#wild reptile handling

[is-the-snake-video-cute]

Is there any chance you could give your opinion on this guy’s videos?

(https://youtube.com/@fishingarrett)

Link for everyone - from a quick look through his channel, this is another one that centers around unsafe handling of wild reptiles.

He at least seems to use a snake hook for wild venomous snakes most of the time, but he gets way too close, harasses venomous snakes to get their threat displays on video, and gets very close to crocodilians. Even for someone whose niche is removing invasive species, there are better ways to do that than just...walking up and snatching them off trees and then provoking them into biting you for a video.

[crepusculum-rattus]

teachers impressed that i can keep their students’ attention for an entire field trip but my “secret” is just that i have blue hair and facial piercings

[kaijutegu]

Alligator Body Language and You, or: How To Know When An Alligator On Social Media is Being Stressed for Views

Alligators are wild animals. Despite the idiotic claims of animal abusers like Jay Brewer, they cannot be domesticated, which means they are always going to react on the same natural instincts they've had for millions of years. Habituated, yes. Tamed, yes. Trained, definitely. Crocodilians can form bonds with people- they're social and quite intelligent. They can solve problems, use tools, and they're actually quite playful. Alligators are also really good at communicating how they're feeling, but to somebody who doesn't spend much time around them, their body language can be a bit mystifying. And it doesn't help when social media influencers are saying shit like this:

That is not what a happy gator looks like.

That's a terrified, furious gator who isn't attacking because the ogre handling her has her in a chokehold. She's doing everything she can to express her displeasure, and he's lying about it because he knows his audience doesn't even know how to think critically about what he's doing. He knows that because his audience doesn't know anything about these animals, he can get away with it. This I think is why I hate him so much- he deliberately miseducates his audience. He knows what he's doing is factually inaccurate, he just doesn't care because attention means more to him than anything else in the world.

Let's change that! Here are two really important lessons for understanding alligator body language on social media.

Lesson 1: Alligators Don't Smile (in fact, most animals don't)

So what's going on in this video? Jay Brewer is aggressively choking his white alligator Coconut while scrubbing algae off of her with a toothbrush. And make no mistake, he is digging into the creature's throat while she is visibly distressed. He claims she's happy- but she's not. He is willfully misrepresenting what this animal is feeling. That's a problem, because people... well, we actually kind of suck at reading other species' body language. The reason for this is that we tend to overlay our own responses on their physical cues, and that's a problem. For example, let's look at an animal with a really similar face to ours, the chimpanzee. Check out Ama's toothy grin!

Wait, no. That's not a happy smile. That's a threat display. When a chimpanzee "smiles," it's either terrified and doing a fear grimace, or it's showing you its teeth because it intends on using them in your face.

How about a dog? Look at my smiling, happy puppy!

Oh wait no, this is a picture of Ryder when he was super overwhelmed by noise and people during a holiday party. He'd hopped up in my sister's lap to get away from stuff that was happening on the floor and was panting quite heavily. See the tension in the corners of his mouth and his eyes? A lot of the time when a dog "smiles," the smile isn't happy. It's stress! Why Animals Do The Thing has a nice writeup about that, but the point is, our body language is not the same as other species. And for reptiles, body language is wildly different.

For instance, look at these two alligators. Pretty cute, right? Look at 'em, they're posing for a Christmas card or something! How do you think they're feeling?

Well, I'll tell you how the normal one is feeling. He's annoyed! Why is he annoyed? Because the albino just rolled up, pushed another gator off the platform, and is trying to push this guy, too. I know this because I actually saw it happen. It was pretty funny, not gonna lie. He's not gaping all the way, but he was hissing- you can actually see him getting annoyed in the sequence I took right before this shot. Look at him in this first shot here- he's just relaxing, and you can see he isn't gaping even a little bit.

By the end, he's expressing displeasure, but not enough to actually do anything about it. He's annoyed, but he's comfy and that's where one of the best basking areas is, so he'll put up with it.

Reptiles open their mouths wide for a lot of reasons, but never because they are actively enjoying a sensation. Unless they're eating. No reptile smiles- they can't. They don't even have moveable lips. If a reptile is gaping, it's doing so because:

It is doing a threat display.

It is making certain vocalizations, all of which are threats. Alligators are one of the rare reptiles that do regularly vocalize, but most of their calls aren't made with a wide open mouth.

It is about to bite something delicious or somebody stupid. Check out this video- virtually all of the gaping here is anticipatory because these trained gators know darn well that the bowl is full of delicious snacks. (I have some issues with Florida's Wildest, but the man knows how to train a gator AND he is honest about explaining what they're doing and why, and all of his animals are healthy and well-cared for, and he doesn't put the public or his staff at risk- just himself.)

It's too hot and it has opened its mouth to vent some of that heat and thermoregulate. This is the main reason why alligators will often have their mouths part of the way open, but sometimes they'll open all the way for thermoregulation. This is what a thermoregulatory gape looks like- usually it's not all the way open, kinda more like < rather than V, but you can't say that 100% of the time. Additionally, a thermoregulatory gape... typically happens when it's hot out. If they're inside, maybe they've been under their basking light for too long. Heat's the dominant factor, is what I'm getting at.

There is another reason that a captive crocodilian might be gaping, and that's because it's doing so on command. Some places have their gators trained to gape on cue, like St. Augustine Alligator Farm and other good zoos. They have the animals do this in presentations that are genuinely educational. They ask the animals to open their mouths so that they can show off their teeth and demonstrate how their tongues seal off the back of their mouth. They'll also do it as part of routine healthcare, because looking at their teeth is important.

In this case, the animals aren't gaping because they're stressed, they're gaping because they know they're gonna get a piece of chicken or fish if they do it. And what's more, they're doing it on cue. They have a specific command or signal that tells them to open wide. It's not an instinctive response to a situation. It's trained. If the animal provides the behavior after a cue, the situation is much less likely to be negatively impactful.

It's also important to remember that there's a difference between a partially open mouth and a gape! As discussed above, alligators will often have their mouths a little bit open just to maintain temperature homeostasis. It helps them stay comfy, temperature-wise. These guys are all doing thermoregulatory open-mouthed behavior- that slight open and relaxed body posture is a dead giveaway. (That and it's the hottest spot in the enclosure.)

Lesson 2: A Happy Gator Is A Chill Gator

So if alligators don't smile or have facial expressions other than the :V that typically signifies distress, how else can you tell how they're feeling? One way is stillness. See, alligators subscribe to the philosophy of if it sucks... hit da bricks.

Basically, if they hate it, they'll leave. Unless, y'know, somebody has their meaty claws digging into their throat or is otherwise restraining them. (Restraint isn't always bad, btw. Sometimes the animal is going through a medical thing or needs to be restrained for their safety- which a responsible educator will explain.)

Let's look at a very similar scenario, in which a captive alligator is getting his back scrubbed.

As you can see, it's quite different. First, he's not being restrained at all. Second, look at how relaxed he is! He's just chilling there vibing! He could simply get up and leave if he wanted to, because he's not being held. Towards the end of the video, as he lifts his head, you can see that his respiratory rate is very even as his throat flutters a bit. I'm not sure what this facility is, so I can't comment on care/general ethics, but like. In this specific case, this is an alligator enjoying being scrubbed! And you can tell because he's not doing anything. A happy gator is content to be doing what they're doing.

Why Should I Listen To You?

Now, you should ask yourself, why should you listen to me? Why should you trust me, who does not own an alligator, versus Jay Brewer, who owns several?

Well, first off, there's no profit for me in telling you that what you're seeing on social media is in fact not what you're being told you're seeing. I'm not getting paid to do this. That's the thing with people who make social media content. The big names aren't doing it just for fun. They're doing it for money. Whether that's profit through partnerships or sponsorships, or getting more people to visit their facilities, or ad revenue, you can't ignore the factor of money. And this is NOT a bad thing, because it allows educators to do what they're passionate about! People deserve to be paid for the work that they do!

