#ephemeral-equine

[onenicebugperday]

I keep pet snails, and this summer they started laying eggs. I decided to keep some of the eggs to watch them hatch/see the babies grow (instead of releasing them, they’re a native species). The newborn snails are so unbelievably tiny and fragile, it’s amazing that any of them grow to adulthood. Thinking of these tiny little creatures out in the wild, surviving with all the odds against them, makes me all teary-eyed. Will send pics when the babies are big enough to show up clearly in photos!

Most of them don’t survive to maturity, which is why invertebrates often have so many babies at once. The odds are pretty stacked against them. But yes, I would love to see photos!

[dragontribeadventures]

Can you tell me about keeping kingsnakes? I’ve never had a snake before, but I’m hoping to get a California King this summer. I’ve been reading caresheets and all that, but would you have any advice? Or anything a new keeper should know?

Cali kings are the best, super easy little snakes to care for and most are pretty calm. They can have a strong feeding response though so I do recommend distinguishing between when feeding time is and when it is not to prevent accidental bites (though if it does happen it really doesn’t hurt. It’s just annoying to get them off sometimes). With Penelope I trained her to associate me double tapping the glass with the tongs with feeding time(there’s a great group on Facebook called reptile enrichment and training if you’re interested). Babies can also be a bit head shy and nervous at first. Most reptiles don’t like shadows passing over their heads or quick movements, so I also recommend moving slow and steady until you build up more trust with your new snake.

Cali kings in particular are adaptable snakes though, who have a very wide range of habitats from desert scrublands to northern forests.

With a habitat range like that, there are a lot of different setups you can do and a lot of humidity ranges they will tolerate. I initially kept Penelope on aspen before moving her to a semi arid bioactive and she did very well on both. A lot of new keepers find aspen easier to deal with and there’s nothing wrong with it though.

I hope this helps!

[followthebluebell]

About the cat grimace scale you posted, do you know if a cat can be grimacing and purring/acting happy at the same time?

this is an excellent question! 

Yes, cats can purr and still grimace at the same time.  Purring isn’t just about showing happiness; it can also be an attempt at self-soothing.  It’s kinda like laughter.  We laugh to show happiness and joy.  But we might also laugh to defuse tension in an awkward or anxious situation. 

this is why the grimace scale puts more emphasis on physical appearance.  Where are the cat’s ears, how are they holding their whiskers, are they all hunched up, or are they smooth and relaxed?  Body language is communication too.

[goannafr]

Happy birthday! Would you be willing to sell that moon/thistle/pink hatchling? I’m looking for a cute G1 hatched today, it’s my 2nd anniversary of joining FR, and all the ones I hatched myself were complete duds. I’m thefloralace on FR and lap-pupowl here on tumblr

Thanks!

I will let you know if I decide to sell him ^^

[followthebluebell]

I was asking more about purring in the context where a cat is otherwise obviously happy, where they’re blinking, head butting, kneading, cuddling, etc. I’m just worried about my cat, she’s 13 and super affectionate and expressive, most of the time when she’s around me she’s doing those things, but I know she has arthritis in her hips and I want to try to be more aware of when she’s in pain so I can treat it accordingly.

ohhh i see!  i’m sorry i misunderstood.  anyway, yeah, a cat can still be in pain and act relatively normal.  the grimace scale is better for measuring acute pain rather than the chronic pain of arthritis; most cats just... kinda get used to chronic pain, just like we do.  it might be more useful to examine the rest of her behavior, with particular attention to any hesitation before jumping.

[dragontribeadventures]

I saw that video of that bullfrog that you reblogged. Is it common for bullfrogs today freeze up, like that one did when the person in the video touched it with their foot? I’m asking because a while ago I found a bullfrog at a local pond and when I went to try and get a closer look, it didn’t move. It was sitting upright, but even when I poked it, it stayed perfectly still. I thought it was dead and was really creeped out thinking that it died but was still sitting upright lol

Most of the bullfrogs I’ve met tend to try to hop into the water as fast as they can. But I’ve had a few do this with me, usually if they are too far from water to hop in. I think it’s probably a defensive thing. Lots of prey animals will freeze and hope they go unnoticed before fleeing.

[heckling-hydrena]

I was just walking around carrying my phone in my hand, and I accidentally opened Tumblr and it started played your Wildclaw video at full volume and I almost fell down the stairs in fear

I’m so sorry for indirectly almost injuring you but also the visual of someone going down the stairs and suddenly hearing Mr. George TTS himself say “Wildclaws don’t deserve rights” at full volume and almost falling is so funny.