Mad About Animals

Mostly about animals, animal rescue and my own personal little flock. A very cynical view of animal rescue and the thoughtless action of people. Any suggestions on animal care given in this blog are personal experience, research and working along side veterinarians and other animal custodians. While they may be helpful or educational, please always consult a veterinarian in case of a pet emergency. If you need to send me an ask, you can do it from my main blog- http://joulesburn.tumblr.com.

[pastrygeckos]

Do you know of any reputable online breeders who sell leopard geckos for pet-only? I've noticed those options tend to be a bit cheaper than breeding-grade geckos.

Hi!

Wow that’s pretty much what we have planned breeding for when we do - pets! I’m not sure of any breeders specifically for that though :/ Perhaps someone else could chime in? followthebluebell lizardbeans

[followthebluebell]

Local reptile conventions are GREAT for pet-only gecks! c: (or any geck at all, really). Leos aren’t selling great right now, especially the lower end morphs like hypos, wilds, or high-yellows. Vendors practically will throw them at you. This will also save you a lot of money on shipping the animal (which, in the states, will be AT LEAST 40 dollars usually. I’ve seen ranges from $40-75)

GeckoBoa has a pet-only section for animals with defects or old breeders. 

Tremper’s site has a $150 or less section… substantially more expensive than most pet geckos. The Tremper name still carries a lot of weight. 

I hesitate to recommend large-scale breeders, but Reptiles By Mack is another option. They mostly produce pet-only quality animals. For a large-scale operation, I’ve never heard any complaints about them. 

And, as usual, householdgeckos and lizardbeans should be considered. c: hearts-of-fire is another small breeder, who is LOVELY.

[lizardbeans]

I didn’t see this until now but I would say Expos and the breeders listed. Geckos ECT also has a $150 or less section and I had wonderful service with them. Chenu is from them and shes as healthy as can be

[kinetisch]

Just wanted to point out that GeckoBoa’s pet section also has perfectly healthy genetic cross geckos that just shouldn’t be used in breeding programs.  So not only old or special needs gecks.  Mine is neurological, but it was stated plainly and she was robust and healthy as can be.  He’ll also often cull out tail kinks and the like as pet only adoptions.  

[askscalestails]

do you know a good online store to buy live plants from that isn't super expensive? :o

I feel like I answered this before but tumblr ate it! Super expensive can vary from person to person. But Liveaquaria has plants, however I would check facebook fish groups or a fish forum to see if anyone is selling! Heck even ask fishblr!

[kinetisch]

I’ve gotten some from http://www.bamaplants.com/.  Loved them every time.

The place to get the really good deals is watching forums.  There’s always stuff you can jump on, but you’ve got to know what you’re looking for and keep an eye out.  http://www.plantedtank.net/forums.  Have to be a member before you can see the sales forum now, but there are great deals and you can check member ratings.  But it is a forum and private sale, so there it is at your own risk, so just be cautious.  Issues are very rare, though.  

[lunationgeckos]

Our two new, unnamed babes from Ron Tremper. Just getting some quick picks before putting them away to rest and get comfy.  These boops were not happy with me in the least and made total messes of their quarantine bins for revenge.  

0.1 Super Snow Patternless 

1.0 Super Snow het Patternless and Eclipse

[lunationgeckos]

Meanwhile, Blender is deeply unhappy that there are pictures of anyone other than her.  

householdgeckos

[kinetisch]

I’ve made the plunge and made myself a reptiblr!  It will almost entirely be about geckos of all kinds, though I can’t promise a critter of another kind might not get in there every now and again.  

lunationgeckos

[householdgeckos]

All of the currently for sale babus that will be attending the Cincinnati reptile show with me this Sunday.

Also I’ll be bringing one or two of the adults but need help deciding who.~

[kinetisch]

Why not Kelent as a ‘things to come’ baby?  :D 

[bettatastic]

Enough said.

[choeurie-deactivated20210530]

[kinetisch]

Did a photoshoot since I need to borrow Blender’s tank for a few hours while I size and cut the foam core for the backbone of what will be her new decor.  Planning to take better pics this time, I hope.  I’ve got some big plans for it to give the girl lots of room to squirm around. 

Top three pics are of Kon’s bold stripe girl, Tahlia.  10 mo. old. 

Bottom four are Meche, my neurological pet gecko.  Named and gotten for the fact that her head spotting totally looks like a screaming skull. 

[kinetisch]

It’s wonderful to find such humility in such a beautiful creature.  

[householdgeckos]

I was having a talk the other day with a friend about how geckos can look different structurally, especially in the face and such differences are very noticeable between different breeders. Pictured above are some good examples of this. The two total eclipses from one breeder seem more slender bodied and have flatter longer heads and their eyes are larger and their expressions seem softer.[Persian and Neva] while the other two are from another breeder and they seem stockier with somewhat shorter more broad heads with sharper features and a more fierce expression.[Neve and unnamed female] Persian and the unnamed female are not pictured because they were not in the mood to sit still today]

Also I highly apologize for the dang fuzzies all over the photos.. I just can’t seem to get the camera clean no matter how hard I try, I don’t even know how that happened considering I’m usually good with keeping these sorts of things clean.

[kinetisch]

I cannot wait to buy babiiies to keep Blender company.  Company in their own separate homes but they can borrow sugar from each other when they’re making roach cakes. 

[kinetisch]

Water change and trim day. And some appreciation for my koi angelfish who probably needs a name.

