OMG, Spiders and Snakes!

[omg-snakes]

Thoughts on Crab Day

I support this idea and I'll be participating on July 29th.

I see a lot of folks saying things to the effect of, "don't reward Tumblr for making things worse/not listening to their userbase/not adding features I need-want-like." I also see a lot of posts saying that the organizers of Crab Day are TERFs, neo-Nazis, and/or ultraconservatives.

While I agree that TERFs and Nazis (neo and paleo) need to be yote into the sun, whoever started this idea was not wrong about the site needing money to continue operating. Tumblr is a business. That's how businesses work.

Now, they can get money from advertisers and monetization partners, or they can get it from users. If they get it from advertisers/investors, those parties have the opportunity to weigh in on features they think will generate more revenue... like Tumblr Live... which is objectively trash. Tumblr Live is powered by LiveBox, an add-on service provider that enables sites to host live streaming content to generate revenue. Tumblr is also trying to attract users from the X-Twitter exodus by making the interface more familiar to these users. Was this a bad idea? Yes. It's a desperate attempt to attract more users so as to increase ad views and generate more revenue. But, remember, Tumblr is a business. That's how businesses work.

For YOU (and me!), Tumblr is a community. It's a platform for our art. It's a meeting place for friends and like-minded individuals. It's a safe space for self-expression. It's the last mostly-unmonetized bastion of social media in a landscape dominated by influencers, hustlers, and data-miners. For TUMBLR STAFF, Tumblr is a service that they are trying to sell so that they can obtain money that they can then exchange for food, housing, repayment of student loans, etc. If they can't afford those things by selling you their services, then they will literally go do something else. Yes, Tumblr is indeed a business and not just a passion project. That's how businesses work.

So by buying things directly from Tumblr, like a $3 crab-summoning gift, and especially as part of a coordinated effort like Crab Day and/or Crab Week, you are telling Tumblr Staff that YOU are a CUSTOMER, not just a monetizable data point. We are, in a very distant sense, establishing ourselves as a body of influence. If Tumblr sees that we can and will do this en masse, they are more likely to treat us as contributors and potentially shareholders who need to be kept happy. We each have a vested interest in the continuation of this site, and we have a rare opportunity to show the specific value of that interest.

Also, for those who want more accessibility tools, this is a great way to get those implemented. Accessibility for web applications is a big, big business and toolkits and training for accessibility standards tend to cost quite a lot. Training for a single accessibility plug-in toolkit can cost around $2000 per user*. That's about 667 crabs. By participating in Crab Day, even just a little bit or even just spreading the word about it or even just allowing others to participate as they please without pitching a ragequit tanty about it, you can tell Tumblr staff that you're here as a customer, your voice needs to be heard, and your needs are important.

If this doesn't work, and Tumblr doesn't take their userbase seriously after we make a concerted effort to support them, then please by all means go back to whatever version of complaining makes you feel most satisfied. But just for now, let's try something new!

*based on actual costs of a web accessibility training program offered by the agency for which I work

[followthebluebell]

Rare Reptile Ripped From Cage In Sacramento Pet Store

The store on Freeport Boulevard is one of a kind and it has only been open a month, but already has suffered a major loss.

A female albino blue tegu was stolen from a pet store in Sacramento, California.  If you live in the Bay Area, please keep an eye out for her!

[omg-snakes-also]

This isn’t snakes, but this reptile store is in my home town. Please if you see Albi reach out and get her home to her family. The owners have offered a $1000 cash reward for her safe return, no questions asked. Tegus are not easy animals to keep and it’s very likely that she’ll be neglected or abused by her captors.

[omg-snakes-also]

I know that you probably won't listen to me because of the cost, but if you intend to continue being exposed to roaches you should really keep an epi-pen on you. It's likely that your allergy won't worsen, but the science behind what determines an allergy's severity isn't totally understood and any allergy that significantly affects the throat has the ability to become a medical emergency, and your throat could close up again unexpectedly. Please carry and learn to use an epi!

Hello friend,

Thank you for being so considerate and caring, seriously. Like, you don’t even know me and here you’re reaching out with legitimate concern for my health and well-being, and that’s a rare and valuable trait in a fellow human. You are very kind and I am very appreciative.