But the problem starts when you chase the algorithm instead of actually educating. A "smiling" alligator gets the views, and if people don't know enough to know better, it keeps getting the views. People love unconventional animal stories and they want those animals to be happy- but the inability to even know where to start with critically evaluating these posts really hinders the ability to spread real information. Like, this post will probably get a couple hundred notes, but that video of Coconut being scrubbed had almost 400,000 likes when I took that screenshot. Think about how many eyeballs that's reached by now. What I'm saying here is that it's just... really important to think critically about who you're getting your information from. What do dissenters say in the comments? What do other professionals say? You won't find a single herpetologist that has anything good to say about Prehistoric Pets, I can tell you that right now.

Another reason you can trust me is that my sources are not "just trust me bro," or "years of experience pretending my pet shop where animals come to die is a real zoo." Instead, here are my primary sources for my information on alligator behavior:

Dragon Songs: Love and Adventure among Crocodiles, Alligators, and Other Dinosaur Relations- Vladimir Dinets

The Secret Social Lives of Reptiles- J. Sean Doody, Vladimir Dinets, Gordon M. Burghardt

Social Behavior Deficiencies in Captive American Alligators (Alligator mississippiensis)- Z Walsh, H Olson, M Clendening, A Rycyk

Social Displays of the American Alligator (Alligator mississippiensis)- Kent Vliet

Social Signals and Behaviors of Adult Alligators and Crocodiles- Leslie Garrick, Jeffery Lang

Never smile at a crocodile: Gaping behaviour in the Nile crocodile at Ndumo Game Reserve, South Africa- Cormac Price, Mohamed Ezat, Céline Hanzen, Colleen Downs (this one's Nile crocs, not American alligators, but it's really useful for modeling an understanding of gape behaviors and proximity)

Thermoregulatory Behavior of Captive American Alligators (Alligator mississippiensis)- Cheryl S. Asa, Gary D. London, Ronald R. Goellner, Norman Haskell, Glenn Roberts, Crispen Wilson

Unprovoked Mouth Gaping Behavior in Extant Crocodylia- Noah J. Carl, Heather A. Stewart, Jenny S. Paul

Thank you for reading! Here's a very happy wild alligator from Sanibel for your trouble.

[littlewigglers]

Okay I’ve never asked on tumblr but I just found your page and I’m OBSESSED!!! I want to get/make a Vivarium/bioterrarium for millipedes and isopods and I can’t WAIT!! Please please if you have any advice at all, I’d love to hear it! Where to get supplies, the buggies themselves, how to handle them, what do you do if they get sick, how much space to they need for how many there are, etc? Your buggy babies are so cute!!

First off thank you! I love all my little guys as well <3

I ramble kinda a lot so I'll put this under a read more.

For advice I'm still very much a novice when it comes to keeping but I'll tell you what I can!

For tanks I got my glass ones second hand or ones made my the store I buy used to buy my millipedes from, you'd be surprised how cheap you can get a nice big one! For Acrylic THESE are the ones I've had the best luck with not warping BUT they sometimes have kinda blurry parts on the plastic, but still I'd say good for the price if you can't afford glass. I tape up some of the ventilation holes to keep more moisture in.

For soil that ISN'T bought from a specialist stores(Sometimes I can't afford it) I use Peat free compost, paired with leaves and rot wood I buy off ebay stores that sell bug/reptile products, I mix them together with some water and leave them in a tub for 1 week to soften up the leaves. Some people go out and get their own leaves and wood but I'm not really in an area to do that so I can't give advice on that. It's important to keep it moist BUT NOT WET!

Heat mat! You want one to put on the SIDE of the tank and not under it, just one would be enough. I have a timer plug for mine so they're on a few hours a day on and off all day. If you REALLY wanna spoil them then I've seen a few people use reptile headlamps.

For moss and plants I again just buy it off ebay in sheets and give it a cheap over to make sure there are no hitchhikers on it before I put it in the tank. It needs watered and looked after for a while for it to take to the tank. Carpet moss is mostly for looks while sphagnum moss is used to keep moisture in areas and should be water/sprayed often. I have a little fern plant in my tank rn they seem to leave alone. I know a lot of people use fake plants as well for decor!

You should make a point to put a little temp and humidity monitor in your set-ups as well. The special reptile ones can be expensive so I just but the little ones you put in rooms and have had no issues with them.

Don't forget to give them hides! Cork wood/bark or coconut shells are nice and cheap. You can also use man made items just make sure they can handle the moisture and aren't made of anything toxic to your new friends. Also give them little sticks and things to climb up on. Just make sure the lid is secured so they can't escape.

For food I just use kitchen scraps like carrot peel, cucumber, apples and melon, give them a cuttlefish bone and some dried tiny shrimps in small amounts once a week or so, but you can also use fish flacks instead. But remember! Leaf litter and rot wood is meant to be their main diet for most species.

For the millipedes I would recommend Ivory millipedes as a good starter one, they're lovely in colour and are often up top, hardy as well, and usually you can get them captive bred which I've had much higher survival rates with vs wild caught. For each species you'll have to look up their needs yourself though, there isn't a 100% catch all set up for all species. Woodlice/isopods I'd suggest dairy cows as they're lovely and also very easy to get a hold of. I will say species of Armadillidium(roly poly/pill bugs) are my fave and I'm very biased and want 500 of them.

For handling just be gentle! I wear gloves in a lot of my videos but that because I've incredibly sensitive skin and can't stand soil under my nails. The worse they can do to you is them staining your skin(not all species), or give you a little nibble. Make sure if you're handling to wash your hands off BUT be careful what hand soaps you use! Wash hands after as well some can be toxic to bugs from what I've heard.

For tank size hmm that's hard, usually you want soil as deep as their body but that can be hard, 10-15cm is what I aim for my BIG boys and 7-10cm for my others, deeper is better but sometimes you'll also just never see them again! You'll want a tank at least a few times longer than your pets body or at least big enough for them to filly stretch out in if you get really big millipedes like giants and a 120cm tank is just kinda unrealistic haha.

I do not have a lot of advice for if they get sick sadly, it's kinda of hard to tell honestly and usually when you can it's too late. I would just say don't beat yourself up too much if some pass away sometimes bugs just do that especially if you don't know their history.

Where to get them depends on where you're from and what you want. A ton of reptile/specialist stores will have wild caught which isn't great but they will have the largest range of species and usually also sell all the stuff you need to tank care of them. Ebay is where I've gotten most of my captive bred and I just message people if I've questions about their bugs there.

I think that's everything I can think of,

Again I'm a big novice when it comes to bugs, @onenicebugperday and @crevicedwelling likely know way more than me, though idk if they're open to questions but they likely already have a lot of info on their blogs.

[markscherz]

what's the rarest Creature you've encountered? doesn't have to be a frog but any kind of amphibian or perhaps even a non-amphibian

I saw two Astrochelys yniphora specimens in the wild in 2006, while I was in Madagascar on my first trip with my father and a group of other herp enthusiasts. At the time, there were an estimated 800 specimens in the wild. By 2008, the population had dropped to ca 400 individuals, and as of 2018 the species has been considered functionally extinct in the wild, according to Pedrono & Clausen (2018) and the Durrell Wildlife Conservation Trust.

I think this is very probably the rarest creature I have seen in the wild. I guess I have seen some animals in zoos that are also extinct in the wild, or close to it, but I think that doesn't really count. I have also collected the only known specimens of quite a number of frog and reptile species, but those species are probably mostly fine in terms of population numbers, just no-one has checked. And I have seen and handled quite a large number of specimens of extinct species at museums, but that's a very different thing, of course.

