bedding and materials. Even with all this, sometimes your rats will get sick. That’s normal! Just make sure you can take care of them when it happens. As such, make sure you have a vet fund at all times of at least a couple hundred dollars, in addition to a well-stocked first aid kit and the name and location of an appropriate vet.

It’s also beneficial and enriching to syringe train your rats. What this means is putting a liquid treat like baby food, yogurt, or apple sauce into a syringe and giving it to your rats. This teaches the rats that the syringe is a good thing so that if you ever need to give them medicine from the syringe (rat medicine tends to be oral and dissolved in a liquid solution, so those needle-less syringes will be necessary) they’re more likely to take the medicine with minimum complaints.

Storage

Maybe it goes without saying, but you also need places to put all of the things for your rats. Keep your first aid kit in a box to itself so you always know where it is, and organize your supplies appropriately. I really like Ikea bins for my bedding and food and other dry bulk items, and I keep a lot of my smaller stuff on a shelf at the foot of my bed. Work with the space you have, and plan appropriately.

And thus concludes this extremely long explanation of the bare basics of healthy rat living. Really, this is the bare basics and not even remotely comprehensive of the options available. Be creative when shopping, and definitely look outside of the small animal aisle at your local pet store because it will not contain anywhere near all of what you need.

TL;DR: A Basic Shopping List of My Specific Setup

-Double Critter Nation

-Single Critter Nation

-Zip ties

-2 Large sized cement mixing tubs from Home Depot/Lowe’s

-Pine wood horse stall pellets

-Low pile bath mats, enough to rotate while washing

-Fleece blanket, cut in quarters to fit shelves, enough to rotate while washing

-Bins to hold digging substrate

-Oat hay from Small Pet Select or Oxbow

-Exo Terra coconut fiber terrarium soil

-Lixit Critter Space Pods, large

-Lixit Small Animal Hideout

-Woven grass mat

-Woven grass tent

-Woven grass tube

-Rattan/wicker balls, lots

-Willow stick hanging toys

-Natural loofah

-Sanitized (and therefore safe) pine cone

-Dried okra pod

-Dog ropes

-Wooden bendy bridges

-C-clips, both the kind meant for shower curtains and smaller ones marketed for kids, for hanging things

-Hammocks. All the hammocks. From everywhere hammocks are sold.

-3 (sometimes 4) Ware Scatterless Lock-n-Litter Small Animal Litter Pan, Regular

-Ikea tie hanger

-Ikea wine rack

-Ikea storage bins

-Forage toys

-Oxbow Essentials Adult Rat food

-Ceramic (and therefore tip-proof) water bowls, and/or bowls that can be attached to the cage

-Sterile single-use syringes without needles

-Gauze

-Vet wrap

-Medical tape

-Infant/toddler ibuprofen/acetaminophen

-Cat nail trimmer

-Probiotic powder like Benebac

-The phone number and location of a rat-friendly vet

-A vet fund of at least a couple hundred dollars

A final note before the end: Always remember to do your research before getting pets, do not get pets if you cannot provide a good life for them with MORE THAN the bare minimum requirements for safe and healthy pets, do not buy live animals from pet stores unless it’s part of a rescue program, don’t take the word of just one person as law, don’t be afraid to ask questions respectfully, and always seek new ways to improve your pet care. This has been a PSA from your friendly small animal enthusiast.

[betta-every-day]

Fishie Transport

College dorming season is coming up in a few months! Whether you are going to school or changing homes, taking good care of your fishie friends is super important! A lot of people may be daunted by transporting fish and aquariums. It's no walk in the park, but it may not be as difficult as it sounds :) I'm going to explain in this post how I have been transporting my 5 gallon aquarium to my college (a 7+ hour drive!)

My method is this:

1. Bag the media in some old tank water. You may have a slight die off, but from my experience the bacteria are much more resilient than people think and will quickly recolonize when reintroduced to the tank

2. Drain almost all of the water from the aquarium. Please don't carry an aquarium full of water; it's super heavy and even on small tanks you risk the bottom glass cracking under the weight.

3. Separate betta and inverts into different holding cups with lids (good idea with aggressive fish). This is temporary. If you are going on a much longer trip, I would suggest bringing one of those tiny bottles of prime to do water changes. I use a literal cup that can fit in a car cupholder so the fish can stay upright.

4. If I have some really tall plants, I have removed them before and placed them in ziplock bags with some water. Do the plants hate it and throw a melting tantrum when replanted? Sometimes. However, it is much better to bag them then let them dry out in my experience.

5. I remove any big rocks that I am worried about cracking the glass if they shift while driving, but LEAVE THE SUBSTRATE (may not want to do this for larger tanks). I recommend taking a picture before you disassemble the aquarium if you are hoping to later replicate the look.

6. I lay plastic food wrap (cling wrap? Whatever it's called) over the substrate in the tank to keep the moisture in. I also might leave low plants if I can submerge all the leaves in a little tiny bit of water, but remember this adds weight. I also usually put paper towels over it too and on the sides (to prevent scratching on the glass), and then pack hardware inside the tank on top of it.

7. I pack all of my fish related stuff, tank included, into a big styrofoam cooler. Think they're decently cheap on Amazon. It puts my mind at ease about leaking water in the car, and can probably be easily substituted. I also place old towels around the aquarium to protect the outer glass, and make sure everything is packed relatively tight so nothing will be moving around a ton while driving.

That's my method. Also, I would like to recommend this post in addition to mine. This was a post I initially used when I was trying to figure out how to transport my fish when I first started.

Fun additional fact: you can take fish on airplanes. While I don't recommend transporting whole tanks because I've never done it, my fish have been through the airport several times with me and it always makes everyone laugh :)

[dads-frosty-beers]

Interesting little fact about the HP Indigo (12000HD in this case) and how it applies ink and deals with color registration.

This example is being printed under EPM (Enhanced Production Mode. Usually presses use the CMYK color model. This eliminates K/Black and boosts the density of CMY to emulate black.)

In the first example, you can see the registration of CMY is out of register, along the sheet (gripper to tail). This example was taken at the tail of the sheet, as the gripper had perfect registration.

In the second example, you can see near perfect color registration across and along the sheet. This example was also taken at the tail of the sheet.

-

So what’s happening?

