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starting to deal with insects, mainly isopods!

19/11/2024

The Titan isopods! Also know scientifically as the Porcellio hoffmannseggi. It's no wonder these guys are called Titans! They are definitely one of the biggest isopods I've owned. Titans can get about 4cm in length when fully grown! These guys love a low humidity environment with tons of ventilation. The Titans are found primarily in southern Spain and surrounding areas. Here's picture of an adult Titan isopod, next to a baby!

17/11/2024

If you find mushrooms in your isopod bins, leave them! This is a sign of healthy substrate, not long after they sprout they shrivel up and become isopod food. Everytime I find a mushroom in my bins I get so happy. Mushrooms have been know to grow in people's bioactive enclosures as well! Ain't that neat? 🍄

14/11/2024

Let's talk about MBD (metabolic bone disease). This is a horrible disease that is caused by improper husbandry. This is echo, sadly she passed away a few years ago. But if you can tell, she looked a little different compared to other leopard geckos. MBD basically deforms their bones (you can tell in her front arms.) This is cause by lack of calcium and lack of UVB. When getting an animal it is crucial you get their setup right, or you can ruin the quality of life your pet has. MBD is manageable and can be stopped from progressing. but it is not curable,you cannot reverse this. If you cannot provide your pet with the proper care, then you do not need one.

12/11/2024

Cubaris Sp. AKA panda king isopod! This little guy I found hanging out on the back of a leaf. So cute!

12/11/2024

This is your sign to get a jumping spider. Super easy desk pets! And when in a nice bright area, they love to come explore from their web. I've always noticed they had more facial expressions rather than tarantulas do. Another great thing, there are over 6,000 different types of species of jumping spiders! So many different colors and personalities! I've had multiple, and they are such awesome little critters! 🕷

11/11/2024

🦎 Theodore being Theodore 🦎

10/11/2024

My little Catalina ❤ though I don't hold her, I love her so much :) not everyone is a tarantula person, which is okay! But they are by far an easy and very fun to watch pet. She is an Arizona blonde tarantula, her type of species is fossorial, meaning she will dig and make tunnels. I don't see her all day, but soon as it's dark she's out and about roaming an exploring! I wasn't always a tarantula person, but now I've grown to find them quite fascinating! It never hurts to look into them, cause you might change your mind on hating them.

09/11/2024

Terrariums! Everyone should make one, they are a very fun and rewarding activity and very easy to do. They are like a desk pet almost. Not to mention you can put any type of your favorite isopod in it! I have acid rollers and clown isopods in these two terrariums, and without fail I usually see one crawling around!

07/11/2024

I always told myself years ago "no, I would never own a pac-man frog, they are pet rocks and you don't see them".and somehow, I ended up with two, which I'm ever so greatful for 😊. Don't get me wrong, they ARE pet rocks, and you BARLEY see them. But they are still wonderful pets to own! So as I said I have two pac-man frogs, Dino and Frankie. Dino is an albino pac-man frog, in which I bought around June of 2022. And then there's Frankie which I got in January 2024. I'm only guessing his morph is a camouflage pac-man frog, but there's no telling. You may notice frankie is small, and very odd looking. Frankie came from a home that didn't take good care of him resulting in MBD (metabolic bone disease). With a lot of time and patience and love, he does now eat fine, though I do have to help him shed.

Now I'm not making this post to just brag about my babies. I'm making this post because I think pac-man frogs tend to be overlooked a lot as pets. Though I don't think they make good pets for kids, I think they make amazing pets for experienced keepers. They are pretty easy for sure once you got everything in order. They are very fun to watch eat, because they can be very food motivated (which is why it's good to get tongs that have a softer tip to tong feed with). Like all frogs, they are a very sensitive pet to own, pac-mans have sensitive skin, which is why you need to handle then with gloves and treat their water with reptisafe. It is also known that super strong smells from oils, candles, cleaning products and ect. Can cause them to get sick, so be careful what you use in the room they are located in! Pac-man frogs have a good variety diet of many insects and even can have silverside fish, as well as pinkie mice! You must make sure what you feed is size appropriate. Female Pacman frogs are generally larger than males, and can grow to be about 4 to 7 inches in length, while males typically only get around 2.5 to 4 inches. This is only the tip of the iceberg of pac-man frog care. Always do your research before getting an animal! Have a good rest of your day! 🐸

