birdistasty

We own a 2002 Fleetwood something or other double-wide (bought last November). Currently, it is in a "community" (read: trailer park). The community itself is nice, the people are nice, but we'd really like to move the house onto our own land someday. We already know it's going to be pricey, but...

Instead of having a traditional mobile home set-up (on pillars with a crawlspace), we were wondering if it's possible to have an actual basement (for the heater and extra storage space - possible extra living space if we finish it)? The crawlspace is nice and all, but having to do any work under there (the ducts, pipes, drawing ethernet lines, etc.) is a real pain in the butt.

Any idea of what the associated costs may be (a ballpark figure would be just dandy!)?

Thanks for your time!

My neighbor got me a potted pine for Christmas, not knowing I have a brown thumb and kill everything the moment I touch it.

I'm going to try to keep this thing alive. Really. I...just don't know how.

First of all, I don't even know what kind of pine it is. It's...huge (about three feet tall) and more of a bush than a tree at this point. The needles are soft (which is good, because I'm usually very allergic to the spiny needles) and.. it smells nice? I really don't know anything else about it, other than it was grown by Costa Farms in Florida.

Now.. I have a ten-month old daughter who's already toppled this thing once, plus four cats, two of which have tried to eat it. Can I keep it outside for the winter (I'm in southeastern PA)? Do I water it while it's outside in the cold? How do I feed it?

Like I said, I'm clueless when it comes to plants. Any and all help to keep this thing alive is appreciated.

Thanks!!

It is very important to my family that my daughter be raised in the Catholic faith, however, I have a few issues right now.

The first is that my fiance and I aren't married yet. Financial issues have prevented us from completing this task, otherwise, we would've been married more than a year ago. Therefore, my daughter was born out of wedlock, which is a big no-no in the Catholic church.

The second issue is that I am not Catholic, but Protestant (raised in the UCC church). I'm more than willing to convert if needs be, but that's going to take time, and my daughter is already six weeks old.

I have found a non-traditional Catholic church (an independent church which has services in a local unitarian church) which is willing to do the services, however, my mother-in-law seems against the idea. Would a traditional Catholic church be willing to perform this sacrement for us?

I just got my kitten back from the vet today, as he was neutered this morning. They told me he'd be kinda groggy for the rest of the night - welp, that's not holding true. As soon as we walked in the door when we got home, he tried to stand up in the carrier and fell over. So I opened the carrier door, and he promptly proceeds to sniff everything he can. And he's playing like normal, although I'm supposed to restrict his playtime for the first 48 hours. Unfortunately, he started licking the castration site after he got done sniffing everything, so I called up the vet. They said to go back out and get an e-collar. I got one (the smallest they had), but it appears to still be a little too large, as he has minimal problems slipping out of it. Now, my questions:

1) What can I do to make him stop licking the site?

2) Is there any way I can finagle the collar to fit better?

3) How can I limit his activity if he's bouncing off the walls?

Thanks for your time!!

We don't know how old he is, as he does not have any of his teeth. I've never heard of a cat getting all of his teeth removed at once, so why would someone possibly do this to him?

He's also declawed and neutered. Is it possible someone had all of his teeth removed so that he couldn't bite them? He's the sweetest and friendliest cat I've ever met - been home for an hour, and already curled up in bed with us.

I have a dwarf frog with bloat. Tonight, my fiance and I aspirated her for the first time - and we'll most likely have to do it again next week. To do this, we've had to order needles online (since here in PA you can't get them from a pharmacy without a prescription). So, between all the supplies to save her, we've spent well over $50 - and that's not including any meds. Everyone thinks we're nuts for doing so - "It's just a frog! Flush him!" his mom said. And I almost passed out after I got the needle in her (I seem to have developed a recent aversion to needles).

So how far have you gone to save a fish or aquatic frog?

My fiance was cleaning out the medicine cabinet last night and threw out a bunch of old prescription bottles in the trash.

I was always told to flush old medications, but he said there are reports of certain medications being present in the public water supply (especially anti-depressants). He said the water treatment plant doesn't necessarily remove medications and such from the water (something about it being too expensive).

I said throwing the medications away as is can't be safe, either. I mean, if the bottle accidentally opens and an animal gets in it, that can't be good. Not only that, but what about "dumpster divers"? Last thing I'd want is someone ODing on my old meds, and then have them turn around and sue me because I inadvertently provided the medications.

So what is the proper safe way to dispose of old medications, prescription or otherwise?

...before filling their fish tanks or doing a water change?

If you suggest it for temperature reasons, keep in mind that the water added to the tank is supposed to be within 4 degrees of the temperature of the tank. If you have tropical fish, this simply will not work, unless room temperature at your house is around 78 degrees.