Well, on an Indigo Press, there is only one plate cylinder. (where as your conventional offset presses would have multiple stations, thus multiple plates for each separation.) So only having 1 plate means each color is applied in sequence to each other. Each color is burned into the plate temporarily, the plate receives ink from its respective BID (Binary Ink Developer), the ink is offset onto the blanket cylinder, in which the blanket cylinder applies the ink onto the sheet that is gripped on the impression cylinder. This process is repeated 3 times for EPM, or 4 times for CMYK.

Anyways, both the blanket cylinder and the impression cylinder are heated, to around 110 degrees Celsius. This is pretty hot! It makes sure the ink adheres to the substrate.

So what you’re seeing in example 1 is basically thermal shock. The paper hitting such a hot cylinder, gripped ONLY on one side wants to expand outwards! Well since the gripper side of the sheet, is gripped, it won’t expand. But the tail end of the sheet is free to expand.

There is a certain point where the substrate can no longer accept any more energy (heat energy) and will stop expanding, finding equilibrium.

Registration on this press, is all handled by a camera within the press and is automatic, every sheet gets scanned and any adjustments are made on the fly by the computer. What it can’t account for is the expansion of the substrate. This is easily fixed though.

I explained earlier that every color is applied in sequence, one by one. What was done, was adding a null cycle before Side 2/B is printed. Basically allowing the sheet to expand before any ink is applied to the sheet.

You can see in example 2 that registration is near perfect, as we allowed the sheet to expand and find its thermal equilibrium before applying any ink.

Although, the more colors/null cycles added will slow down print time. As EVERY cycle (ink/null) adds time on to the print.

We essentially “slowed down” the press to allow the sheet time to expand.

Fun stuff, printing is.

[adamn8ah]

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After the initial idea and/or sketch is developed, it’s time to start work on the digital model. Using CAD (Computer-Aided Design) software, the 3d designer will make a digital render of your jewelry.

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In most modern jewelry production, the manufacturer uses a 3d printing machine to print a wax model made out of resin, which usually doesn’t take more than 48 hours.

The Rubber Mold

The original model is encased in plaster-like investment, which is specially created for jewelry making. After the investment sets, the encased wax model is burned away in an oven, leaving a jewelry-shaped void in the hardened investment. That space is filled with silver, forming a slightly smaller duplicate of the original wax design, which is polished to perfection. The silver master model is then packed into a fat sandwich of special mold rubber and squeezed tight under high heat and pressure until it forms a solid block. The rubber forms itself around the master model, creating a perfect three-dimensional impression of the piece of jewelry. The rubber is cut in half to remove the silver master. Then the rubber is put back together and hot wax is injected through a hole in the rubber to fill the ring-shaped space inside, forming a wax reproduction of the master model (but a bit smaller).

The Wax Tree

To finally turn wax into gold, a number of wax models, usually 10 or 20 are placed on a large branching wax tree. Positioning each piece on the tree must be done carefully, thicker pieces will go on the bottom, thinner on the top and the joint where the piece is joined to each branch must be positioned in a thick place in the design, where there is no detail, like the back of a ring. When the tree is complete, the whole wax structure is placed in a flask.

STEP 3: CASTING THE WAX MODEL INTO METAL

The jewelry goes through the casting process. At this stage, your piece starts looking more like the jewelry you might see in a store. The wax is melted away and is replaced with your metal of choice in molten form, usually gold, silver, or platinum. The metal then dries into the shape of your jewelry. This technique is called “lost wax” casting.

STEP 4: THE PRE-POLISH

First, the jewelry has to be removed from the branch, or sprue, that held it to the tree in the mold. It is then is tumbled into smoothness, sometimes sanded, lapped to make edges crisp, and then buffed by hand on a polishing wheel.

STEP 5: BASIC JEWELRY ASSEMBLY

After your jewelry passes through the design and casting stage, the final fabrication can take anywhere from 3 days to 3 weeks. At this point, the jeweler refines the main structure of your ring, necklace, or another piece.

STEP 6: THE STONE SETTING PROCESS

For this step, the diamond setter finally adds the diamonds or other gemstones onto your piece. He carefully sets the central stone into the mount. If side stones are involved, the setter needs to hand drill for these before setting. Using a microscope, they then set each separate stone.

STEP 7: POLISHING, FINISHING, AND QUALITY ASSURANCE

In the final stage, a polisher works to make sure the metal is polished to perfection so it’s as shiny as possible. Or it only needs a light final polish to bring out the luster and shine of the gold. This is done by putting a fine red jeweler’s rouge on a soft cotton cloth and buffing the piece by hand, making sure that all the details and highlights shine. Finally, the jewelry is inspected and each detail is analyzed to make sure production was successful.

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[quillyleaf]

fish anon again ^^ thanks for replying to my ask!

basically, my mom and i were given an aquarium from a friend, and we wanna get some fish for it, but have no idea how to choose. are there any types you would recommend for some first time fish owners? any tips? and if you have resources yes pls i'd love for you to share them !!!

have a nice day <3

Hello again!!

I decided to put a quick summary up at the top because this got super long:

Before you get the fish:

What’s your tank size?

Get a filter that fits

Get a heater that fits (and a thermometer)

Get enough substrate for the tank size (natural coloured is best)

Get your decorations (live/silk plants are great! Driftwood and natural stones, too!)

Research what fish can live well in that tank size (and which ones would get along if you’re getting multiple!)

CYCLE YOUR TANK

There are a bunch of “starting a new tank” chemicals that kickstart the cycle that can shorten this cycle from weeks to a few days

Adding in hardy and small fish (tetras, barbs, platys/mollies/guppies) can also help the cycle go faster

“Cycling a tank” is basically just getting the chemicals inside the water to a stable level. Most importantly, you want NO AMMONIA.

Fish! Recommendations!

(Be aware I have limited experience here)

Small, hardy fish are best for beginners, but you can definitely get something else if you do your research: Tetras, barbs, most livebearers (like guppies, swordtails, platys, and mollies)

Cleanup crew! Fish that will cleanup algae and leftover food: Snails, shrimp, algae eaters, plecos, loaches

Flashy highlight fish! If you plan on these, I recommend choosing just ONE and basing all the other fish in the tank on what gets along with them. Flashy fish can be very aggressive, so beware! Bettas, gouramis, cichlids (I know nothing about cichlids, I might be very wrong), that sort of thing

Goldfish are great if you just want one type of fish, and only one or a few to focus on, but beware: THEY WILL EAT ANYTHING SMALLER THAN THEM.