[i-did]

bullet fic where Andrew works at one of those reptile birthday party companies, and Neil is hiding from the kids at Dan and Matt's kids 6th Birthday

Andrew first got into reptiles because a foster dad was really into them, his whole garage filled with vivariums of different animals, mostly reptiles but some were tarantulas and other bugs

Andrew thought it was interesting watching feeding time, and he liked that the animals were set in a designated space where the animal wouldn’t touch him unless he approached the space first

He learned how to fiddle with and maintain the spaces, which can become very self sustaining and many only need to be fed once every few weeks or once a week

After meeting Aaron, Andrew’s first job is at an adoption center, handling all the “scary” pets that aren't cuddly or cute, because of his experience and isn't afraid of them

Andrew ends up working for one of those lizard birthday party companies – unfortunately named Kreepie Krawlies – as an animal handler who both takes care of them and drives the van to events occasionally

Renee, his coworker, handles the kids, doing educational talks and passing off some of the creatures for kids to hold

Andrews maximum involvement around the kids typically being setting up the tanks as well as holding things the kids aren't allowed to touch, but depending on the party size he hangs out back by the neon green and yellow van with the company logo, blending in with his khaki and green uniform

He meets Neil in his mid 30s, at a really expensive birthday party for some professional athletes kid, child of Matthew Boyd and Danielle Wilds

Andrew is waiting out by the Van, waiting for when Renee will need him and call him on his walkie talkie, smoking his cigarette, listening to kids shriek, and play, one giving a startled cry and beginning to sob

When an adult from the party wanders over, like he's hiding from the kids

Hes burned heavily on his arms, half his face and neck melted, one ear a waxy nub, Andrew wouldn't be surprised if they continued down, 

The non burned side has cuts like shards of glass scarring his other cheek, he was hot, Andrew decided, and wondered if he was vain before whatever had happened to him

He reaches out, asking “Can I bum one?”

Andrew quirks his brow, thinking this could very well be a deadbeat dad hiding from his own kid, as Andrew gives one over

The guy, answering a question Andrew didn't ask, says, “Dan doesn't mind if I smoke as long as they don't see it” 

Andrew resists responding with, ‘didn’t ask’, and instead says, “Husband?”

“Ah, no. Friend’s wife – well – she's my friend too, I just met him first.” 

Ah, Dan short for Danielle, Andrew thinks, then states: “Hiding.” 

Neil confirms, nodding his head, “Their kid is used to me but uh, not the others, kinda scared of some of the others.” and gestures vaguely with the hand holding the cigarette. 

“Hm” Andrew says, watching the other man's fingers, burned and some shorter than they should be, a mixed set, fiddle with Andrew's lighter, flicking the spark for the flame, completely unafraid of burning his hands any further. 

“You?” the man asks

“I don’t hide.” Andrew responds, and it's the truth, he isn't hiding, he's waiting, and smoking away from helicopter parents eyes. 

He looks at Andrew for a second, before nodding and accepting it for the answer it was, and reaches his hand out to pass back the lighter

Andrew waits until his hand drops, “Don't burn yourself, not much skin left for anymore grafts”

He laughs, and pockets the lighter, he's about to say something, a smile on his lips when a voice calls out, “NEIL?” and his head whips around, looking for who called him over.

He, Neil, turns back around, and does one last inhale, before he carefully stubs out the cigarette

“Thanks uh..”

“Andrew.”

“Thanks, Andrew.” and he walks away

[sunstar-of-the-north]

I'm definitely of the belief that traditionally wild animals shouldn't be kept as pets.

When I mean 'traditionally', I mean animals like hedgehogs, skunks, foxes, wolves, bears, deer, and so on. I can't speak on reptiles, amphibians, insects, or arachnids since I don't have experience with them.

"But we domesticated dogs and cats!" Yeah, sure but these animals are USED to living as pets. They're not as important to the environment like most, if not all, wild animals are. Not only that, but they can cause a lot of damage to a home and up either dumped or given to sanctuaries because 'they can't handle them' for expressesing normal behaviors to their species.

Long story short, get domesticated animals if you want a pet so bad. You're not cool for having an 'exotic' pet.

[boykombat]

Syzoth - Reptile, "Needy Lover"

Description: Syzoth wasn't really used to the touch of another person. You, on the other hand, relished in physical attention. You were needy, you loved having his hands on you. But, it was his mating season, which made it much harder. The Zaterran was going crazy for your touch. He absolutely couldn't handle himself, or hold back any longer. Just your scent made him hard, who was he to not indulge himself?

tags: cream pies, grinding, double penetration, claiming, marking, cock warming.

words: 2.3K

reader is fem!

notes: in this, syzoth's human form has two dicks, as well as claws and his tail..

yeah I got real evil, I wrote this high as fuck.

�� Enjoy! 🐊

Touch wasn't something that the Zaterran was used to. Never used to such a needy lover, — well at least as needy as you are.

So when you sit on his lap in public, purposely grinding your ass back onto him because you just "can't wait", it's easy for him to get excited.

Always so needy for him, no matter what. Every circumstance where you could grind against his body for your own pleasure, you took.

And Syzoth loved when you did. He loved when you'd sit on his knee, your thighs spread just that tiny bit so he could feel your wetness through your panties. It made him even harder when you'd slowly "adjust yourself", grinding your needy cunt against his leg.

But his favorite thing is when you grind your wetness against his tail. Your dripping sex pressed against his already sensitive scales is enough to make him go wild for you.

Syzoth lets out a low groan, his tail laid out against his thigh. Your wet heat slowly sliding against his scales, your thighs being held open by his massive hands. Claws gently biting at your skin, threatening to scratch at your plush legs at any moment.

The Zaterran can feel your fingers sifting through his brown locks, and he can't help but shiver with delight with how your fingernails massage his scalp.

There's practically hearts in his eyes when you look back to meet his gaze. Syzoth's pretty, pink lips pulled open as quiet groans push out from his frame.

One of his hands drags from your thigh up to your hip. Syzoth begins to rock your body forward with his strength. His tail twitches, pushing up against your cunt more.

The texture of his scales is bumpy against your clit. Your arousal against the rough texture lubrates it to be a smoother ride, leaking just from grinding against him.

Syzoth can feel his cocks twitch in his pants at the site of your ass rocking back against his tail. Already rock hard, getting so much harder when he hears your desperate moans.

He's had you on his lap for an hour. Sometimes he'll hold your legs open with his powerful hands, letting the end of his tail tease your pussy. Flicking it at your clit, and he loves the wet noises it makes. How your slick arousal shines against his tail.

And that's exactly what he decides is his best course of action is in the moment.

Syzoth lifts you up, sliding his tail out from under you. In just a couple quick movements, you find yourself pinned against his body. Back firmly pressed into his chest, thighs pulled open.

Syzoth lets out a low, almost feral growl into your ear as he grinds his bulges into your ass.

Your eyes flick down, to see his tail prodding at your pussy. He can't even wait for you to take off your panties, he just slides them to the side. The very tip of his tail starts to alide between your lips. It flicks against your cunt briefly, just as his tongue starts to lap at your throat.

Its almost addicting how his forked tongue plays with your tender skin, slowly rolling it between his muscular tongue.

The way you sound drives him crazy. Needy, pretty moans fall from your lips as he slowly pushes the end of his tail into your sex. The squelching noise paired with the sensation of you clenching around him makes him let out a low groan into the back of your neck.

His cocks twitch in his pants again. Syzoth can feel the precum leaking from his tips, wanting the warmth and wetness of your pussy so badly.

"Please, I need to be inside.." He hisses against your ear. His hands grip at your thighs, pulling them open further.

As soon as you whimper out a needy "fuck yes", he moves with a haste. The tip for Syzoth's tail pushes into your slick sex, and he lets a whimper out as he slowly starts to thrust it in and out.

He lives for how your body trembles with every push and pull. Every gasp, every single whine that comes from you makes his blood feel boiling hot, some how.

Syzoth's sharp teeth press against the supple skin of your neck. A sharp breath is pulled into your body as his tongue massages your skin, his lips sealing around in a circle as the lizard starts to suckle at you.

He'd always had a thing for marking what's his, of course. There wasn't a way you were gonna make it out of his clutches without hickies and bites.

It's just how he was. Syzoth has literally fucked you using both cocks over and over just from seeing his marks against your hips and throat.

