#eclectus-mom

[raptorsandpoultry]

Do you have any more info on choanal papillae? Specifically, pics of healthy vs unhealthy would be awesome! I haven't had any luck just googling it :/

Yes! (I am s l o w so for those of you who aren't familiar, this was in response to a post I reblogged many weeks back, so here's a quick little intro):

When avian veterinarians examine a bird's mouth, there is a slit-shaped opening in the roof of the mouth called a choana, and it connects the nasal and oral cavities. Mammals have one as well, but it's mainly in birds that this opening is narrow and slit-like, as opposed to wide and rounded. Bird choanae have small serrations on either side called choanal papillae, and blunting or shortening of these is a sign of vitamin A deficiency due to an improper diet. Not all species will have very obvious choanal papillae, however! For example, most pigeons have naturally short/barely visible choanal papillae, and that's completely normal.

Some healthy lookin pointy bois (Photo from Hagen Avicultural Research Institute)

Pointy bois have mostly disappeared in this birb, likely because they were fed too much seeb (Photo from avianmedicine.net)

Hope this helps, thanks for the ask (and for the long wait sdfkljalsfzkd)!

[onenicebugperday]

I'm not sure where else to ask this, but the odds seem better with your followers: are darkling beetles inclined to climb? I want to use them for my corn snake's bioactive, but she has a foam-based fake background and the mesh of the roof is wide enough to allow beetles out. I don't need a beetle infestation in my room 😅

They can climb a rough surface and if given an escape route I would count on them getting out. Maybe not en masse but at least a few will figure it out I'm sure. You can buy rolls of finer mesh online or at hardware stores for quite cheap to cover it so they can't escape though! I bought a squeeze tube of silicone and a roll of mesh to cover the larger mesh on my millipede tank lid to keep pests out and it was maybe $12.

[fimbry]

Do you have any pictures of your blood pythons' enclosures? I'm interested in how you design decor for such a hefty snake.

I’ve done minimal/functional and naturalistic. I’m back to functional because their affinity for water made things just..... muddy and gnatty. And all they do is hide and bathe anyway, so it comes to the same in terms of healthy behaviors for the snake. :) I provide a hide box (top entering) and a soaking pan. Charlie is in a 6′ cage with a ledge, as well. The idea behind the hide box being top entering is that wherever the snake happens to pee, it will be isolated and the snake will have an area to move to that will be clean. Bloods pee a LOT at once, and I want them to be able to escape from their mess until I find it and clean it.

Bonus naturalistic photo. Pongo was honestly the only one who did not make a huge mess of his set up. The only good boy....

[omg-snakes]

How can I tell the difference between "stressed and trying to escape the situation" zoomies and "excited about all the new smells and textures" zoomies? I want to do right by my corn snake, like enrich her by maybe taking her outside sometimes, but I mostly just leave her to her own devices since I'm not confident I can recognize stress in her.

Unfortunately, there’s no “excited zoomies” in corn snakes. A corn snake that is excited about a new smell or texture will fixate on it, sometimes freezing in place to thoroughly examine every millimeter of the new thing.

The only way to get her used to adventures is to have adventures, so start small and keep adventures sweet and short. Sniffing a reptile-safe houseplant inside is a good way to explore in a safe space. End on a high note, when she’s calm and seems relaxed. Over time you can increase the duration and adventury-ness of the excursion. 

Stress will be recognizable if she’s panic-flailing (not just being wiggly go-snek but like throwing her body around) or if she starts defense posturing or shakey tailing. If she’s just nyooming around or sniffing things, then she’s okay.

[followthebluebell]

submitted by: eclectus-mom

My nasty boy Biscuit was doing a tiny blep

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before the court can accept this document, we require further evidence on why this Biscuit is deemed to be a ‘nasty boy’. 

[draconym]

Does Ripley have any behaviors/words that he knows mean yes/no? So he can answer simple questions? If so, how did you teach that?

Oh, sure. As for “can he answer simple questions,” it definitely depends on what the question is. If you hold out a food and ask if he wants it, he knows what you’re asking, and he’ll answer you. He also knows how to answer “what is it?” for most foods. He knows the names of a lot of objects and colors, too, but he doesn’t like being asked.

He almost never says the word “yes,” but he does often say “yeah,” usually in response to us asking if he wants or likes something. He also occasionally says “no,” but not to answer a question--”no” is almost always used to scold us, as in, “you’re doing something I don’t like.” More often, if he’s feeling uncertain, critical, or riled up about something, he’ll click his beak. I’ve heard that this is a pretty universal African grey sound, though different birds make it under different circumstances. More patient birds might click in irritation where Ripley would probably growl. If you ask Ripley “can I touch you?” and he’s not in the mood, he’ll turn his head away and click, which is always a definite “no.” (If he leans toward you, purrs, or says “ohhhhh” then that’s a definite “yes” to being touched.)

Ripley doesn’t particularly like being asked complicated questions, as I think he can tell that something is being asked of him, but he can’t usually understand what. He does like to interject answers on other people’s behalf. He’s picked up conversational words just by listening to us talk--he likes to participate, and he’s at his most talkative when there’s a lively conversation (or a D&D session) happening in the room.

[the-tribe-fr]

Do you have a tutorial on how you do cry/face? I've never seen those genes portrayed so accurately without being gaudy or overbearing!!

FablePaint

I promised, so...

While I don't specifically have a tutorial on drawing cry/face, I can offer some tools I use as well as a few tips. :)

Lexreons tutorial is absolutely excellent for figuring our shadows, which is the hardest thing to make cry/face look 'right'. You want to think of your dragon like a carving, or a multifaceted gem. I often use the polygonal lasso tool on photoshop this way, to carve out my straight lines in a selection, then just fill it in. Lots of diamond shapes!

Then, for the actual crystal magic, I use the tutorial from the official artist of cry/face to break it all down!

https://fablepaint.tumblr.com/post/116326546796/i-promised-so

This will save you heaps of time in learning what to do. It is mainly for photoshop so I am not sure about its translation to other programs.

I hope this helps! :)

[securityunit-ese]

What is that device you posted a while back where Thyme could press a button and it dispensed a treat? You had the different parts on opposite sides of a hallway iirc

It’s the KMART Pet IQ toy dispenser and it costs $30AU ! Very useful for keeping a dog active and occupied once they’ve been taught how to use it.

Americans seem to have it called the “ Arf Pets Memory Toy“ and in a bizarre twist to how this normally works - is $60US