I personally recommend KGTropicals Fish Keeping 101 Playlist if you like clear and comprehensive youtube videos. Specifically, their video for new fishkeepers is a nice starter!

Also: MAKE SURE YOU COMPLETELY CYCLE YOUR AQUARIUM BEFORE YOU ADD (most) FISH.

After you watch through that new fishkeepers video, here’s some tips for possible fish! (Under the cut ‘cause this is longggg.)

Firstly, disclaimer: I only have experience with some limited fish types, so I’ll give some info on those!

I have two bettas in a divided ten gallon tank. It’s divided in half, so it’s technically two five gallons! Originally I had one in a community tank (with other fish types) but they ended up getting nippy and aggressive so I gave them their own. ^^ With bettas, they have really fun personalities and swim around and can even be easily trained to do tricks as long as you take care of them properly!

But having a betta means you can only have one “highlight” fish, the betta. So if you want more than one fish with longer fins, or really pretty colours, or a flashy personality, bettas aren’t a good idea. Gouramis are a little less aggressive, but a similar fish in that you don’t want to put them with other larger/flashy fish because they tend to get nippy.

In my twenty gallon tank, I have platys, a gourami, weather loaches, and kuhli loaches. I would actually recommend getting a larger tank for weather loaches, I’m just keeping them in this tank temporarily while they’re smaller until I get a larger tank. ^^

In the past, I’ve had guppies and african dwarf frogs. Unfortunately, due to either disease right from the store, or from my own inexperience, these fish passed away a while ago. :c I wouldn’t recommend african dwarf frogs to beginners: feeding them is remarkably trickier than you might think. Guppies can be a great beginner fish, I just got really unlucky with them and I don’t want to get them again. ^^’

Livebearers in general are usually great beginner fish if you have a large enough tank and you want a group of lovely colours and cute personalities. Guppies, mollies, swordtails, and platys are some of the common ones you’ll find. Some of these can be more aggressive than others, so do your research, but the great fun with these is that they breed readily when healthy and happy. HOWEVER, these fish DO tend to be short-lived, so I wouldn’t recommend these if you get attached really easily.

LOACHES are my favourite favourite favourite fish ever because they are!! SO SILLY AND DERPY and so fun to watch! They’re extremely easy to take care of, eat up all the leftovers at the bottom of the tank, get along really well with other fish (because they can be really peaceful), and they can even be extremely friendly (and can even!! ENJOY BEING PET!!). HOWEVER. All loach types are different, so do your research. ^^

I don’t have personal experience with these, but tetras and barbs are also said to be very hardy fish, cheap, have many varieties, and are little and therefore are good for beginners.

Also!!! Technically not a fish! But! SNAILS ARE GREAT. They clean up algae and leftover food and keep your tank nice and clean, and are also fun to watch~ Nerites are known as the best for algae clean-up, but apple (or mystery) snails are also really good. SHRIMP ARE ALSO GREAT for a similar reason! Just make sure your other fish won’t eat them.

Hopefully that helps? Mostly this was just an excuse to rant, though. ^u^’

[perkwunos]

I think the major difference between Whitehead’s philosophy and a Hegelian dialectical theory is that the latter reconciles the dualism of subject and object, fact and value, freedom and necessity, etc. through the subject-object that is one totality of all history—I am thinking especially, for instance, of Lukacs and his positing the proletariat as the subject of history by which these contradictory dual categories can be reconciled--whereas Whitehead theorizes a plurality of particular singularities that are each equally in their own right concrete totalities, with no greater whole underlying them: so each actual entity, as a process of experience, itself reconciles the poles that modern philosophy abstracted into dualist categories of existence, while constituting itself through its relations to its environment. This is of course a far more merely intellectual solution to the problem than what Lukacs wanted: for him it was a matter of emphasizing the reality of these contradictions in the material substrate of our thought, which must be overcome through action, and so by an active subject (and so, the proletariat). There is a strong point there, and yet I think Whitehead points to a level of further fertility in the construction of schemes of thought superseding what the moderns found inevitably contradictory (and those modern problems are real expressions of reifications actually performed by our society that lead to incoherent categories); and perhaps Lukacs undervalued this openness to continued inquiry and overestimated what could be recognized as the historical agent. As I’ve put it before, what Whitehead is primarily doing is attempting to get at what the concreteness really is, which Marx has shown was obscured by the abstractness of capital--and which therefore was never coherently approached by the bourgeois thinkers of modern philosophy as long as they remained incapable of criticizing their shared presuppositions. The rise of the American pragmatists and Whitehead does show, I would argue, that these presuppositions nevertheless became very thoroughly criticized (although, on the other hand, it was exactly in these ways that their thought was then cast into obscurity in the later 20th century).

This emphasis on the particularity of the actual entity is also possibly where Whitehead is closer to Deleuze. As Shaviro put it in Without Criteria: “Deleuze’s affinity with Whitehead lies, above all, in his focus on affect and singularity” (xiii). And while Whitehead does also embrace a kind of teleology unfolding in history akin to Hegel, for him it is ultimately aesthetic and particular, not capable of consisting of suprahistorical ends or norms, continually open to further aims. So in Adventures of Ideas he makes the claim that “the teleology of the Universe is directed to the production of Beauty” (265). (”Beauty” is a perhaps intentionally provocative term, for what can more technically be described as experiential intensity, to perhaps better express the extreme generality and variability of what he is describing). This is only an elaboration of his point in Process and Reality, that “in the real world it is more important that a proposition be interesting than that it be true. The importance of truth is, that it adds to interest” (259). And he elsewhere in Process and Reality argued: “the immensity of the world negatives the belief that any state of order can be so established that beyond it there can be no progress. This belief in a final order, popular in religious and philosophic thought, seems to be due to the prevalent fallacy that all types of seriality necessarily involve terminal instances” (111). And elsewhere: “There is not just one ideal 'order' which all actual entities should attain and fail to attain. In each case there is an ideal peculiar to each particular actual entity, and arising from the dominant components in its phase of 'givenness.' … The notion of one ideal arises from the disastrous overmoralization of thought under the influence of fanaticism, or pedantry” (84). So Shaviro describes Whitehead (and Deleuze) as “working toward a nondialectical and highly aestheticized mode of critique” (xiii).  I’m not sure it’s entirely fair to say Whitehead is outright nondialectical; Anne Fairchild Pomeroy at least has tried to argue his philosophy is dialectical in her book Marx and Whitehead, and Whitehead himself stated multiple times the affinity of his scheme of thought with Hegelian philosophies. (In fact, I find it conceivable Whitehead’s method and aims may nevertheless still be closer to Hegel’s than they are to Deleuze’s; and at any rate I find the question of who or what is or isn’t “dialectical” to often end up being the game of people who do not even have any solid grasp on the concepts they are referencing and can’t be bothered to discuss things more straightforwardly; not that this is what Shaviro is doing).

