A Gardeners Forum Forums Members History Forum Life 2003 ANIMALS???

ANIMALS LOVERS OUT THERE???

WHAT KIND DO YOU HAVE???

I have a dog and cat, wish I could have more but I just can't convince my hubby. I would be the crazy dog lady on the block if I could. I love puppies and dogs

2 cats, a calico called Squeak and a silver tabby called Pinche

2 tadpoles

Sea Monkeys

and Fishies

ahh 3 dogs
nuke the shar pei
rufuss the bassett hound
domino the dalmation/pitbull
a cat Rascal.hes a classified mugger& he leaps on bugs with size in yard& whatever those bugs are that make that noise up in tree.he must really like them cause he pounces them the fastest
got a few gekos that live in my plants and have 2 nice ones over wintering.i take them outside some still when do laundry.put my hand up and they hop right onOr they scare me when they hop on me

i use to have an 11 yr old 4 ft iguana.i miss her.something took her from yard.she had roam of the house but would ask to go out just like a dog and would crawl in tub till you came turned shower on for her to swim.one year for halloween she climbed up on my broom like a witch.she was even housebroken& she climbed overtop my cat one day and he never moved.they use to sun bathe together& she wipped my bassett hound with her tail to put him in place one day.i missed what he did.Use to have a cockatail,but not anymore but my friend dos& i trim his feathers up for her hes a lil wild man.I have to use my gardening gloves to groom him.he thinks he's so bad.wish she'd give him a name

2 pigs, they were supposed to be for meat in the fall. Nope, ain't gonna happen.

Tamara, that's too funny. Have you named them?

My sister raised a lamb last year for FFA and my stepmom cried when she had to go to auction at the fair. This year my sister is working with a steer but they also bought a couple of Boer goats for my stepmom. She was just so devastated that someone was going to eat the lamb that she named and would take on walks. The goats are little ones, pygmys, that wag their tails and follow you around like a dog. They will be going to the fair too but only for judging, no eating!

Animals:
Daisy - 8 years - domestic short hair tabby - abandon by our former neighbor - the only good thing they did was have her fixed first - 6 years - "gift" from my kids for Christmas a few years ago. was the runt of the litter and was sick to boot. told the kids that if she lived we were meant to have her. 6 years later... :rolleyes:

still grieving Temper - 8 year old red bone/blue tick hound that died over the summer. Sure do miss him.

Just a betta fish, moby, but I would love to get a puppy....if only they didn't ever poop...

We have pepper Anne, a 4 yr old rescued Australian shepherd---she's my shadow, Mom doesn't go anywhere without her. A rescued cockatiel Elvis and a rescued rabbit Honey. If I had a farm I'd rescue some more! I'd love to adopt a mustang someday...Dreaming....

Okay,
I better add mine to the mix here,
We can't have any animals with hair,
narrows my choices down alot!!!
(Hubby and oldest boy are allergic to hair)

So, we have fish,
Goldie..........goldfish
(The big guy that started it all, is now huge!!!!)
Kittie..........catfish
Stickie.........small sucker fish
Frogger 1........frog
Frogger 2........frog
Rainbow..........betta
Blue.............betta
(we're working on names for the frogs)

I'll tell you those frogs are soooooooooooo
much fun to watch, we're thinkin' of getting
a bigger tank, and putting the other fish into that one and keeping the little tank for just
they are sooo cute!!
They're the miniature ones, they stay about 1" to 1 1/2" big...
My another girlfriend of mine used to have the albino frogs that were all blown up, they looked like someone put a hose into their .... and blew them up!!! They are fun too, but we had to stick with the small ones for the size of our tank.

I am learning, but need definate help with keeping the water clean.
I had a live plant in it, but it's dying and then I found out I needed a flourecent tube, not a regular lite that came with the tank that we got.
So, hence there in lies the problem...

Send any tid~bits of info my way,

appreciated!

Weezie

Got a snail the other day,
Gotta think of some names now!


Update,
We called the snail "Slow~Poke"

My fish died a few days ago, so now I am petless....I was attached to that stupid fish...I know what you're thinking, it was a fish...how can you be attached to it...lol But I talked to it every time I fed it.....I guess I miss the routine of feeding it and changing its water...might buy another one....my friend told me that usually betta fish only live about 4 months....this one lived for a year....so it had a good long life....I couldn't imagine if I were to get a dog and lose it....my poor heart would be ripped out....
The fish was cool because I had it in one of those special fish vases that you can buy in walmart and then there was a lily going down into the water....