[askscalestails]

Basic leopard gecko care? I always thought they had to eat crickets, but someone told me they'd be fine on a diet of meal worms? Any basic gecko caring websites/blog posts/links would be appreciated! Thank you so much!!

These three are pretty good! (x)(x)(x) Sorry I don’t know of any blog posts about their care.

[kinetisch]

This is a pretty new one and also pretty awesome: 

http://lizardbeans.tumblr.com/post/109818693654/leopard-gecko-care

[kinetisch]

I really need to get better pictures of this in action now that it's cured.  Right now I have paper towel under all of it until I can work out the tile pathway issues.  

I hadn't seen anyone do a full two layer tank set up before so I was curious to see if it would work.  Since Leopard Geckos mostly hide underground in whatever nooks and crannies they can find, I was interested in maximizing the usable space in the tank for Meche's use along with allowing for natural climbing behaviors.  

I'll try to get those better pictures eventually, but for now I'm just letting her enjoy it.  I learned a lot making this one and plan to make the next two tanks much more aesthetic than this one.  

[badbreedingblog]

Warning signs of a bad rescue

Recognizing a bad rescue from a good one is getting harder and harder, as the number of bad people involved in animal rescue continue to increase.

I know I focus mainly on breeders, but there is such a thing as “Back Yard Rescues”, usually hoarders, who are just as bad, if not worse, than BYBs. Know the signs of an illegitimate rescue and steer clear away from them. They often have animals infected with an array of parasites and diseases and don’t have the means to provide adequate shelter and food and care. 

[moreanimalia]

This is important :/

[kinetisch]

This list is so broad it could possibly cover almost every rescue depending on how they operate, unfortunately.  The fact is that a lot of bad rescues and rescuers started out with good intentions.  It's the lack of ability to say no that turns these guys into bad rescues most of the time.  

I have seen it quite a bit.  It's why I like that my rescue can try to focus in a little more of a 'business-like' manner.  There are multiple people coming at a rescue, every single day, begging for their animals to be taken.  Begging for someone to come out and remove animals from their homes, work, areas they just happened to notice.  Most threaten that if the rescue doesn't take it, they'll have to go to a kill center/throw  outside/put to sleep.  Many say their pets they're trying to turn in are perfectly healthy when they aren't (much more expense).  If a rescue can't stay focused and within their budgets to maintain proper care for the animals they already have it's obscenely easy to become overrun in a matter of weeks.  

And it's an unfortunate reality that many of the people lead by their hearts to help save animals, can't say no to any in need and inadvertently create exactly what they advocate against.  

[householdgeckos]

[askscalestails]

Can salt and pepper cories live with a betta and a nerite in a 10 gallon? Would that be overstocking, and if not how many are OK?

Overstocking! Anything other than dwarf corydoras cannot be kept in 10 gallons and need at least 20. So if you do dwarf corys you could do 6-8 no problem, but anything else corydoras is no.

[kinetisch]

Pretty sure they're talking about Corydoras Habrosus, which get called salt and pepper cories rather than two separate species.  I got confused on this when I started researching them for my tank since there's also the full sized Pepper Cory, but the habrosus is just about the same size as the dwarf cory, so it should be fine, right?  (I also think they're way cuter than the dwarf cory.)  

I had some with a betta, I'd just suggest getting the cories first with any of the pygmy cories.  I had one betta who would chase them so much, even after a week.  They're faster than him, but I think it stressed them too much.  They lived fine with my betta who ignored them, though.  

[kinetisch]

I think I enjoyed doing rescue work better when I was doing it solo.  I do like the rescue I work with.  But the broader rescue community is just full of such nasty, despicable people.  They may do good work for animals, but most of them have nothing but contempt for humanity, their own children, ethnicities, civil rights... Just looking at my foster feed is exhausting, even without the constant stream of gruesome cruelty pictures and videos. 

I seriously hate these people.  And most of them are complete morons who ignore precautions against communicable diseases because 'saving' the animal takes priority over making sure the ones you already have stay healthy.  

[askscalestails]

I have a kitten (not even 6 months old yet). Is it common for her not to meow often? She only does it when she see's us bringing her more food or water. She only makes a noise that sounds a bit like she is rolling r's? She also never really purrs unless she is sleeping. Is she just not a loud cat? Or will she begin to get more vocal when she gets older? (We've had her for over 2 months now, so I assume she is used to us and the house)

It’s normal! Some cats are just not as vocal as others. How much noise they make depends on breed, their surroundings, and if their parents were big talkers or not. I wouldn’t worry about it!

[kinetisch]

Cats don't vocalize much when socializing with other cats.  It's all very low, quiet noises and a lot of body language to communicate between them.  They usually outgrow the loud meows when humans are not a factor.  Being more quiet and stealthy keeps them safer as much as it lets them hunt. 

It's their interactions with us that tends to teach them to make all of these loud noises and keep meowing since they learn that it gets our attention.  Some just never get too vocal even when living with us.  And from my experience, males are often louder and more chattery than females, but that's only personal experience so it may not hold.  

She might grow to be more vocal.  If you WANT her to be vocal, and that's a big need for you, you could entice her with food and see if she wants it enough to meow before giving it to her.  But it might not work if that's just her natural inclination.  And there's no need to worry about it. 

One of my first males almost never meowed unless he was distressed, and the same went for purring.  Every now and then you'd get the barest bit of purr out of him, but he enjoyed getting pet and playing as much as any other cat.  He used to wake me up every morning trying to groom my hair, getting it stuck on his tongue.  And his best friend I also adopted at the same time so they grew up together hasn't managed to shut up for a full hour in 13 years and it never influenced the quiet one.