One could criticize Whitehead’s philosophy in these ways as an overly individual and idealistic approach--allowing for the response to reification to be a personal artistic spiritual quest, and I imagine there are many who attempt to use Whitehead for not much more than that—but, when looked at more closely, Whitehead’s theory of what constitutes experiential intensity radically dissolves such notions of the detached personal spectator and points to deeper underlying social constitutions as the primary means for greater intensity (a huge part of Whitehead’s mature thought is how the “appearances” of “presentational immediacy” require for depth of intensity some correspondence or relation to more bodily levels of order being enacted in the external environment and intimately appropriated via “perception in the mode of causal efficacy” by our experience), ultimately leading one to a more critical look at the social forms by which a society produces its material conditions (or at least I would argue so; the average Whiteheadian is going to tend to be left-liberal, with a clear social and ecological orientation and yet perhaps shy of embracing too radical an analysis of capital). And at any rate, the real value of Whitehead’s scheme of thought is in its inducement of continued discussion, criticism, and the elaboration of more coherent schemes (he after all did not intend his system to be accepted as some personal philosophy, but rather to be utilized for further thinking), so that he must really be placed in the context of a certain set of social relationships developing in the manner of a community of open minded and scientific inquirers--and perhaps one of the deeper insights is that the kind of social relationships this is enabling are themselves material expressions of a more radically democratic attentiveness and care; though those who control academia (and the weight of an elitist, dogmatic, and overly agonistic ancient philosophical tradition) will continue to try to obscure and destroy this fact as much as possible, even while it is the clear basis of our intelligence--an intelligence that I assert was always stunted and made unscientific by its detached elitism, only beginning to be raised to higher states of thought once capitalist conditions began to dissolve these old bonds (while at the same time clearly limiting the further growth of thought).

[megansplants]

Hey! One of my gerbils died and the other moved out to another city into the home of an other gerbil (I don't want her to be alone, they're v social lil animals), I now have an empty aquarium of 100×40×50 cm. I was thinking of using it for plants. Do you have any ideas/inspiration what kind of plant habitat I could do there? Drainage is obvsly a problem. But maybe tropical? Or the opposite, sand & succulents & cacti? Thank you for your help!

@birdylion ok first, thank you for the support RE school 🥰

——

Secondly, omg YESSSSS. Vivariums / terrariums are so much fun!! Disclaimer, I don’t have any of the cutesy glass “perfect ecosystem” type things that love to float around Instagram, but I definitely do some other things that make for happy plants.

——

Before explaining anything about plants / drainage / etc, first I’ve gotta do a plug for the frogs: if you’re interested in another pet, FROGS are actually awesome. They’re definitely not cuddly pets, but they’re wicked cool, especially given that it sounds like you love plants and want to combine them. They’re also easy to feed, any pet store sells crickets for big frogs and flightless fruit flies for the little ones. I have a couple poison dart frogs (not actually poisonous) and they are SO FUN.

——

Read the rest below here because it has gotten REALLY LONG... whoops.

Ok so first: addressing the kinds of plants.

I honestly don’t have a ton of experience with desert plants in terrariums, so take this with a grain of salt, but in general I think that desert plants don’t love living in terrariums (please, anyone feel free to contradict me with a reblog + photos). The air flow isn’t great, and sitting on the bottom of a glass tank is going to have trouble with drainage, just as you predicted. I’m sure watering less helps, but it’ll be harder for the total water to turn over (aka allow the plants to dry out) when being enclosed on several sides. 

Tropicals: tend to do really well in terrariums that are constructed well, and if you want them to really flourish, some planning goes a long way.

----

Next: drainage / setting it up.

You have a couple options for drainage, in order by how complicated / difficult it is to accomplish:

Careful to not over-water

False bottom (my personal favorite)

Drilling bulkheads (really awesome if you’re doing a true vivarium to have plants and frogs ;) )

I suppose I have two different “enclosed plant” setups -- The Box “greenhouse” and my frog vivarium.

I’ve built a LOT of frog vivariums in my time, including working at the National Amphibian Conservation Center in Detroit for several months, and I’m currently rebuilding mine (I added bulkheads!) so don’t mind the “under construction” photos.

--

The Box

The Box is just a plastic tupperware container from Target that I used to move stuff around when I was in college, and to protect more delicate plants when I was traveling back home for the holidays. It has now become my miniature greenhouse. 

There isn’t any drainage out of it, just a thin layer of coconut fiber on the bottom (a common substrate for frogs) and I mostly set potted plants directly inside of it. It’s not the prettiest thing to look at, because the pots are just sitting on the dirt, but I like keeping them separate. I use this thing as an intensive care unit for plants that aren’t doing very well or don’t tolerate room humidity, so it’s nice to be able to swap them out. I think it wouldn’t do particularly well with a thick layer of substrate at the bottom because it would sequester both water and bacteria.

If you carefully layered some sort of sand and gravel and whatnot, I’m sure it could do well, but I have never had success with that kind of setup. That tends to work better with smaller-sized things, like little table-top glass domes and whatnot.

The thing about having any kind of terrarium (including this) is being vigilant for mold. When I first started the box, I checked it daily for mold and removed whatever I found. As long as you wipe it off of the plant, it shouldn’t hurt it much — the damage to the plant occurs when the mold can sit on the plant and do damage over time.

If you stick with it long enough, it’ll come to an equilibrium and the mold won’t be so persistent. I have tons of different plants in my box, moss in the bottom, the whole shebang, and I haven’t had any problems with mold in almost a year. I think it took about two months for The Box to settle itself out and come to a good balance.

Those photos are from a while back because I’m lazy -- that frog has sadly now died of old age. The poison dart frogs don’t live in The Box.