Your lover adores you even more when he can see his cum leaking from you. God, he wishes he could cum inside you all day.

He just doesn't want to hurt you, taking both of his cocks in your holes did get overstimulating pretty quickly.

Syzoth grinds himself up against your ass, his tail fucking your dripping cunt faster and faster. He can't stop the groans that leave his lips, you just feel too good against him.

You continue to push your hips back, thrusting your ass against his crotch while he's fucking you. Harder you push, the harder he marks your neck.

Syzoth's claws start to scratch at your hips as he thrusts his cocks against your ass. He can feel the precum staining his boxers, and he's not sure how much longer he can handle your warm ass on his lap.

So, he comes up with a solution. With a swift motion, he hooks his arms under your thighs. He slowly slides his tail from you, and he lifts his hips a bit.

The tip of his tail slides into his pants, and he tugs them down quickky. As he's undressing, he's sliding his tongue against your neck. He loves the way your breath hitches.

He lifts you a bit higher up, and he shimmy's out of his boxers. Syzoth has a lazy grin on his face, pressing his cheek against your shoulder as he slowly lowered you down onto his now bare lap.

The end of his tail scoops up the precum from his tips. Almost immediately, syzoth gets to work. He takes his lubricated tail, and he slowly starts to stretch your hole.

Syzoth spreads his legs a bit, pulling yours open with his. He puts a free hand on your hip as the tip of his tail slowly thrusts in and out of your hole.

Always so clingy, so he reaches around you, letting his massive forearm rest on your v-line. With skilled fingers, the Zaterran starts to fuck your pussy.

There's nothing more he loves than how wet he can get you. As he learned from stories about your ex lovers, they never got you as wet as he did.

You'd never been with an outworlder before, either. Syzoth opened you up (literally) to a whole other sexual dimension.

Did you really think you were gonna be bent over, taking two of his cocks at every chance he gets during his mating season? Or that your boyfriend would be cumming in your ass and pussy to "claim" you?

Did you even think that your future boyfriend would have two cocks? Or that he tended to be more animalistic in nature, that he'd come with a natural possessiveness? That he'd fuck you until the bed was sticky with his cum, spilling out from both of your holes after another person flirted with you in public?

Because Syzoth did, and you couldn't get enough of it.

He's so talented with his fingers. Makes sure to take his time and fuck your pussy good, hits that spot that makes your belly warm with every single push.

He could edge you for hours like this. Fingering your wet sex, slowly sliding the tip of his tail in and out of your tight ass. Pretty groans and whines fall from his lips as he grinds his cocks against you.

Syzoth stretches your holes for nearly 30 minutes, until he determines that you're ready for both of his cocks.

He lifts you up, feeling your body tremble and shake from all of the stimulation so far. You hadn't been able to cum yet, it felt like your nerves were just on fire. Your tummy felt warm, your limbs akin to jelly.

Slowly, he lowers you onto him. A cock pushing into your pussy, the other pushing into your ass. His hips push up until he's to the hilt with both of them.

If Syzoth was anything, it was huge. Two, giant cocks. He didn't look like he'd be packing, but lord he is.

The look of shock and arousal on your face when you undressed him for the first time is engraved in his mind. Or the first time you sucked his cock off, while jacking off the other. How he came all over your chest and in your mouth. Nearly suffocated with how he shoved his cock down your throat while snapping his hips against your mouth over and over.

He apologized profusely afterwards, the heat just gets the best of him at times.

Speaking of the heat, Syzoth cannot get enough of your body warmth. As someone cold blooded, he's always looking for higher temperature. It's always like heaven when you cock warm him. The way you squeeze around him, your pussy dripping with hot, sticky arousal fluid. How he uses his precum as lube to fuck your ass as he fills your pussy. He loves seeing his cum sliding down your thighs after he's ruined you.

Zysoth lets out a louder groan as he guides your hips up and down. Slowly pulling himself in and out of your holes, loving how the warmth travels with your movements.

He loves feeling your holes clench around him. It makes it so much tighter, and hotter. He loves stuff you with his cocks, rutting into you with reckless abandon.

When it comes to your heat, he isn't as patient as he is when he's doing something like eating you out. He loves the feeling and taste of your sex on his tongue, though.

Syzoth notices how you seem to only get wetter as you cock warm him, and he brings that to be an advantage.

He relaxes his back against the couch, his hands resting on your thighs. Pretty green eyes gazing up at your face as he's panting unevenly.

"Please.. I can't hold back anymore. I need to fuck you properly, please." He begs of you, his hands shaking against your body.

You nod your head yes, this was a new development. Normally Syzoth was slow and deliberate about having sex. Always teasing you and edging you for hours.

Now he's acting like an eager puppy.

Or an eager lizard.

Nonetheless, he hasn't been able to keep his hands off you. His thoughts have been racing with dirty scenarios. Syzoth has been catching himself day dreaming about drilling you in front of anyone who was romantically interested in you, showing them who you belong to. Or fucking your ass for hours, grinding your clit with the tip of his tail.

His jealousy has spiked recently, it didn't really make sense. He's literally growled at Cage, the natural flirt that the two of you both knew.

But it clicked as he starts to fuck into you faster, and harder. You've caught him touching himself in the shower, or with one of your shirts clutched in his hands while he uses his tail to jack himself off, and so much more.

That means it's his mating season, he's almost constantly horny.

He's always been careful about distancing himself during mating season so he doesn't hurt you. It seemed different this time.

Syzoth speeds up, moaning right into your ear. The sound of wet skin against wet skin occupies the space between you.

Then you feel it. The burn deep in your gut, white hot jolts running through your body. Your back arches against Syzoth's chest, your fingers gripping his biceps as you start to squirt.

He doesn't dare to stop fucking you during your orgasm. Syzoth pounds your holes relentlessly, his tail thrashing around as he gets closer and closer. He tilts you forward a bit, and stops lifting you up and down. Instead, he brutally thrusts up into you. Hitting that good spot in both places with the same rhythm.

You can feel a bit of his cum inside of you already. Strong arms shake as he keeps you upright.

"Please, let me cum inside of you. I need you to be mine." He whimpers into your ear.

As you're nearly about to finish again just from his rough pleasure, you nod your head yes.

That's all the confirmation he needs, and Syzoth pumps you full of his thick, almost syrupy white cum. His tongue flicks out as his eyes roll backwards in his skull.

Roughly, he fucks you through until he eventually pushes your hips down onto him, really just to milk his cock as you squeeze yourself around him for the second time.

The way you push yourself back onto him only makes it better. How your fingernails scratch at his skin while he cums deep inside of you.

He wraps his arms around your middle, pressing his cheek against the middle of your shoulder blades.

The lizard breathes in your scent. The smell of sex against your skin, the sweat and your perfume mixing is an intoxicating concoction to him.

You feel him harden inside of you just from your scent. Syzoth's cum is dripping from you, you've both made a mess.

You're sweaty, happy, and filled to the brim. You couldn't think of a world where this wasn't perfect for you.

Slowly, he starts to thrust his cocks inside of you again. The mess from the last round only making the wet sound louder. It makes you more slick as you grow to be looser. And he loves it.

It's his mating season, do you really think he's gonna be done after you've cum only twice?

[is-the-snake-video-cute]

What makes you so much better than someone like Clint's Reptiles? You literally own an exotic. As a pet. It's not even being used for education and it's not part of a sanctuary. So what makes you better equipped to handle reptiles?

Hi - I'm going to be honest, I have so little clue what this is about I'm not even confident you've sent it to the right person! I don't think I've mentioned Clint's Reptiles lately any more than just in passing. And I like Clint's Reptiles! The channel is pretty good and educational, and my biggest issues are his general approval of unethical breeding practices (like spider ball pythons). I'll always point out concerns I have with any creators but, as far as reptile channels go, Clint's is one of the better ones (not perfect, but better than some).