Betta's don't live long????

Is that true????

Weezie

this is from
www.bettatalk.com

The latest fad
There is a new fad on the market today. It is called a "Betta in a Vase" display. Might sound like a nice thing, and the price is tempting. People figure they are getting a betta AND a plant for one somewhat low price and it seems a good deal. Well, unless you are a betta that is (((.

What this display is

It is is a vase, filled with distilled water, with a betta in it and a plant at the top. Both the betta and the plant's roots are supposed to share the small amount of water in the vase, where Mr. Betta is supposed to live his entire existence ( get this) EATING THE ROOTS.

Say WHATTTTT ???

Wait! It gets worse:

Just when you thought things just couldn't get worse for Mr. Betta, they do: The diabolic display comes with a (oh so convenient) instruction to not feed the betta nor change the water EVER.

I want to know one thing: Who came up with that one????

A)- bettas are carnivorous and although out of despair they might eat roots (hey, you would eat a cockroach if got hungry enough!), they cannot survive long that way. It is not unlikely that bettas in the wild may, on occasion, munch on some near by vegetation, including some roots, but this does not constitute their entire diet. This is what th

A)- bettas are carnivorous and although out of despair they might eat roots (hey, you would eat a cockroach if got hungry enough!), they cannot survive long that way. It is not unlikely that bettas in the wild may, on occasion, munch on some near by vegetation, including some roots, but this does not constitute their entire diet. This is what their diet consists of. It's sorta like you eat cake here and there, but could you survive on JUST CAKE ??

B)- distilled water is not adequate for fish keeping. It is lacking all the proper elements bettas need to be healthy.

C)- ecosystems only work when they are large enough to allow a safety margin for fluctuations. Meaning that if one of the components of the ecosystem fluctuates, the whole system will not come crashing down. In such a small amount of water (hey, we are talking about a BOWL people!), how does one plan on preserving the ever fragile balance between: fish eating, fish pooping, plant eating fish poop and plant then cleaning water, plant being healthy enough to grow roots just enough to feed betta the perfect amount of food daily, etc... (assuming bettas would survive in such a vegetarian diet in the first place), you can see how one small change could radically affect the system and invariably cause the betta's death. I am against such set-ups. Every time I have seen one for sale on a store shelf, the betta was sick and dying, and it broke my heart.

People have been reporting that their bettas will die within 1 to 6 weeks. In short, they starve to death or become diseased because of poor water conditions.


Boycott!!! Boycott!! Oh and did I mention: BOYCOTT ??

If you see such displays out there DO NOT BUY THEM. They are designed to make big companies big money, at the expense of your betta. If you know someone who has such a display, give them this link!


If you already own such a display you can still save your fish

Here is what you can do:

keep plant roots trimmed back and very clean
favor the betta over the plant. Make the betta happy and if the plant does not like it, move the plant to its own pot.
feed your betta daily the proper betta food (see betta food)
make weekly water changes (see betta water)
learn how to keep your betta alive by reading my betta basic care 101 section.
learn how to recognize any early signs of disease, how to heal him, etc...(read the betta health section). Be prepared!


Please take the necessary time to read the "betta care" section of my site so to know how to care for your betta the proper way.

Goodluck

HI Pellonpekko,
My girlfriend upstairs has one of those,
I don't her's is sealed though and she
does feed it,
I was told to only feed the betta every 3
days, that almost seems cruel,
but then people say they over feed them
or any fish in general/??
I am confused!!!!

I always thought it was so cruel the way they
have them in the tiny little round cups of water, in the stores, but they said they swim in little alcoves, I could understand that, but I put mine
two each in bigger containers, and gave them something to hide in and they do take advantage of that alot, I find them hiding in there.
When I come looking for them they come out to say hi!
Mine seem so friendly!!
Weezie

Pellonpekko,
Where's your web~site?????????????????
?Weezie
Is that the link you gave in your first post???
I'll go look!!!

did ya find it?

Yes, I'm reading it right now,
Well, between playing ball with my
3 year old, but it seems like just
what I needed!!!
I will continue to read, gotta go
get my oldest in a bit from school
and will continue until dinner....
So far so good on the info,
nothing on the bubbles yet.....

