Still Water Microsanctuary

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Fairview Park, OH
Still Water Microsanctuary

Cleveland, OH based rescue home to aquatic animals and birds 💜
(2)

09/13/2024

Fascinating news (in our opinion) about our senior tarantula, Rex. Rex molted for the first time in nearly 4 years! Molting can be very risky, especially for older tarntulas. The most common cause of senior tarntula deaths is getting stuck during a molt. The molting process is extremely taxing for them. After a hunger strike (Rex had a 7 month long hunger strike to prep for this molt!), her body pumps a special lubricating fluid between her new exoskeleton and her old one. Once enough space and pressure has built up, she cracks open the old exoskeleton and very slowly slips herself out of the old shell. Her entire exterior is new - legs, hair, fangs, even her eyes! After successfully escaping the old exoskeleton, Rex lays completely still on her back (a worrying sight!) while her new exoskeleton hardens. During this rest, her body pumps hemolymph (the spider equivalent to blood) from her abdomen out to her legs so she can move them again. Rex laid on her back, completely still, for 30 hours before finally flipping over! Immediately after a molt, tarantulas are soft and vulnerable. The fangs are bright pink and soft after a molt so we must wait a couple weeks for the fangs to harden and turn black again before offering food.
We are happy to report that Rex’s fangs have hardened up and our old girl is an eating machine! After 7 months of no food, you’d probably be pretty hungry too!
This successful molt basically guarantees several more years of Rex time! She should be nearing her 30th birthday the next time she molts! Isn’t Rex the coolest?! Spiders deserve kisses, not squishes. 💋🕷️

09/07/2024

Another update on our beloved Mayonnaise’s health. Mayo went to the vet last weekend for a recheck…and overall it’s positive news.

✅The good news✅
Her heart murmur is still present, but it’s considerably less noticeable. While we were hoping for it to be completely gone, it’s still a step in the right direction. It’s also totally possible she’ll have that murmur for the rest of her life.
As reported in Mayo’s last update, she is much more steady on her feet. Before starting the heart meds Mayo was wobbly on her feet and lying down more than usual. We learned from the vet that heart disease commonly results in reduced extremity function and a tingling sensation in the feet which definitely explains the abnormal walking. Within 24 hrs of starting heart meds, Mayo was back to running around and loafing in her usual spots.🥹

🚫The less good news🚫
Mayo’s weight loss is a continuing problem. Her enlarged heart requires more energy and calories to pump blood through her body. After only one week between appointments, she lost an extra 10 grams (not much for us but it is when you’re a cute lil quail). Much to the displeasure of poor Miss Mayonnaise, we are tube feeding her twice a day to get her weight back up. She’s already put a few grams back on!

⏭️Looking forward⏭️
We’ll need to do more x-rays and bloodwork in a couple months to see her progress. For now, we are going to continue her heart medications, liver and kidney supplements, and twice daily tube feedings. Closely monitoring her weight and keeping her stress levels low are top priority. Please keep Mayo in your thoughts as she continues this battle against her body. Any monetary support towards her VERY expensive healthcare is also greatly appreciated. 💜🤍

08/28/2024

We seriously couldn’t be more thrilled to report that Mayo’s heart meds are working wonderfully. She’s so much more alert and steady on her feet. She goes back to the vet this weekend. Two things we’re hoping to see: reduced heart swelling and weight gain.

We are by no means out of the woods and this will be an ongoing battle the rest of her life. But the improvement is so reassuring. We love Mayonnaise so much and we know you do, too. Thank you for supporting her. 💜

*ps. Mayo would like it to be known she does NOT like syringes being put in her mouth! A formal complaint shall be promptly made to the potato authorities. 🥔🚔

08/25/2024

Mayonnaise and Skeeter….Big vet day today, with some not-so-awesome discoveries.

Mayo first. Mayo has heart disease. ❤️‍🩹😣
We noticed her limping a bit recently and wanted to get to the bottom of it so we did several full body x-rays and bloodwork today. The good news is her legs appear to be fine on x-ray. The bad news is heart disease can result in decreased extremity function, which is likely where the limping stems from. Mayo’s heart is enlarged and so is her liver, despite already being on liver supplements as a precaution to their age.
Next steps: We’re starting multiple heart medications, increasing the liver supplement, and starting an anti-inflammatory. We will be re-checking her heart in the next couple weeks, as well as very closely monitoring her weight (her weight has come down a bit as well, likely also due to her enlarged heart).