--

False Bottomed Terrarium

So this is exactly as it says -- you build a “false bottom” for your tank, which allows space underneath for water to drain. Bonus if you add in a tube to siphon out excess water. 

For my frog terrarium, I use plastic egg crate covered in household screen as my base, and PVC pipe as spacers (nice consistent size, allow air flow, etc.). The false bottom should be an inch or two above the surface of your tank. You can then plant your terrarium however you would like, with the soil directly on top of the false bottom. All excess water will collect below the surface of your soil, which helps cut down on the bacteria growing IN the soil, and keep the humidity of your tank high. 

If you add a spot to snake a pipe down (have you ever seen a fishtank siphon?) to drain out excess water (just tip the terrarium to help get all the water in the same space), you’ll avoid building up lovely sulfur-smelling bacteria. You can either leave it in the corner of your tank, or jerry-rig some kind of cap somewhere that you can then put in a hose to siphon. (I haven’t done this yet in my terrarium bc it’s still under construction).

----

Lastly: Bulkheads!

If you’re really brave, you can take your tank to be drilled (or do it yourself if you’re ballsy) for bulkheads. 

A bulkhead is just a hole through the glass, that you then “seal off” with a PVC bulkhead to allow you to get things in and out of the glass sides. In my terrarium, I have one bulkhead for the waterfall, one as drainage for the “pond” filtration system, and one as drainage for excess water from the land area. That REALLY helps the drainage problem, because you give yourself a hole for everything to drain from!

Keep in mind, water will still build up to the surface of the bulkhead -- it’s not perfectly flat, but it does a heck of a lot better than nothing at all. 

Also: if you ever decide to convert your tank to a fishtank, bulkheads do WONDERS for fish circulation and adds up to happier and healthier fish.

If you’re curious -- I’m working with a 20 gal tank (50cm x 43cm x 33cm) for some really tiny dart frogs, so it’s easy to do even in small tanks!

--

If you go with the vivarium / landscape type setup, there are a ton of ways to make it look really cool (fake rock that builds your landscape, etc -- that’s what all the yellow foam is in my tank), but the process on that takes a long time! I’ll answer that in another ask if you’re curious!

Heck, I’m even building a waterfall and pond into my tiny tank.

Here’s some terrarium inspiration pulled off the internet for your browsing pleasure:

[dogpantry]

A quick guide to ball python substrate:

[This is not meant to be a comprehensive guide, but a starting point for further research. I encourage you to browse snake groups and look at other people’s opinions on substrate to then formulate your own. Pet ownership is a constantly evolving thing, and continuing education is paramount! That being said, I hope this guide is helpful.]

There’s debate sometimes about the “best” substrate. Though I don’t think there is any best substrate, I do think there are substrates that are best for certain keepers (and regions). Remember that ball pythons need relatively high humidity (I shoot for anywhere between 55%-60% as my ideal) and so you’ll need to take that into account when choosing a substrate. For example, some substrates are better at holding humidity than others. If you live in a dry area then more wet, absorbent substrate will be your best friend. 

While on the topic, I want to take a second here and refute the claim that spikes in humidity can cause an upper respiratory infection (RI). It’s my belief* that RIs in ball pythons happen more because of a combination of incorrect husbandry than they do from either a spike in humidity alone or a drop in ambient temperature alone. I was constantly wetting my substrate when I lived in West Texas (yes, even with the use of substrate like Eco Earth), but because my hot spot was kept at a toasty 88-92 degrees Fahrenheit and my ambients were always 80-85 degrees, my snakes never got sick. 

I still occasionally need to wet my substrate in East Texas, and I use paper towels now, however things like putting water bowels on the warm side of enclosures certainly helps, as does wetting the substrate at the same time every day. So, if you choose a drier substrate and live in a drier area, keep the whole sum of your husbandry in mind when maintaining your enclosure. It’s important to always check and re-check humidity and heat.

*As far as I know it’s merely speculation from the ball python community that spikes in humidity cause an RI. There has been no formal research for that claim or against, so do with that what you will. That being said, I wet my substrate to get humidity to 60%-65% from a dip of 47%-50%. If you’re needing to wet your substrate to increase humidity from more than a 10%-15% gradient then I would heavily consider switching substrate. Now, onto the post.

First, let’s look at substrates that should never be used for ball pythons:

Cedar is toxic to ball pythons

Pine

Sand (they are tropical, people)

Newspaper (c’mon...............do I even need to elaborate)

Aspen

This is debatable. I add aspen to this list because it’s dry and dusty, and not necessarily conducive to a ball python’s other heating and humidity needs.

Almost any bedding used for r.ats, m.ice, or other r.odents such as Carefresh and fleece.

Cypress mulch AKA “Forest Floor” (not because it’s bad for ball pythons, but because it’s bad for the environment)

Some people include paper towels in their list of substrates that aren’t for ball pythons, but I disagree and will elaborate on why below.

Next, let’s look at acceptable ball python substrate:

Sphagnum moss is a great addition to an enclosure, though I would never use it alone.

Coconut fiber AKA Eco Earth (best when mixed with other substrates because it is so loose)

Coconut substrate (like “ReptiChip,” which is mixed well with Eco Earth). Some claim that their ball pythons have choked on ReptiChip (and ReptiBark) however the risk can be eliminated by watching your snake eat and/or checking on them every few minutes as they do. You can also consider feeding on a slab of slate tile or paper towels so that when the snake strikes they aren’t getting a mouthful of substrate.

ReptiBark (made from the bark of fir trees) is a decent choice, however in my experience it works best when paired with Eco Earth.

Organic soil (with no additives). I have never used this before, but I heard that it can get seriously dusty when it dries. 

Paper towels*

Personally, I use *paper towels and that’s for a few reasons:

It’s so much easier to keep enclosures clean. Cleaning can be an hours-long endeavor when you’ve got 10 snakes like me, and it’s especially troublesome when you’re a graduate student. I use paper towels because when my snakes soil them I can quickly replace them, and there is little to no residue left behind. It makes spot cleaning more effective and efficient. 

You can always add other substrates to paper towels. I add stuff like big river rocks, a light dusting of Eco Earth, different textured paper towels (such as Viva versus Bounty), slate tile of different textures, and it’s only recently that I’ve thought about adding sphagnum moss to the mix as well. (And if your snakes want to/like to burrow I’ve found that adding things like this give them that feel of burrowing without actually needing the six inches of substrate.)