Weezie

Thanks, I'll post again tonight!)

try the FAQ section

oooh found it

http://www.bettatalk.com/answer10.htm

I just want to say in my defense, that the betta had a much better life than at walmart....when I bought it it was in at tiny, and I mean tiny plastic container with barely enough room to turn around....The roots on my plant were always kept cut way back so the fish had plenty of room, tons more room than it had at walmart...the vase was a decent size....I changed the water with distilled water EVERY week, and cleaned out the vase, and the rocks, and the roots on the plant....the fish was fed everyday with betta food which were the instructions that came with my vase....it didn't say anywhere not to feed the fish, or to just let it eat the roots....that would be cruel....I didn't go out purposefully looking to buy this setup it was a christmas gift to me from a friend....everyone I've talked to said that the bettas usually only live for 3 to 4 months so I felt lucky that mine lived for almost a year....That fish had a better life than most fish have in a big tank......I never ever neglected it or forgot to change its water, or feed it.....I think the fishies time was just up.....

Pellonpekko,
Well, I got me some happy fish,
according to that site.
Makes me happy to know that!!!
I am glad and relieved to know it..
I thought he was getting sick of
the water or something....

That site is absolutely WONDERFUL!!!
I have enjoyed reading it, and am
not done, but great info..........
I was going to get a girlie fish,
but decided not to because they
can have the same tendancies' as the males.
I found out that 4 of the fish I have already
are compatible with the betta, only problem
probably is Goldie, he'd/she'd probably nip his tale or something.
So, I am beyond Happy, Happy, Happy with the info I got, THANK~YOU,THANK~YOU, THANK~YOU!!!!
I appreciate it!!!!
Weezie

I also pulled this off of bettatalk.

Set-up #2: The individual jar.
Second best betta set-up. Here we have a large jar, one gallon or more, housing ONE (yes, as in "less than two") betta (male or female). The jar can have some gravel and a live plant, for as long as you rinse and clean gravel and trim plant regularly. plants that are rotting will pollute the water instead of cleaning it. Gravel where uneaten food accumulates can be a wonderful bacteria hatchery!! So there you go. Clean clean clean. This set-up does not necessitate a filter, but you will need to make a full water change weekly. A MUST. Having two jars with a betta in each, right next to each other is best, so the bettas will flare at each other and be more active. Also remember that BETTAS CAN JUMP (unlike white men ) ) and so always keep a cover on your jar or tanks. Especially jars. Being a smaller environment, bettas are likely to want to bail. Bettas who jump out and lend on the carpet may survive for a long while, so always place them back promptly in their jar if you find one on the floor, even if it looks dead, they often come back to life. But if it is crispity dry, like a potato chip, then adding water isn't gonna work. Bettas are not, after all, powder milk .

Laura,
We're posting at the same time again!! LOL
Weezie

Wow, I must be really doing something right.. I have a Betta believe it are not that i have had 3 years.Its a beautiful red one..
In a vase with rocks on bottom and plant on top..Only change water every couple months..Was told to just feed it a little food every 3 days..We do have well water so that could be one reason it does so good.
Matter of fact its time to clean the vase today. :rolleyes: These bettas are very easy to care for i think..

Interesting how this post took a turn!

I have 2 sister calico cats (strictly indoors) who were born on St. Patrick's day 1 1/2 years ago. They are Roxie and Amber. Roxie definitely must have been the runt of the litter - she is short, very solid and skitterish - though that could be because someone here stepped on her front paw when she was a baby and broke a few toes. Her paw is fine, but she does shy away at times. Amber is the lonnnnnnnnnnnnnnngest cat we have ever seen - everytime we take them to the vet, he asks if we are sure they are sisters - LOL. They definitely are!

We have also adopted a feral cat, whom we call Fraidy. He stays outdoors, but does come up onto our 2nd story deck to the kitchen sliders for breakfast and dinner. He is very slowly warming up to us and lets us pet him on the head while he eats. But that's it for now - he still runs away if we try to come out and play with him.

I also have a parakeet that my son affectionately named "Dudley" because he does not do ANYTHING! The reason I got him was that he was the most active and chirpiest one in the store - once home he clammed up, and this was before we even had any cats! I've had him for 7 years now.

My daughter has a HUGE goldfish that started as a very small feeder fish. He must be about 7 years old by now. She calls him Freckles because he has a spot on his tail.

My son, who is away at college, has a 5 gallon fishtank with a blue betta and a swordtail in it. They get along swimmingly and are very healthy. Lynne