Anyway, in case you're concerned about my professional credentials, I'm the reptile head at a wildlife center and I'm on the payroll at a venom lab. My main job and passion is reptile education, but I also do things like help with venomous snakes, relocate wild snakes we get calls about, help rehab injured wild snakes, etc. There aren't a lot of herpetologists in my area so I wear many hats! On the academic side of things, I'm currently pursuing a doctorate in herpetology. I think I'm pretty well-equipped to handle and talk about reptiles!

One of the big things I'm confused about in this ask is that I don't just own "an exotic," I have quite a few pet snakes and most of my pets are also ambassador animals who I use in educational programs. Training and using my snakes in an educational role is a major part of my job and what I do. I'll include my ambassador snakes tag on this so you can read more about how I train my ambassadors and what I expect from them.

Like I said, I'm not really sure what prompted this, but I hope this cleared up some of your concerns? If you'd further like to discuss my position on reptile content creators, I'd be fine with that (as long as we bring down the hostility a bit).

[kaijutegu]

Aug ABSOLUTELY deserves the praise, @ryukikit. St. Augustine Alligator Farm is one of my favorite animal facilities, hands down. It's a pretty zoo, doable in an afternoon if you kinda like crocodilians, or an all day affair if you REALLY like crocodilians. Here are my favorite things about it and why I think it's worth supporting.

1. They keep animals in interesting social groups.

Crocodilians are heavily involved parents, but most places that breed them don't have the enclosure space to let the babies stay with the parents. St. Augustine does. One of my favorite groups was their crèche of slender-snouted crocodiles. They had the parents and then a yearling cohort and a new hatchling cohort. This aligns with how these guys live in the wild- the babies stick around longer! They have the space for it, and they are very in tune with the social needs of their animals.

Very, very few zoos can keep their baby crocs with the adults and still perform maintenance and animal health checks safely. This doesn't mean these facilities are bad- it just means that they have different management practices. And frankly, a lot of these species aren't frequently bred elsewhere. Your average zoo doesn't need a setup where you can have a multiyear crèche for slender-snouted crocodiles. Some species have better success when the young are pulled early, and some zoos are better set up to raise out any offspring separately or behind the scenes. Every facility's practices are different, and this just happens to work well at St. Augustine and be really enjoyable to see as a zoo patron.

Crocodilians are exceptional parents and very protective. It's a sign of incredible animal management practices and animals that feel very comfortable with staff that St. Augustine can do this with nearly every species they breed.

2. They understand the social needs of their animals.

Some crocodilians are social. Some are solitary. Some can live happily with a member of the opposite sex but get territorial around members of the same sex. St. Augustine pays incredible attention to their social groupings to ensure that they aren't just meeting the animals' physical health needs but their social needs as well. They do continuous scientific research about social structures in crocodilians, taking blood samples to test stress hormones and observing stress behaviors to see how group dynamics change.

For example, St. Augustine is home to one of the world's largest known living saltwater crocodiles, Maximo. And his comparatively tiny mate, Sydney. During the educational presentations with these two, they point out that even their monster of a croc needs his social group- he won't eat if she's not around and he is calmer during medical checks if he can see her. These animal share a deep and special pair bond, and they make sure to talk about how the social aspect of these animals' lives is integral to their care. It's a unique aspect of the way they talk about these animals, because he IS a spectacle and he IS a sensation, but they don't talk about him like he's a mindless killing machine- they talk about him like he's a big, complex predator with social needs like any other animal. Aug is the only facility I've been to where the emotional and social needs of crocodilians is part of the education they provide guests- and speaking of education...

3. Their demos and presentations are extremely good.

The presentations at St. Augustine are some of the best I've ever seen, and I've seen literally hundreds of animal talks on everything from aardvarks to zebras. But as you... can probably tell from my blog content, I've spent a lot of time learning about and working with reptiles. I really enjoyed all of their presentations because they are very scientific about things and avoid sensationalism. They really want you to be fascinated by these creatures and love them- but more than anything else, they want you to respect them.

Also, they do a really good job handling their ambassadors. I really enjoyed something as simple as watching an educator tell us about snakes. Throughout the whole presentation she made sure that most of the snake's body was looped in her hand. The snake was always supported and was very calm. She gave the snake plenty of head room so that it didn't feel constricted- it was just good handling all around.

But also, the presentations made it clear how much the park cares about the animals' well-being. When they do the feeding and training presentations, they make it very clear that the animals' participation is entirely voluntary. They do things differently for their 9-foot saltie and their 16-foot saltie, because the 16-footer is so large and heavy he actually struggles walking on land sometimes. They adapt their programs and his care to ensure that he's completely comfortable- and he didn't actually participate in the whole feeding when I was watching! At no point did they try to push him into anything uncomfortable; they offered, he didn't engage, and they moved on. It was a clear expression of his boundaries, and I really appreciated how much his caretakers respected that.

4. Ethical Interactions

I've been to... a lot of tourist locations in Florida that have animals you can hold. Almost always against my will! Many of them are pretty terrible, and you don't actually learn much, if anything. But I really found that to not be the case at St. Augustine. Every single animal presentation and interaction opportunity was accompanied by education about the animal's biology, habits, and- crucially- their conservation status.

When I held a baby alligator at St. Augustine, the proctors- there were two, one to ensure I was holding the gator correctly and the other to educate- were very informative about the role alligators play in their ecosystem and their conservation history. The animals were all properly banded, and one of the two proctors was there to ensure that none of the baby alligators were uncomfortable. As soon as they started getting squirmy or tense, they were removed, unbanded, and taken to an off-exhibit area to relax. And when the babies age out of petting size, they just go in the lagoon to live with others of their species. I saw one upset alligator the entire time I was there, and he was clearly upset that his escape attempt was foiled by a keeper during my nursery tour.

Even though he's restrained in this shot, you can see that his full body and tail are supported, and the grip, while firm, is gentle. He's distressed, but after I took this picture, she put him in his enclosure and he calmed down immediately.

Sometimes when you have petting attractions with baby animals, those animals... don't have a happy ending. (See: cub petting.) But St. Augustine's program is fine- the gators are all aged out of wanting to have mom around, there's no declawing/defanging, and they're handled with care. And it's worth it, because people love what they understand. St. Augustine was integral in raising public awareness about alligators back in the 60s when they were endangered, and now they're thriving- largely in part to programs like St. Augustine getting people to care.

And speaking of getting people to care, let's talk about their research.

5. Shared Research Results

St. Augustine is also home to more species of crocodilian than anywhere else in North America- all of them, usually. (They didn't have a Tomistoma when I visited- that may have changed.)

Because of this species diversity, it's an incredible research resource. Having every species means that you can do a lot of work comparing their behaviors, their growth patterns, and more. They've been a major research site for crocodilian biology since the 1970s. Today, they're one of the key sites for studying crocodilian play and social behaviors. They actually maintain a blog where they post copies of papers that were written using their animals, meaning that you can actually see the results of the research your admission helps fund. You can see that right here: https://www.alligatorfarm.com/conservation-research/research-blog/

All of this adds up to a zoo that provides a unique experience, tons of actual education, and transparency about what its research and conservation steps actually are. St. Augustine's come a long way since its opening in 1893, and they really do want you to leave with a new respect for the animals they care for. Ultimately, if you're a fan of reptiles, you can feel good about visiting the St. Augustine Alligator Farm- their care and keeping are top of the line, they do a ton of innovative conservation research and support for conservation organizations, and you can see this animal there:

(Gharial from the front. Nothing is wrong with her that's just what they look like from the front.)

[kit-williams]

(duplicate nightlord anon, inspired by all the pet theft/stray animal adoption from marines. I release it to you to do as you please, so don't feel pressured to add anything if you don't want to.)

"Alpharius."

She wasn't looking at him, this time. She was looking at the animal in his hands. The deep, greenish black with faint gray bars really was striking against his teal armor. It could be matched. 84 volts through titanium and joining would match the one, and of course the teal color of his armor would-

No, no color matching, there was a bigger problem. "Alpharius, I can't take care of a wild hognose. You have to put it back."

She waited. He didn't move. She didn't move. The snake moved, curling itself comfortably around one armored finger.