If you're doing it to dechlorinate, keep in mind that most treatment plants are now using chloramines instead of chlorine to treat the water. Chloramines take well over two weeks to dissipate completely.

The only reason I could see leaving the water out is to stabilize the pH (if you're in an area that uses hydrogen peroxide in the water - and even then you must aerate the water to remove all of it) - but I never see people suggest it for that reason.

So this is directed to the people that advise letting the water set out - why do you suggest it?

Thanks, all! Hope you're having a great afternoon!

Have you ever had a fish inexplicably die on you?

My Homerwood passed on tonight, and is now swimming in the great sea. He's been somewhat...well, blah the last two weeks. He was lethargic and hanging out at the bottom of the tank, yet he still chased the silver dollars when they encroached his side of the tank. He ate - when he wanted to. He had no signs of disease (no growths, discolorations, etc.), was still brightly colored, fins weren't clamped. He just wasn't acting right.

So as a precaution we moved him into the quarantine tank three nights ago. Noticed he was swimming a little oddly at one point, and noticed he hadn't had a bowel movement. He'd already been fasting at that point, so we tried to feed him peas. He refused to eat. Thinking he was having swimbladder problems due to constipation, we added Epsom salts to help make him poop. Added one teaspoon last night, another half tonight to 10 gallons of water.

Woke up from my nap, and he had passed on.

Are all species able to see colors, or just certain ones?

...within the first couple months of life, or can they change gender at any given time?

Have you ever had any experience with your fish changing gender? How old were they when you noticed the change?

I had guppy fry born back in June - started out with eleven, but through a series of unfortunate events (power outage lasting for several days, the other half adding the fry to the community tank before they were big enough), only three have survived. Out of those three, one is male, and the other two used to be female (could see gravid spot, dull coloration, "female" tales and body shapes). Now, two of them are male, and the last female appears to be batting for the other team now, too (judging by new development of coloration on body, new behaviors, and definite pronounced gonopodium).

My question is - have any of you ever had your guppies change sex on you? If not guppies, any other fish?

Currently taking 2250mg of ascorbic acid (powder), 10 MSM capsules, 3-1000mg fish oil capsules, 1-200mcg selenium tablet, and one daily multi-vitamin daily. I try to eat at least two meals a day, but sometimes I can't even keep it all down. My stools and occasional vomit usually consist of excess bile. Alternative therapy doctor has seen me for the last 3 months, knows of all my current problems, realizes I'm in the middle of a flare. Unfortunately, I've been flaring for more than a month now, and frankly, I'm getting tired of it. He says to give it time, it will pass, continue taking supplements, rest, etc. He says he'll prescribe me steroids, but I have serious problems with taking them.

Is there anything that has worked for you, personally, to bring yourself out of a flare quicker?

Are there any certain chemicals/salts you add to the water? What kind of fish do you have? Do you prefer to just let the water set out to dechlorinate it?

I have three established tanks, so I'm not looking for advice here. I'm just curious as to what YOU personally do to your water for your fish.

...than actually follow it?

If you have a goldfish in a bowl, or if you have multiple goldfish in a ten-gallon tank, and several people tell you this isn't healthy - why would you rather pick a fight about it? Why not just do the research and see that what these people are telling you is indeed the truth?

Same goes for other fish. If those of us who know what we're talking about (look at our previous answers to see that, yes, we do!) recommend you change something, why are you so quick to attack instead of actually following the recommendations? Yes, we may not always be very nice about it, but face it - if we're somewhat sharp about our answer, you're more likely to at least acknowledge it. So if you're willing to acknowledge it, why not at least try to listen?

This isn't meant for everyone - just the stubborn people who'd rather whine than listen.

I've tried looking up information, specifically, how old the young lady is, but I can't seem to find anything. Anyone know anything about this group?

If given the choice, my cat, TC, would rather rub up against either my feet or my fiance's, rather than let us pet him with our hands. This is the first cat I've ever had that is like this, so I have to ask, is this normal? Why does he do this?

Any certain brand you prefer? Do you vary the diet at all? Have you ever tried making your own?

And what size tank do you have/did you have them in?

I'm really interested in seeing the answers I get. And feel free to comment on your fellow poster's answers, as well.

I'm reading everything from two fantails in a 10-gallon to two oscars in a 10-gallon. Do you not realize how much waste these fish produce, and how big they're going to get?

This is not meant as a jab towards all of you. Just the ones that do asinine things like this.

Nothing bothers me more than seeing animals mistreated. How would you like to live in a closet full of feces, with no clean air or water?