#a-floral-ghost

[fbwzoo]

Hey! Do you know of any ways to get my cat to stop meowing outside of my bedroom door in the morning? He doesn't sleep in my room, and he is definitely meowing because he wants me to get up but sometimes I'd like to sleep in past 9 without him crying out there.

My first thought was if he's meowing for anything in addition to you or mainly just you - like if he's also meowing for breakfast (or even if not but he's food motivated), you could try a timer feeder that opens before the time he starts meowing and gives him a special snack or something!

Other than that, the only thing I can recall is unfortunately waiting out his extinction period, which could be difficult if he'll meow for ages, and it's frustrating. If nothing else, try to avoid leaving your room if he's actively yelling - wait for a quiet lull to help break the association of meowing -> human appears.

If you search on @followthebluebell 's blog, I'm pretty sure he's answered similar questions before and might have more ideas! Good luck, I know this kinda thing is really frustrating.

[plantanarchy]

Hey! I was just given an alocasia Polly and I'm worried I'll kill this beautiful unique dude, any advice on care?

[lmaonade]

Hi Jamie I really love your art and your abstract doodles are really beautiful and make me feel happy! Thank you for sharing it with us

oh thank you! it’s my pleasure i’m glad you enjoy

[drferox]

What's your take on devocalization? I've read articles about it, and it seems like half of people think it's no big deal and the other half thing it's incredibly cruel, so now I'm a bit lost.

Devocalisation, or debarking, is a surgical procedure where the vocal cords are removed surgically. I’ve seen it done once.

It’s a prohibited procedure here, which means there are a whole bunch of hoops you have to jump through before you can have a dog debarked, including two written complaints from neighbors and attempting behavioral or environmental modification. Brief guidelines are here.

Debarking doesn’t actually silence the dog, and it doesn’t stop them from barking. It softens the bark and reduces the volume. It does nothing to address the reasons the dog has been barking.

Some of the hoops an owner is supposed to go through before getting their dog debarked includes behavioral interventions, yet dogs are rarely seen by veterinary behaviorists for this problem.

People who are pro-debarking would argue that it prevents those dogs from being surrendered, but barking is actually a very rare reason for surrendered dogs, so I see it as a lazy solution. It’s not even a complete solution.

The procedure does nothing to benefit the dog, and it removes its ability to partake in natural behaviors and communication. This is why here it is as close as it can get to being banned without being outright banned.

[amazingpetenclosures]

Submitted by @a-floral-ghost: 

Jenna marbles the YouTube got a hamster and got some kinda not great stuff and a small cage for him because yaknow people don’t really know what hamsters could really use, and within a day people left a ton of comments about how he needs a bigger enclosure and a bigger wheel and just all sorts of the kind of advice you give and they got all this great stuff for him and It just makes me so happy!!

When I first started reading this, I was so worried it was going in a different direction! I’m glad to be wrong, haha, how wonderful :)

[los-plantalones]

Hi! Since spring has sprung I want to start getting my succulents some of that delicious outdoor sunlight. What do you think is a good general rule of thumb for the temperature that will be okay for my plants to be outside without doing much harm?

It depends on two things: the climate of where you live, and the types of succulents that you have. If you live in an area with an average to above-average amount of rain, then it’s important that your succulents not be exposed to moisture without enough heat to dry them out quickly. Cold + wet = kiss of death for succulents. A good rule of thumb is to wait until nighttime temps don’t drop below 55-60 degrees, at that point even the most tender succulents can be outdoors.

If you live in an area that receives little to no rain, then you can shove them outside whenever the temps are steadily above freezing. Well, not shove. Gradually move them outdoors until they’re used to outdoor sunlight. Good luck!

[plantanarchy]

Hi Luke! Do you know anything about caring for a rabbit foot's fern? Also if you do what the absolute heck is up with it's little feet??

Yeah, most ferns really love high humidity and for their soil to be kept moist but not wet. Rabbit Foot Ferns are That Way because they’re actually epiphytic and will cling to stuff like trees, cliffsides, rocks, etc in their native environment.

[drferox]

I saw a picture of someone's birth control that had been chewed up and partly eaten by a dog and the caption "at least my dog won't get pregnant" but is that dangerous to the dog? It seems like it would be dangerous

Well it might be dangerous, but it also might be fine.

Oral contraceptive pills do have hormonal effects, but are generally fairly low toxicity overall. Dogs will also commonly chew packets without swallowing pills, because they’re seeking a novel texture and many pills taste bad. Oral contraceptive pills are usually a fairly low dose of hormone overall, but this will depend on the brand.

Now if a male entire eats these pills, the amount of hormones they contain is likely to be just a drop in the ocean compared to the hormones already in his body thanks to those testicles.

If a desexed animal eats these pills, it’s possible for them to have some behavioral changes or diarrhea, but htey don’t have a reproductive system to act on. You can’t have uterine side effects if you haven’t got a uterus.

If an entire female dog eats these pills, it will probably have effects on her cycle and she may be more at risk of pyometra.

The amount of progesterone or oestrogen a dog has to consume to develop signs of toxicity (eg bone marrow suppression) is actually really difficult to achieve in the real world. Still, it’s generally advised to bring the dog into a clinic and induce vomiting, just in case. Besides, if they’ve chewed up a packet, what else have they eaten?