"Seriously. There's a reason wild snakes don't do well when kidnapped. Put it back where it came from, or so help me-" No threats helpfully sprung to mind, so she let the sentence die off.

His green eyes glittered in excitement as you had decided to take him to get a snake after he's expressed so much interest in them. You can tell he's done research had you watch some Snake Discovery with him as. The reptile Expo had a few Astartes there with their owners and a few of them just easily handling the large constrictors with ease.

Anything venomous was handled by them as whatever their biology was it seemed to just... well they got tagged and then would get burpy or act like they have flem in their throats being the common denominator for if they actually got venom injected into them in the first place.

You agreed to let him get a snake a reasonably priced one... so you were very confused when he got one of those expensive morphs. "Alpharius..." You said with a warning but he just smiled.

"Just... tell me... you bought it legally."

"Yes." He cooed looking down at the practically teal looking snake.

And that is how you got your Astartis to stop bringing home random snakes.

@egrets-not-regrets @liar-anubiass-blog @barn-anon @bleedingichorhearts

[invertebrates]

bug toys!

alright, here’s my mini-guide to getting into the world of Weirdly Articulated, almost entirely Japanese bug toys.

some caveats:

1) most of these toys aren’t great for kids. they have a lot of small lose-able, breakable, poke-able parts and can fall apart pretty easily. 2) i’m in the US, so i’m not quite sure how to acquire these things if ebay and Buyee don’t work for you 3) ‘bugs’ for the purpose of this guide (and entire blog tbh) is any invertebrate why would i want fake bugs when i can get real bugs? 1) fake bugs don’t die and can be neglected forever. they will never bite, sting, poop on you, or be stinky (unless you make them stinky) 2) fake bugs can be handled constantly, they will not get stressed out or pick up any germs from you 3) fake bugs can be much larger than real bugs, or be species that would be impossible or unethical to own or breed. they can even be fun made up creatures 4) fake bugs don’t require any kind of tank, substrate or food, and they will not breed uncontrollably (or at all) 5) they cannot escape and become an invasive species 6) buying them doesn’t support shady or unethical ‘breeders’ who just take bugs from the wild (not saying all bug breeders do this, but it’s definitely a problem with certain kinds of bugs)

this is not to discourage any responsible bug-culturing you might want to get into, but for me, as a pretty depressed person without a lot of space, these are all big plusses!

onto the fake bugs

ikimono encyclopedia

unfortunately these photos will be some dark toys against dark backgrounds because i am a goth bastard and everything i own is black. sorry.

so, these being Japanese toys, I’m not entirely sure of the correct terms for them. these are pretty much just the search terms I’ve discovered over time that work to find them. as far as I can tell, Japan LOVES bugs and has a very enviable appreciation for them, they don’t seem to be considered nearly as gross or weird or bad as they are in the west.

these are a series gachapon or capsule toys. you can get all kinds of awesome little toys, which are often strangely detailed and often high quality, from vending machines in Japan.

here are some current listings from ebay to give you an idea of the variety and prices:

they also have a lot of cool fish and reptiles in this series. prices can be a bit steep, but you’re usually buying the whole set of toys pictured, not just a one-off. they’re usually a few inches, pretty well painted and articulated, and come as individually wrapped kits you have to put together. i will say, sometimes it is hard to snap the legs into place, so if you have hand/joint issues you might need some help putting them together. usually, a lot of these toys might be the same model but repainted, and sometimes there’s duplicates. the two mantises in my photo are from a set of 6, and there were 3 sets of 2 identical boys, so I could display one with the wings out and another one folded. they’ll also sometimes come with a little piece of clear plastic and a stand you can pose them on top of.

just from the sheer variety they offer, and relative affordability, this would probably be my first recommendation for getting into bug toys. they have beetles, mantids, caterpillars, wasps, ispods, crabs... i’d love some myriapod sets but we’ll see!

i usually grab these guys off ebay. they’re also available on Buyee and there may be more, cheaper options over there, but I’ve noticed with the import/holding fees, buyee and ebay come out to be about the same most of the time. (for anyone confused, Buyee is an English import service that lets you buy stuff off Japanese sites and auctions, since a lot of Japanese sites only want to ship inside Japan)

these are also just the gachapon bug toys from one specific company. there’s OTHER companies making other sets of really good bugs but I’ve had so much luck with just this one term I haven’t branched out much yet.

Fujimi Living Thing Arc

these are slightly bigger models made out of slightly harder plastic (well, the mantis is bigger; beetles are about the same as the ikimono guys) that are a bit more intricate to put together. they come with assembly instructions, but of course they’re in Japanese. you can pretty much follow along with the pictures though. the painting details aren’t quite as nice, but they have a bit more articulation. not as many choices with this set, though they do have a crawfish I wanna snag. they also have some goofy JP style monster dinos.

i bought these guys off hlj.com but it looks like they’re on ebay(and buyee as well I’m sure)

Revoltech RevoGeo

you’ll probably recognize this name if you’re into transformers or other toy collecting. these guys are gonna be by far the most expensive ($90-$120+) but they are extremely large and high quality. this one is super articulated, the individual leg joints and mandibles move, wings move, about the only thing that isn’t articulated are the individual little tarsomeres/feet segments or the abdomen segments. not as much choice here either, I think they have a beetle, ants, crab and a scorpion plus this wasp. these also come mostly assembled, you can usually just snap the wings on or maybe swap out a few parts (iirc this gal’s stinger can be removed)

i got her off bigbadtoystore.com, though they may be available cheaper elsewhere. BBTS is infamously a bit pricier than other toy stores but they’ve always been very reliable and quick for me.

this BIG isopod

this one won’t be as helpful. these may be part of the same series as the ikimono (they were just labeled bandai gachapon) but they are much larger, this guy’s like 5″, came fully assembled and is pretty articulated. they can even roll into a ball! all their little legs move! i’m pretty sure they’re meant to be one of the large deep sea isopods and man, a 1:1 revoltech model of one of those would be a dream.

completely fake bugs!

had to share my little starship trooper warrior bug collection :^) the big one and the one directly under it are 90s kenner toys I believe, the bottom-right one is a funko, the red one is from a tabletop set, and the guy on the left is a figma model that is unfortunately ridiculously expensive nowadays.

one nice thing about fake real bugs: there is not a crazy collectors market for this so this stuff should stay pretty affordable. unless real normal bugs somehow become a huge pop sensation i think it’s just us weird nerds that are into them.

other search terms to try: bandai insect insect gachapon (or gashapon) nature gachapon

that way you may be able to track down listings for individual toys that should be a bit cheaper! here’s a sample what bandai insect got me on ebay:

happy fake bug collecting!

you may noticed I haven’t mentioned one form of bug that has a lot of the same advantages as plastic bugs: dead pinned insects in shadowboxes. i do have some of these, but i am reluctant to support places selling them nowadays because few are ethically or responsibly sourced, and the same sellers often kill and sell endangered bats and other vertebrates for display. plus mites got into half the ones i had and turned them into dead bug dust. if mites ever develop a taste for plastic i will be sad about my collection but the world will be saved from a lot of nasty garbage so it would ultimately be a Plus.

so unless you personally know the person that pinned the insect, i would be very cautious about buying dead things from random online stores or dealers at ‘curiosity’ or ‘oddity’ shows and things like that, since it’s all sourced from alibaba and whatnot anyway. i swear i saw like 5 different people selling the same dead octopuses in orbs at the last curiosity show i went to. they are cool, but i have no idea where those octopuses came from and i doubt the people selling them did either.

[ms-scarletwings]

Now I don’t mind this established trope at all where people are basically ants in the minds of dragons, but then, just once in any fantasy media or campaign I want a dragon or other massive higher creature that responds to the existence to humans in the exact way that I do to bugs.

Dragon that stops flying because it saw someone sleeping in a field and pokes them with a branch out of sheer curiosity to check if they’re dead or not.