Skeeter: Skeeter received her fifth implant in the last 2 months today. Either her body is building resistance to the implants or this recent implant batch is less effective than usual. We’ve heard other people in the rescue community have been dealing with noticeably less effective implants as of late. At $250 per implant, this has been an immense, unplanned cost for us. Thankfully, Microsanctuary Rescource Center has been so giving and helpful to us in our girls’ time of need. Through two separate grants they’ve covered a sizable chunk of our recent vet bills. We truly could not be more grateful to them. We are desperately hoping to see some increased effectiveness from this recent round of Skeeter implants.

Our girls are so old. As far as we know, Mayonnaise and Skeeter are the last living quails from the Georgia rescue when a quail breeding facility collapsed in 2021 during a hurricane. Our girls were selectively bred for massive egg production and, while we’ve bought them significant time with consistent implants, we’re always going to be fighting against their unnatural bodies. Please keep Mayo and Skeeter in your thoughts. They are so very loved and we want the end to be as far away as possible. 💜

07/08/2024

Crab sisters, Pearl and Amethyst with their matching shells. Hermit crabs are so ridiculously cute. 🐚

06/16/2024

Happy 3 year rescue anniversary to our Thor! 3 years ago, today, somebody sprayed Thor and his nest of babies with instant hardening foam. Thor was the only survivor. It took hours of meticulous work to remove the foam. It’s honestly a miracle Thor survived. It took over a year for his skin to heal and feathers to return, and by then he was not releasable. He now lives with us and fellow starling, Jupiter. Singing, eating, listening to music…living his best life.

European starlings face a lot of hate and violence simply for being a non-native species, by no fault of their own. Please be nice to them.🥰

(ps. we’d like to apologize for the lack of posts recently. we really wanna get back to being active here. life has just been getting in the way and social media has fallen to the wayside. sending love to all the rescue peeps out there.)

(pps. happy pride!!🏳️‍🌈🏳️‍⚧️)

04/29/2024

Mayonnaise and Skeeter enjoying the warm weather! 😍

04/18/2024

Four important new rescues! These kiddos were owner surrenders we accepted last weekend. As you can probably tell, 3 of these 4 are “Glo fish”. Shark Boy and Lava Girl are “Glo” skirt tetras, Banana is a “Glo” rainbow shark, and Max is a red-eyed tetra. As we’ve done in the past, we’d like to take this opportunity to remind you that the trademarked “Glo” fishes suffer from genetic manipulation and rampant inbreeding practices that lead to innumerable health complications and shortened lifespans. The fluorescent jellyfish protein injected into their embryos gives them their obnoxious colors that glow brightly under blue lighting (picture neon color under a black light). Unnatural colors are disorienting and confusing to fishes and can lead to general stress, behavioral problems, and bullying among them and their peers.
Never support the fish trade and NEVER support “Glo Fish”. These are living animals, not decorations.

03/25/2024

Rosetta, the black skirt tetra, today vs one month ago when she was rescued. Getting to see them bounce back and thrive is why we do the work we do.

03/20/2024

Guillermo wanted to show off his beautiful face noodles. 😍

03/17/2024

Mayo hopes you stay hydrated this St. Patty’s Day! ☘️😘🍻

03/14/2024

Looks like a cherry shrimp found a new friend in our rabbit snail, Wayne Dunlap….or he’s just catching a free ride. Either way it’s ridiculously cute. 🐌🤝🦐

03/08/2024

Did you know Amethyst’s favorite food is almonds? Hermit crabs have extremely diverse dietary needs. They require lots of leaf litter, fruits, veggies, nuts, seeds, invertebrate and animal proteins, oils, and even live growing plants to name a few.
Remember to always spread the word that hermit crabs are NOT “starter pets”. They are one of the most complex animals to care for on the planet.