They allow me to better control the hot spot. Even just an inch of substrate like Eco Earth or ReptiBark makes maintenance of a hot spot difficult as the top of the substrate is always going to be cooler than the bottom. But with paper towels, the likelihood is high that the top of the paper towels are going to be as warm as the surface of the tub, thus eliminating the chance of my BPs going under the substrate and burning themselves. 

They let my young snakes in the racks take advantage of the six inches of head space. I’m not willing to take inches away from my snake’s head space, and paper towels are thin enough that I can manage that. 

That’s all, folks! Whatever you choose, just be sure your decision is an informed one. And as always, my ask box is open for any questions, comments, or concerns.

[despairdiseases]

When you walk away (Nothing more to say)

chapter 3 - The tales of spider Susan the matchmaker

trigger warnings: sympathetic Remus and Deceit, spiders, arachnophobia, talk of deafness and becoming deaf, spider eating a live cricket (let me know if i need to add something)

word count: haha a what :)

summary: Logan is an arachnophobic mess that doesn't know how to respond to flirting, that is all.

author’s note: iiii am just gonna upload this all at once :/

"The only Dennys in the town and you make us run away without paying!"

"C’mon Ro, it's not like you have to make such a big fuss about it," Remus grinned.

Roman put his hands onto his face and whined, "We won't be able to go there anymore. We are criminals."

"There are other restaurants then Dennys here, Roman," Damon pointed out.

"But Dennys is the best!"

Logan and Virgil rolled their eyes and continued their own conversation, "I saw you signing with your uncle, do you know sign language?" Virgil nodded, "Excellent, So do I. My mother lost her hearing when I was six years old, so I had plenty of time to learn."

'Why?', Virgil signed.

"She has Presbycusis. It usually occurs after the age of 50, but early haring loss runs in my mother's family. More than half of my relatives from my mother's side are deaf or have some form of hearing loss."

'Will you be deaf too?'

Logan looked up in thought, "It is highly plausible that I will have impaired hearing by 30, yes."

Their discussion was interrupted by Roman, "Hey, me and Remus think we'll go back to our house, you guys coming?" the other three shook their heads, "Alright, see ya tomorrow then!" and so, the twins departed from the group. The remaining three looked between each other.

"So...what now? School is supposed to be over by now, so do we just...go home?" Damon said with uncertainty. Virgil tapped Logan's shoulder and signed something Damon couldn't understand to him. Logan turned to face Damon.

"He's asking if we wanted to go to his house. Do you want to come?"

Damon raised his eyebrows, "Uh, yeah, sure."

They walked in the direction that Virgil led them, while still signing and Logan interpreting, "The house isn't too far from here, just a few minutes. Emile didn't see me all day, so he's probably worried anyways. By the way, what did you do to him? He's, like, super nervous when it comes to me hanging out with you."

"As I said, we got sent to Picani a few times. Also, you know how Remus is, and I am not exactly a teacher's pet if you haven't noticed, of course he will be hesitant when it comes to us," Damon didn't look hurt or offended, more like he was used to it. Virgil didn't like that look on him, but he didn't have time to address that, as his house came into view. As he walked to the front door others followed. He twisted the handle and opened the door.

Virgil knocked on the door in the same way Anna did in Frozen, which just told Emile Virgil was home when he couldn't talk. Soon, Emile peeked his head out of the kitchen, "Oh, Virgil, you're home early," he looked between Damon and Logan and beamed at them, "Virgil, you never bought anyone home before, why didn't you text me we will have company?"

Virgil rolled his eyes as he took his sneakers off and went to the kitchen. The others did the same, awkwardly shuffling their way into the kitchen.

"We're having spaghetti today, you two wanna join?" Emile beamed in their direction.

"Sure, Mr. Picani..." they said in unison.

Emile waved his hand dismissively and laughed, "Now, now, no need to be so formal. You can call me Emile. Also, Virgil, I forgot to feed Susan this morning, do you think you could feed her now? Thanks, sweetie."

Virgil nodded and gestured for Logan and Damon to follow him. They walked down the hallway and into Virgil's room. The first thing the two noticed was a terrarium with dirt, sticks and...what Logan assumed were spiderwebs. It also had a human skull with a big hole on the side, which hoped was fake.

They didn't see the supposed Susan who they assumed was the terrarium for. Virgil walked over to the terrarium and opened a drawer under it. He reached into it and pulled out a pair of tweezers and a plastic jar with the lid on. The jar was making a noise like something was tapping against it fast with multiple fingers. He unscrewed the jar and gestured for the other two to come closer. Virgil took the tweezers and reached into the jar. It took him a few seconds but he pulled out what looked like a live cricket, as it was still wiggling. Logan jumped back for a second when he saw it. Virgil opened the terrarium at the top and put his hand in, putting the cricket on the ground while still holding it. Slowly, the three saw a large tarantula crawl out from the leaves, walking towards the cricket. Virgil took the tweezers out and watched as the tarantula jumped at the cricked and started eating it. Then he put the tweezers and jar back into the drawer and closed it.

"What a beauty," Damon said, smiling.

"What...What species is that one?" Logan pointed at the black and yellow tarantula. Virgil fingerspelled something, going slowly over each letter for Logan to understand, but Logan was lost nonetheless, "I have absolutely no idea what you just said," Virgil huffed and spelled out something different and shorter this time, "...Chaco golden knee, don't, uh, don't think I heard of that one before..."

"Remus would be ecstatic to know you have a spider, I'll text him a picture," Damon took out his phone and turned off the flash. The typed on his phone before laughing a little, then showing the messages to the other two:

'OOMMMGGGG THTSSS SO FUCKING CUUUUTEE >:O IM LITERALLY SO JELLY OMFFFGGGG'

'AASDJHFJSDFKLDL'

'sHESSS So CUUUTTTEETTEeEeEEEEEE I LOVE HER LITARLYLYL CNA I MARRY HERR ADSSFJS'

"Told you he would like it," he typed something before putting the phone back into his pocket.

Virgil chuckled and crouched down next to the terrarium, watching Susan eat. Then, he furrowed his eyebrows. He turned to Logan, signing again. Damon really needed to learn it, this was getting annoying. He saw Logan furrow his eyebrows, "I don't see any."

Virgil gestured at the substrate which was full of white spots.

"Oh, that's mold?"