Dragon that watches goblins scurry into one of their little huts and just pries the roof off to stare at them and look at the inside of their little shelter before putting it back down with a satisfied grin and leaving.

Dragon that sees a person treading water in the middle of a lake or the ocean, carefully plucks them out, and sets them down on dry land. Maybe puts a goat’s leg in their lap in case they need a snack. Also calls them “Harold” for no apparent reason.

Very young dragon that screams and freaks out upon seeing a bearded man with brightly colored robes and a pointed hat until it realizes the guy isn’t casting any spells. “Ohhhh you’re a wizard mimic” and then proceeds to handle the guy for a few minutes, fascinated. It also addresses the dude as “Craig” the entire time.

Dragon grabs a wild boar and repeatedly starts placing it in front of a town because it wants to see some hunting behavior in action.

Thief gets caught sneaking into a dragon’s lair. Resident reptile roars and is seemingly about to obliterate them when its mate suddenly comes rushing in with a giant cup. They have a grumbly back and forth before the thief is scooped up and promptly brought to be dropped off at the nearest random village. Dragon’s mate refers to the thief as “Sullivan SillyMan” the whole way.

Dragon that encounters a member of a humanoid race it has never heard of or seen before, at least in this region. Stops everything it’s doing and immediately kidnaps the individual. Speeds back to its lair and keeps them imprisoned while trying to flip through some tomes. Eventually drags out a magical item that they use to open a communication with another dragon, describing the prisoner, showing them the prisoner, exchanging friendly banter. There’s a whole 30 minute to and hour convo and everything. Dragon refers to the captive as “Thaddeus” the whole time. Last thing it does is sketch out a drawing of the person before taking them back to where they found them and turning them loose again.

Dragon doing this to a gnome

[wordy-little-witch]

Ficlet I had to get outta my head

TW: attempted noncon (thwarted), attempted drugging (partially effective but not really), allusion to traumas and mental illness never specified.

Ships: cross guild poly, pre-relationship but post-feelings lmao

Wild Cross Guild concept but a meeting with a prospective sponsor/partner who deals in smuggled goods and black market trade, where Buggy is Immediately on high alert because something about this woman is absolutely Not Right. He's never been able to explain it in a way that was understood, the ways people sounded and acted and spoke acting as beacons to his attention. He just called it a vibe or declared if he liked or disliked someone. He was rarely wrong, and Buggy was certain that he did not like this lady.

She made a show of pulling the inexperienced boss card, citing her late husband being the founder, the title and responsibilities falling to her in his wake. She brought gifts, armed with a sheepish and hopeful smile, a demure slip of a woman before what, to those on the Seas, were three power houses.

Buggy didn't buy it for a moment. For one, her hands were calloused in such a way that it spoke of weapons training. For another, the gifts were surface levels of striking fancies, but the specificity of them could easily be attributed to luck or simple price. Mihawk enjoyed a fine red wine, which just so happened to be on the more expensive side - aged red wine of a fine quality was never cheap. Crocodile was not prone to hiding his propensity for riches, wealth, jewelry, or his beloved reptiles. His bananawani specifically hailed from their habitats in Alabasta, so the jewelers there doubtlessly made more than a few specialty items with their shape in mind. Finding one worth its price and the mythical associations of the 'wanis could easily be seen as a well-read woman making an effort.

Buggy's gift had been what made him cement his notion.

He spent decades playing the fool and spreading a net woven with lies, misinformation and subterfuge. It was not paranoia if people were truly out to get you, and Buggy knew more than anyone else in the damned world - barring maybe one other - just how quickly the hounds of hell will close at the heels of the weakest links.

His gift had been a treasure chest. Ordinarily, that alone with not cause much sway. No, inside the chest was gold, berri, jewels in many colors barring one. Buggy never wore red jewels, not out of hatred but out of self consciousness, out of paranoia. He had taken that token and tweaked it in a few areas of his proverbial net, citing red as a color he typically abhorred in gems. Some called it conceit. Some called it pettiness, or pickyness, or spoiled brat behaviors. Buggy called it useful.

Within the chest gifted to him was a distinct lack of red gem stones. Within the chest was a three dimensional puzzle map - one of the kind he collected and adored, had been infatuated by since his earliest memory at the knee of the man who would be king.

These things were expensive, rare, and a smuggler would never give it as a gift.

She said the other men had helped her select their gifts.

Buggy gave the ensemble a cursory glance from his periphery, and he bit back the urge to curl his lip.

None of these people felt, sounded or smelled safe. Their Voices were discordant, anticipatory, and dripping with greed and... guilt? The mess was more than he felt equipped to handle, so he turned his attention back to the woman, doe like brown eyes framed by dark lashes as she happily chattered away to Crocodile, innocence exuding from her pores.

He didn't trust her.

Mihawk was as attuned to his surroundings as ever, gaze sharp and mouth flat, though his attention was more on the visible and energetic threats in their midsts. Buggy, secure in the swordsman's watch, let himself focus on the woman.

It was because he was focused so intently that he saw her rather impressive sleight of hand as she offered to pour Crocodile's drink. Into one glass fell a powder, pink tinted which rapidly vanished in the amber whiskey leaving naught a trace.

Buggy was moving before he could stop himself, a hand snatching the drink from his lietenamt with a faux casual grin. He tossed her a wink and took a sip, delighting as everything froze.

Mrs Stone blanched, eyes bulging. Hands flew to weapons, all of which stopped as Mihawk shifted, barely a movement, barely a breath, before all of the inconsequential blades, guns and otherwise fell to useless pieces at his feet.

Before Crocodile could even respond, the woman was rising, face angry, moving to slip the hidden daggers from her sleeves before being halted and strung up by shackles of sand.

"What was it," Buggy asked softly, "that you added to the drink, my dear lady? It was awfully sweet for my Croco-chan's tastes. More up my alley, I'd argue."

"It wasn't meant for you!"

"How mean~"

Crocodile tightened his hold with the sand, earning a grunt of pain from their assailant. "What was in it," he hissed with a glare as dark as death.

The woman gave a slow grin, chuckling softly. "Have you ever had Amorenatta root?"

The woman and her men are arrested, a notice sent to their contact regarding the situation in plain terms. Buggy, having had but a sip, was not in mortal danger, he assured his crew. Amorenatta was a highly potent aphrodisiac and intoxicant. Even concentrated into a powder as it had been, the amount he consumed wouldn't cause any fatal side effects. Once the substance kicked in, he'd likely just... be a little worked up, as he put it with a blush, possibly a bit more loose lipped than usual.

It was only the doctor's hesitant interjection that led to Buggy paling, realizing his error. It was an aphrodisiac in cisgender men. Buggy, with his non-miraculous and non-injectable transition methods, may have a biochemistry that could result in an adverse reaction. Add on to it the hormones the root can release being connected to the nervous system where his Devil Fruit lurked in his genome, it would be safest to have a partner or two with him during such a time frame to handle any... needs... that arise.

Mihawk and Crocodile both volunteer, to everyone's surprise.

They cite not caring one way or another what they'd need to do, offering what could almost count as remorse for having blown off Buggy's initial reservations about the whole thing. They did not listen. Buggy is now paying the price.

As it would turn out, the drug was not pure Amorenatta. It also included a synthetic fertility enhancement, and it is only from a deep discussion with Mrs Stone that the truth of the attack came to light. Her goal had been to drug Crocodile and bed him, having planned on imbibing the drug herself. The plan there had been essentially a baby trap wherein she thought carrying his child would make for a weakness to exploit further into the dealings, given his not-so-secret history of sparing children.

Had that not been viable, then claiming the conception to be less than consensual had also been an option which would have barred the Guild from making many other allies in the market she excelled in currently, leaving her and her own as their sole source, thus maximizing the trade deal payoff.

Buggy catching her had not been in the cards whatsoever.

As his luck would have it, Buggy was affected by the drug in a different way than anticipated. Instead of growing a bit dizzy, he instead began to spike a fever. His blood pressure rose. The dichotomy of the genetic information, reaction to hormones, and his own devil fruit attempting to chop-chop the chemical itself within lead to a reaction akin to an illness from bacteria or a virus.