I have similarly considered this and I agree with your assessment that emergency first aid is probably a smart thing to have around. While I’m not sure I’d undertake the cost of an epi-pen if it were just me, my roommate has a very severe bee venom allergy so we do have an epi-pen in the house and I know how to use it, though I hope this knowledge never becomes necessary.

Thank you again for your concern and for your message. :)

[followthebluebell]

dubia roach anon: I've heard that people can be allergic to them. However I work with hissing cockroaches and haven't had any reactions to them and I've been working at this place for months. Is the roach allergy applicable to all roaches or is it species specific?

I’m pretty sure it’s not species-specific.  The allergies are responding to roach feces and shed body parts of roaches rather than the roach themselves.  I’m not an entomologist, but I’m PRETTY SURE roaches are basically made of the same stuff and produce more or less the same sort of poop. 

[the-awkward-turt]

Interestingly being exposed to roaches previously over a long period of time actually makes you MORE likely to develop an allergy to them in the future. Lots of people that breed/work around roaches will become sensitized over time and eventually develop an allergy to them; most commercial dubia breeders wear gloves and even sometimes face masks and goggles when working with their roaches to avoid excessive exposure.

If you become allergic, roaches/roach frass of any kind will trigger your allergies regardless of species (at least to the best of my knowledge; there may be exceptions).

Fascinating side note: Some roach species (hissers are a prime example) have symbiotic mites living on them that eat excess food/waste on the roach’s exoskeleton and make it less likely for fungus to grow in the cracks. Apparently the presence of these mites in a colony makes roach keepers less likely to become allergic to their roaches, which implies that it may not even be the roaches themselves that people become allergic to but possibly the tiny fungus growing in between the creases of the roach’s exoskeleton.

[omg-snakes-also]

Yep, I kept hissers and other species for years before working in a reptile-centric pet store and developing an allergy in my first year there. My own roaches were kept in well-ventilated enclosures with dirt and their symbiotic mites, and I never had a problem while handling or cleaning their enclosures. The store roaches were kept in sealed plastic tubs with no substrate and stacks of egg crate. One day my throat closed while I was counting out dubia for a customer and from that point on even my own roaches made me itchy if I handled them and I can’t put my face too close to a container of roaches without sneezing and coughing. It’s become less severe since I stopped working with large volumes of roaches, but I do still use them as feeders so there’s some exposure.

[omg-snakes-also]

A smol and good friend having a snack.

[butthurtherpetologist-deactivat]

My friend has a rabbit, but cannot afford a cage. Would a plastic tub be an acceptable substitute? Or do you know of any alternatives cheaper than an actual cage?

I know next to nothing on rabbit care, but I think they require an enclosure that has high ventilation due to the buildup of ammonia. So I believe tubs are a bad choice for them.But I am not 100% positive.

[omg-snakes-also]

Rabbits can not be housed in a tub. They require a great deal of space and ventilation in order to thrive. Your friend could try using an extra-large tub and leave the lid off, but chances are that the bunny would quickly learn to hop over the edge and escape. Rabbits are litter trainable just like a cat, so a good alternative might be a puppy crate and a litter box.

[omg-snakes-also]

One of my juvenile Sicarius sp. six-eyed sand spiders doing what sand spiders do.

[omg-snakes-also]

This is the male mega-obese corn snake that was surrendered to my friend’s reptile store. He’s about six or seven years old, according to the information collected from the previous owner. You can see how lumpy he is, poor boy. The female is about the same size and is similarly obese but she’s bigger near the bottom third of her body and we’re noticing a lot of skin between the scales on her. These two were cohabbed by their former owner, so she’s almost assuredly gravid. The juvenile is a two-year-old, about 24″, and is similarly obese. Sorry, my friend sent me the pictures and the photos of the female and juvenile aren't loading on my phone. But you get the idea, hopefully.

[omg-snakes-also]

Hey, does your friend live in maryland? I know a good exotic vet who could help the with the fatty tumors on the male cornsnake.

No, we’re in California, but I really appreciate the offer! They will be seeing an exotics vet but it’ll be a week or two before we can get them in for an exam. In the meanwhile we just want to get them on the right track to health.

[omg-snakes-also]

Avicolius papiliaranea

Sulphur-Winged Flying Spider