Damon crossed his arms and spoke up, "Can someone tell me what you two are talking about or am I supposed to deduce it myself?"

Logan turned his head in Damon's direction, "Virgil asked if we could help him...rehouse the...tarantula, a-as there is mold in the terrarium, which can be deadly to...uh, tarantulas if not dealt with."

Damon raised an eyebrow, "Is that so? That's terrible. I would be honored to help you rehouse Susan, and I'm sure Logan would be too, am I right?"

"Uh, yes, of-of course. Just...Susan isn't...particularly aggre...aggressive, is she?"

Virgil shook his head and began signing 'If she scares you, you don't have to.'

"I am not scared!" Logan shouted and pointed at Virgil. The other two flinched, "Uh, I apologize..." he adjusted his glasses.

Three knocks came from the other side of the door, "Everything alright in there?"

"Uh, yeah, sorry," Damon said.

"Okay, just play nice," Emile replied and walked away from the door. As soon as the three couldn't hear the footsteps anymore they sighed.

Damon rolled his eyes, "Yes, Logan, totally not scared."

Logan scoffed in return, "I think I changed my mind, I am going to Roman's house."

"And Remus'."

"Okay, you won, I'll stay. Let's just...get this over with."

Virgil and the rest walked over while he removed the top of the terrarium. He turned to Logan, 'Could you find a plastic container and poke some holes in it? thanks.' So Logan walked away from the terrarium, searching around the room, eventually finding one and poking the holes with a screwdriver. Virgil carefully picked Susan up and put her in the container, closing it with a lid. He brought an empty bucket and put it next to the terrarium. The two stared at him for a while, before he grabbed a handful of the substrate and put it in the bucket. After they started putting the dirt and things in the terrarium aside, Virgil went to get a new substrate, which was in the garage. As he passed the kitchen, Emile spoke up, "Virgil, honey, where are you going?"

'To the garage for substrate, we got mold.'

"Oh, holy moly, I didn't even notice that. Well, what are you waiting for? Susan's gonna be thrilled for a home renovation!"

Virgil huffed and walked to the garage. While that was happening, Logan was the only one in the room actually working.

He rolled his eyes at Damon, "Will you stop staring at the tarantula and come help me or should I do it all myself?"

Damon smirked at him, "I dunno, you've done a great job so far, wouldn't want to ruin it" he shut his eyes tight when Logan threw some of the substrates on him, "What the hell was that for?!"

"Do you want me to list off the reasons? I have a list."

Damon chuckled, "Not so professional now, are we, Mr. 'I wear a necktie as casual clothes.'"

"That was for one year! I was a freshman!" Logan pointed his dirty hand at Damon, who just smiled at him.

"It's still fucking hilarious..."

Logan scoffed, "Great, so now I am the weird kid."

"Don't be stupid, Remy is the weird kid. You're more like...the 'um, actually,' of the school," Logan gave him a puzzled look, so Damon explained further, "The know it all."

"Ah," Logan said, "Well, I suppose some people may see me like that. Though the trope is always portrayed as negative and annoying...Is that how people see me? Am I annoying?" his eyes drifted away, staring at nothing in particular, only looking at Damon when he spoke up.

"Nah you're not, if you were I wouldn't be hanging out with you. If you want to describe someone as annoying, try Patton, he's the definition of annoying."

Logan adjusted his glasses, dirtying them a bit, "You know that Patton was homeschooled up until high school, he has no social skills at all. He may be frustrating to deal with sometimes, yes, but it's not his fault. At least not all of it. "

Damon's eyes widened, "...No, I didn't. I just...thought he transferred schools," he said, "Why did you think the rumor about him having to transfer because of a fight got around so fast? People don't just assume you're homeschooled, they want juicy stuff."

"Oh, I apologize. I guess I assumed...huh, assumed, what hypocrisy."

Damon moved closer to the terrarium, taking off his fingerless gloves. He took the substrate into his hands and dumped into the bucket, which was half full now. Logan raised an eyebrow at that.

"I thought..."

"You thought wrong for once."

A subtle smile crept up on Logan's features, "And for once I am not mad about it."

They both looked up when the door opened, revealing Virgil who was holding another, this time red, bucket. He placed it next to the other one.

"And what's this?" Damon pointed at the full bucket. Much to his dismay, Virgil signed again. Damon sighed heavily.

"Oh, it's the uncontaminated substrate," Logan went silent as Virgil signed more, "...Yes, I think we'll leave that to you."

"Leave what to him?"

"Washing the terrarium."

"Oh, yeah, I think I'll pass on that one."

Virgil picked up the dirty, now empty, terrarium with one hand and gave them the two-finger salute with the other, heading to what the other two assumed was a bathroom. Once again, silence fell on the room, until Damon spoke up a few minutes later.

"So...how do you even know Patton if he was homeschooled? You don't seem like the social type."

"Oh, it was actually Roman who introduced me to him," he rubbed the back of his neck, "I don't know how they met, but since both of them are...rather enthusiastic...It isn't hard to imagine them getting along."

"Oh..."

"Uhum....and how did you meet Remus? You two seem like the polar opposites, but of course, as they say, opposites attract, so..."

"Oh, no, no, no, no," Damon shook his head, "You got it all wrong, we're just close friends, I would never date a trashbag like him. We met while waiting in front of the principal's office somewhere at the beginning of high school."

"You would befriend him but never date him?"

Damon huffed, "Would you date Roman?"

Logan nodded, "...Fair point, not exactly my type."

"What is your type then?" the taller laughed.

Logan's cheek turned crimson red in an instant, opening and closing his mouth as if trying to find the right words, "Uh, well- I mean...That...that, uh, de-depends on...You see, I-uh, you...uh...."

At that, Damon just laughed, while Logan turned even redder.

"Y-you don't have to...laugh at...me..."

"Oh, no, I am not laughing at you. Well, technically I am, but...just gimmie a second to breathe" after Damon calmed down, he took a deep breath and continued, "I am not laughing at you because you're embarrassing, I am laughing at you because you're cute."

Logan hid his face in his hands as the blush began to creep down his neck, "F-falsehood..." this time, Damon didn't laugh, instead settling on a smug smirk.

"Of course, you're just so composed, professional, aloof, serious, should I go on?" Damon tilted his head. Logan mumbled something that he couldn't hear, so he raised his eyebrows and put a hand to his ear, "Come again specs?"