Mihawk and Crocodile made good on their vows to assist, however, and the three men find themselves rather taken with the domesticity of it all.

Mihawk, never quite known for his tact, asked if Buggy had ever considered a family before being faced with this situation. Buggy, tired, feverish, comfortable in a way he rarely was, confesses that he had wanted it. He'd always wanted it. He'd also feared it with every fiber of his being. He'd love to have a family, a spouse and a child or two, but his heart and soul belonged to the very Sea which hated him. He would have loved to have a family, but he knew first hand the trials, tribulations and terrors of a pirate for a parent, had seen what horrors persist in the world and what atrocities occur at Sea.

"All that aside," Buggy admits softly, head resting against a pale shoulder, eyes lidded as he smiles wanely at the logia user across the table in the sitting room, "I'd never be a good parent. I know it. Everyone knows it. I'm... not okay." He sighs, eyes drifting shut. "I never have been..."

[ceratosaurtalks]

So I've been hesitant to post some feeding images to talk about the different variation in diets that I feed, but then I decided I totally could post a Dominicans feeding pic! Heres two different images of her with her 'prey', a month apart with the first being the most recent. She eats more often that but I rotate between feeding these and Frozen/Thawed Anoles Ive raised myself.

So you're probably sitting there wondering, wtf is she eating?

Well Ill tell you! She's eating a specialized Reptilink, its a sausage but for reptiles! They come in a lot of different types of whole prey items. From Quail to Rabbit, to Bayou blends, herbivorous blends and more! Not just for snakes either, but a lot of lizards can enjoy them too! Their insect blend is especially nice and adds a lot of nutritional variation.

So, which one is she eating? She's eating the Iguana blend! Its whole prey Iguana mixed with Quail eggs. I also feed her link occasionally to my Dumerils ground boa as a treat. So, why do I do this?

Well, for a few different reasons!

For the Dominican, it is better and healthier for this animal to be eating lizards over rodents at this age. Dominican Red Mountain Boas are specialized eaters, and the reason you don't see them bred super often in captivity despite being amazing animals? Baby Dominicans fresh born(Yes, born, they give live birth), are notoriously known for only accepting anoles as prey items. Captive-bred F/T Anoles are not readily-available feeders on the market, especially ones that are of *quality*. This means that you'll likely need to breed your own supply of anoles, which can be a HUGE hassle. There is a very small amount of breeders who spend a *LOT* Of time and effort getting babie on f/t rodents as they're more readily available, but ultimately it is not worth the time, effort, and risk to the animals overall health as Rodent prey items have a much higher fat content than they should be eating at this age. As Domincans get older, they will Naturally switch over to other prey items: Fish, Rodents, and Avian prey.

This is also to ensure she doesn't become a picky eater as she grows. I switch up my animals diets often because feeding the same exact nutritional value to an animal can be detrimental to them in the long term. A lot of snakes don't live out their fullest life span, or develop health complications way later down the line- most commonly being muscle atrophy, because of these things. Not only that, offering different prey items can be very mentally stimulating to an animal: Different scents, different textures, different nutrition, ect. Stimulating reptiles in captivity is often overlooked entirely, because a lot of people don't understand how intelligent a lot of these animals actually are. For example, did you know Monitor lizards, when given a mental stimulation, can be trained?

Heres one of my favorite videos of a Monitor being trained, but this is just one of many, many examples I can pull out:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LWTITUgDcmU

And this *can* extend to many sp. Of snakes that can be trained. Tap training, target training, and choice-based handling are some of the most common ways to train and build confidence with your animal. Feeding different prey items might be something extraordinarily small in this process of mental stimulation, but it plays a role in preventing mental degradation.

My Dominican Is target trained and practices choice based handling. As does my Dumeril.

I do a lot of the above for the same reason I give my Dumeril, but Dumeril's aren't specialist. So the first part of this doesn't really apply to her.

However, that doesn't mean Dumeril ground boas don't come across lizards in the wild. They are opportunistic hunters who won't pass up on a opportunity to get a meal. They do prey on lizards, rodents, birds- anything they can reasonably get their mouths on. And because of that, I like to offer her variation in her diet that she'd naturally have in the wild for maintaining her weight and keeping her healthy and strong.

Boas hold onto weight a lot better than Pythons do, *typically* speaking across the species. Animals like a Dumerill, BCI, BCC, BCL, and even BCOs(Just as a few examples) are known to really hold onto weight and can be hard for them to shed it. So the best way to prevent a very long, extensive diet? Is to not let your animal get obese in the first place.

Tag for @snake-spotted for the DRMB ahah.

[bonefall]

re: the last Warriors Bites, is there any advantage to cooking meat? /gen

ik for humans we can’t process a lot of raw meat w/o infections, but cats are pure carnivores

Several!

Human evolutionary history is actually fascinating in that we HAVE to eat cooked meat, it marked a moment in our evolutionary history where our brains were able to get bigger because we needed less space on the skull for a massive chewing muscle

So for a Warrior Cat, which is clearly a species capable of advanced social dynamics, it could be likely that something is biologically going on in that skull of theirs for which cooking is an advantage.

But even for a normal cat living out in the woods? There's still benefits.

Preservation

Drying food can store it for weeks or months. In the books we've seen prey going bad after only a day; there's definitely a lot of food waste that can be avoided if the excess prey is cooked and stored by the assigned "kitchen patrol" after dinner.

(On that note; @hey-its-quill requested an entry on "Who cooks and prepares food?" so this question, including what a 'kitchen patrol' is, is on the official Warrior Bites to-do list.)

Nutrition

Some forms of cooking would cause nutrition loss, but it's easily countered by collecting the juices and serving them as a gravy. For the most part, cooking is just an easy way to break down connective tissue, which would actually make it easier to digest.

ESPECIALLY for kits and elders, who aren't able to chew their food very well.

One thing I will be mentioning when I get to a bird entry, though, is that large birds are rarely roasted. This is because cats eat bones as part of their diet, but when bird bones are cooked, they can splinter and cause internal damage.

(Which is why you should never let your cat eat cooked chicken bones. Raw are fine though.)

Sanitization

And this is the primary reason. Avoiding food poisoning and infection is more important than you think; being an obligate carnivore does not make all food safe.

(CW: Past here, I talk about foodbourne illness, parasites, and animal death. If these topics upset you, I've summed up everything already!)

It's actually a misconception that cats can't get salmonella, e. coli, or listeria poisoning. They're just better at not getting it because food spends less time digesting in their shorter, carnivorous intestines. A lot of people actually switch to a raw food pet diet thinking it's healthier (and in some ways it is, afaik) but then improperly handle the pet food for this reason. Always freeze raw pet food and wash your hands please.

Salmonella poisoning in cats is sometimes called "Songbird Fever" because a house cat gets it by killing and eating a native songbird. In fact I'm going to use my little soapbox for a moment to please ask, if you don't keep your cat inside (which is the only way to completely prevent the death of songbirds), please, at the very least, only let them outside with a birds-be-safe collar cover.

(Salmonella poisoning is also why I've decided that ShadowClan would logically be the Clan that cooks the most. As Marsh and Pine hunters, well over 75% of their diet is birds and reptiles, which naturally contain salmonella)

So that's JUST farm animals and wild birds. Hantavirus, leptospirosis, toxoplasmosis, even the goddamn bubonic plague can be caught from wild rodents.

That's not even to mention tapeworms, roundworm, and other digestive parasites specifically evolved to live in an animal's stomach!

I remember someone made a joke about how these wild cats are eating random mice and walking away fine while their housecat throws up from getting the wrong brand of cat food. And... well... truth is, the wild cats are not fine. They're getting sick constantly.

Warrior Cats is just, ultimately, a young adult fantasy series about romance and political drama that chooses not to accurately portray feral cats dying horribly of preventable foodbourne illness.

SO TL;DR COOKING WILL HELP A LOT.