03/05/2024

Say hi to our new long-finned black skirt tetras! They came with the 10 shrimp friends. They were both unhealthy, especially the dude on the bottom. We weren’t sure if he was gonna make it and wanted to hold off on a post until he was out of the woods. A few weeks of clean water and high salt dose (to assist kidney and gill function), and he’s doing wonderfully.
Any name suggestions for these two? 🖤

02/28/2024

The girls went to the vet this past weekend for their regular implants and checkups. Here’s a little shoot of Mayo being a cute loaf🍞. She has a mild ear infection (which we’ve come to learn she’s prone to), so we got some eardrops to clear that right up.
Remember you can always join our Patreon to send a lil help to Mayo and the rest of us💜

02/21/2024

It is with an extremely heavy heart to share the news that we said goodbye to Carlton this Sunday. Our best boy’s body just couldn’t keep up with time. Though permanently disabled by the evils of the fish trade, Carlton lived a long (for a pet store betta), happy life regardless. He is easily one of the success stories we’re most proud of. Rest in peace, Carlton. You were so, so strong and so, so loved. It was truly an honor to be your caretakers. 💙

02/12/2024

So excited to announce this project our co-founder, Cam, has been working on the last few months. A lengthy, compassionate source on fish care is now out there for anyone who needs it.
Dedicated to Wilde.🧡

11/07/2023

Implant day for Skeeter (pictured) and Mayonnaise! New implants every 8 weeks ain’t cheap. Joining our Patreon would be a big help if you can spare a couple bucks. 😘

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Fairview Park, OH

Website

https://linktr.ee/stillwatermicrosanctuary

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Videos

We rescued 10 cherry shrimps from an owner surrender! Look at those lil legs go 🍒 🦐 #reels #animalrescue #fishrescue #vegan #shrimp #cherryshrimp #adoptdontshop #microsanctuary

A time lapse of Amethyst running her nightly marathon, to brighten up your day. 🐚🥰 #hermitcrab #running #amethyst #vegan #microsanctuary #reels #adoptdontshop #plightofthehermies

Mayonnaise and Skeeter went to the vet this morning for their implants. Skeeter still gets her double and Mayo gets a single. As the girls continue to age, we’re getting less and less time in between implants. Doubles last about 3 months in Skeeter. Mayo used to get 4 months out of a single implant, but now they barely last 2 months in her. If the trend continues like this it won’t be long before she needs double implants. It’s frustrating, it’s unfair, and it’s expensive….but they’re still worth every penny. Nobody should have to exist in a body that’s been genetically manipulated to lay eggs everyday. Eggs suck. Eggs are cruel. Eggs are not cool. ✌🏻

Ready for the cutest thing EVER?! Here’s Pearl having the time of her life. She played on her wheel for nearly an hour last night 🥹🥹 #hermitcrabs #pearl #microsanctuary #vegan #funnyanimals

Our sweet old man, Wilde, playing with his giant ping pong ball. We couldn’t love him more 🩵🥹 #oscarfish #wilde #microsanctuary #vegan #pingpong #bestboy

Pearl moved to her new big shell last night! No more yucky painted shells round these parts 🦀🐚 #hermitcrab #pearl #adoptdontshop #vegan #microsanctuary #newshellwhodis

Wilde is still working on his sharing skills….🤦🏼

Wilde hopes y’all have a great weekend 🙂 #vegan #oscarfish #oscarwilde

Mbuna cichlid birth control for our girl, Sandy! Our group of mbuna cichlids are mixed sexes and unfortunately can’t be separated by sex to keep them from breeding. Without the presence of females, the males would become territorial and attack each other. To add to the trickiness, mbuna cichlids are mouth brooders, meaning the females hold the fertilized eggs in their mouths for the course of around 21 days until the fry hatch. During the entire three weeks, the female will not eat and will become extremely weak. Often times they can become so weak, that they die either before the eggs hatch or shortly thereafter. It's our job to protect our fishes and as a vegan microsanctuary, we do everything we can not to allow procreation. The entire process took about 5 minutes and Sandy ended up spitting out almost 40 eggs! We're very proud of our girl for going through an uncomfortable procedure, but we're happy that she'll be healthier and safer because of it! 💜 *Touching a fish is certainly not ideal for their slime coat and should be avoided whenever possible. 🥰

Thor had some visitors today. They really wanted him to share his pellets, but Thor’s still working on his manners so I brought out a plate of apples for them as a peace offering. They accepted :)

Mystery Snail Egg Clutch

Here’s something interesting and maybe a little freaky! I caught one of the mystery snail ladies laying an egg clutch. They lay them out of the water. Super cool and strange! 🐌 *Nobody here is allowed to hatch eggs and this one will be properly disposed of when she’s finished...but it’s still super neat.