Logan still mumbled, but this time Damon actually heard him, though he had to strain his hearing, "...On a date, maybe..."

Now it was Damon's turn to blush, "I, ah, I mean...do you, uh, do you, like, want to..." he rubbed his hand on the back of his neck and looked away from Logan.

Logan removed his hands from his face in favor of waving them defensively in front of himself, "No, no, it's-it's fine, I just...I am sorry, let's j-just...pretend I totally nev-never said that!"

"It's fine! I, uh...I never t-thought that...you would...you know....like...me?" Damon scrunched up his shoulders.

"I deeply apologize, I never intended to...uh...to let that leave my thoughts! I-I just..."

"Hey, hey, it's okay, I am not mad. Far from that actually, it's fine," Demon said reassuringly, hesitantly putting his hand on Logan's shoulder. It seemed to calm Logan down.

"Just...please d-don't...say anything...at...school. Please..." Logan rubbed his arm, "I...I don't want to seem like a...creep of some sort..."

Damon moved his hand away, "What's that supposed to mean?" he furrowed his eyebrows.

"I just, uh-"

The door opened before Logan could finish the sentence. Neither of them knew if it was for the better or for the worse, but there was nothing they could do about it now. In the door was Virgil, hands empty, gesturing at something behind him, before leaving the doorway empty. The pair looked at each other shortly and then followed him. Virgil led them to the kitchen, which was also the dining room it seemed.

"I assumed that you two must be starving by now, so I grabbed you a serving too, unless..."

"No, no, Mr. Picani, we love it!" interrupted Damon.

"It looks great, thank you!" followed Logan.

Virgil and Emile exchanged weirded out looks, before settling on their default expressions, which, for Emile, was a smile, "I am glad! Now hurry up and eat!"

And so, the awkward dinner began. Picani was talking about something with Virgil, who was either nodding or shaking his head. He sometimes included Logan or Damon in the conversation, but the two responded with short and quick answers, clearly not wanting to talk. They also haven't looked at each other the entire time, but they weren't sure the other two noticed that. By the time they stopped talking, food was eaten and plates were in the sink.

"Are you sure you don't want to stay the night?" Picani asked for one last time.

Damon nodded, adding a quick, "Yeah," before disappearing into the night.

"I am afraid my parents would not allow that even if I planned it beforehand. Although I had a wonderful time. See you tomorrow at school," Emile and Virgil didn't know who the last comment was for, but nodded regardless of the fact. They watched as Logan walked out of the door and into the street, eventually disappearing too.

Emile closed the door, "Whew, what bunch'o charming fellas! Didn't think you would make friends that quickly, but I'm glad!" Virgil shrugged his shoulders and gave a small smile. Emile's smile softened and he put a hand on Vigil's shoulder, "I know it's hard, but you're doing so well. I am proud of you, Virgil, I really am," he didn't really expect Virgil to hug him, but hey, who is he to complain?

[yutyrannuss]

Hey! Ive been looking into getting millipedes for a while now and got really excited when I saw you had some cuties!! Do you have any advice for first time millipede owners?

Im a first time owner myself! I've only got the one so far but definitely loving her.

They handle really well and are a joy to let crawl around in your hands even if they poop on u sometimes. (She's even chewed on my finger before which felt so funny)

But since I'm an ameteur I do encourage you to do your research for your species! But I will lis what I've learned myself and hopefully it will help you out.

1. Enclosure. As for size, general rule of thumb I've seen around is based on the length of your milli. 1x wide, 2x long. I've seen it said that the substrate should also be around 1x the length of the milli deep. This is a minimum however! Bigger is better, especially if you have multiple. Also if they can get out, they will. Within seconds of opening the deli container i brought mine home is she was already like, "adios", and crawling straight out. Be safe and get something with a lid preferably. You can go lidless, but be certain it cannot get out. Maybe make sure it is around 1 and and half times taller than the length of your pede than the highest point the pede can get to in your tank (like if you have a stick propped up). Don't lose your millipede!

2. Substrate! The millipedes live in and eat their substrate, so its important. Generally it should contain soil, wood, and leaves. I do reccomend just buying substrate tailored to millipedes as its easier and not as expensive and comes with things like calcium built in, but if you make your own substrate please be sure to decontaminate it!!!

3. Humidity! Very important as this can be life or death for your round friend! You're going to want to keep it pretty humid in there! My enclosure is a critter keeper with decent ventilation and a heating pad so it can dry out quick, so I'm sure to mist it very frequently, and you want to keep the lower half of your substrate rather moist too, though you can allow the very top to just be a little dry. Some people keep water dishes to keep humidity up, but if you do that be sure to add something like pebbles or what not so it has no risk of drowning.

4. Food. While they'll eat their substrate you'll want to provide fresh fruits and veggies for your milli! About once a week~ should be well and fine for your milli, some do more. Its up to you I suppose! (I do twice a week). Some millipedes may have preferences so be sure to give them a variety! I give my milli something different each time. And since the portions they need are small, you can easily just brush aside some fruits/veggies while you cook or if you're eating a banana go ahead and share a piece! You likely won't need to buy millipede specific produce because its so easy to just use what you have. I've also heard they can enjoy treats like dry pet food or mushrooms.

5. Temp. Room temp is usually fine, depending on the species and their natural habitat some may like it warmer. Mine would do fine at room temp but since it is a desert millipede, I do have a heating pad so she thrives better! But again mine is an Arizona native, so if yours comes from a cooler place, this is likely unnecessary.

6. Habitat! Of course you can't just have dirt and call it a day. Give them places to crawl around and hide away. This can be many things, so have fun decorating! Mine enclosure has a hunk of lichen in the corner that she almost always sleeps under when she's not on the move. It really cute that she has her own little bed lol. They also tend to not be fond of direct light or strong lights, being primarily suited to dim and darkness. So make sure they aren't in a sunny spot or they'll just hide all the time!

All and all thats... all i can think of rn. Hopefully its a good little guide but again do your own research and see whats best for your species. And again, I'm no expert.

They're relatively easy pets, and care is cheap! Mostly just the one time expense of setting everything up, and its definitely worth it. I love watching my girl so much and she's just so cute! Maybe not conventional pets but definitely just as lovely.

Good luck and i hope you get your millipede! It was a spur of the moment decision for me and one of the best I've ever made. I can't wait to get her a boyfriend hhhehehe