06/11/2024

Cubaris sp. AKA pak Chong. These guys are proving themselves to be slow slow breeders. We'll get a good supply one day! Anyways. I love the cubaris species, they a super cool for so many reasons, one being they can conglobate (big fancy word for saying roll into a ball). They also are a very small type of isopods measuring around 1.5 centimeters. Now these guys really prefer a higher humidity to be provided like most cubaris sp. These guys of come from the pak Chong district in Thailand. They almost look like rubber duckies just very odd colors that look nothing like a rubber duck 😂 that doesn't take away from how cool they look though, the colors on these guys are very unique for sure! The isopod obsession only grows.

05/11/2024

My experience with hedgehogs. (Featuring my beloved baby rascal ❤). So I've worked with various hedgehogs of many shapes sizes, and major attitudes. I will be very honest. They are very grumpy p**p machines who don't really respect you in any way. That being said, I've loved every second that I've spent with all the spiky babies I've worked with 🥰🥺.

Hedgehogs are definitely a lot of work, not only is keeping them and their enclosure clean. You also have to do research on their diets, a lot of people don't realize how complex their diets are. Truth be told 99% of food made targeted towards hedgehogs are TERRIBLE. So it's very important to do as much research on their diet as you can before even thinking about getting one.

It takes a lot of time, effort, love, patience and a heck of a lot of hand pricks to get these guys to be comfortable with handling. But it's 100% worth it for sure! I'm so very lucky to have rascal come from a very reliable breeder who was known for interacting with the her babies a decent amount. Rascal really doesn't mind being picked up, toted around in a little hedgie sack, or even if we are just hanging out free roaming (being supervised of course) .

Rascal is probably the most personable pet that I have (which I have a lot of exotics) , he does many things that just really prove to me that it's all worth it to take care of these grumpy spike balls.

He usually comes out to greet me if he hears me come in the room near the evening time (probably because he wants food, but we'll say it's because he loves me 😊). Another thing he does is he loves to climb under my blanket for a nap while I play video games or watch a show. Not to mention how fun they are to watch, he is ALWAYS on his wheel when lights are off, and trust me I hear it 😂. He also likes to tote around his fleece blankets pieces, never in the same place he left them.

These guys need a good variety diet, a nice big place to live in and explore, enrichment toys/wheel, and of course tons of bonding time. These little guys don't live very long, usually between 3-5 years (record holding being 16 I believe). And they are prone to many health problems. I say they are an amazing pet despite many opinions, you just need to know what to expect. Do your research and the reward is very forgiving. ❤🦔

04/11/2024

Here's a cute little video of a armadilidium klugii AKA "clown isopod" munching on some cuttlebone. Notice those bright vibrant color and pattern on these guys? In the wild they mimic these colors to portray themselves as poisonous bugs to eat, making predators avoid them. These guys prefer a dryer than usual environment compared to other isopods. They thrive in 50% humidity and above. They also love to munch on softwoods, leaf litter, moss and plants you may have growing in your terrarium. These guys are found primarily in the humid environments of the Balkan Peninsula. Hope you enjoyed today's post! :)

03/11/2024

I'm getting into photography! Who knows this could be a good step into a future thing :) here are some pictures of our sweet ball python van der Linde aka Vandy! Enjoy 📷🐍

28/04/2024

Orange vigor! Armadilidium vulgare, these guys are so neat! Look at that color 🤩

17/04/2024

Porcellio hoffmanseggi! Commonly known at titians. I've had these guys for a long long while. They aren't reproducing as fast as I'd like them too, but that's okay ¯\_(ツ)_/¯ I love their size for sure! They are so fun to hold and much easier to take photos of. I wouldn't say they are my all time favorite, but they are pretty close!

16/04/2024

Papaya (cubaris murina). These little guys love humid environments! My observation is that they are big on eating squash, protein, and calcium. I'm not too sure which is their favorite though. Their color is a very soothing color to look at.

15/04/2024

These are dairy cows! Aka Porcellio laevis. These are the first isopods that I owned ever 😁 though they aren't my favorite anymore, they do have a special place in my heart. These little guys are also very protein hungry. I usually don't recommend putting these in with live animals, they have been known to nibble on your reptiles in bioactive enclosures. These guys are very fun to look at in their own little habitat. Definitely a good desk pet to have.

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