rainy_creek_blazer

I just got a betta earlier this week. We have a 1g aquarium with an underground filter that is piped to the top. I treated the water with betta specific conditioner and rinsed everything with warm water - no soap.

The first night was fine, but the next morning there were a ton of bubbles at the top - almost half an inch everywhere. I went to feed my betta, and the bubbles foamed up through the feeding passage and went everywhere. I haven't had an aquarium or a fish for a few years, and it was a goldfish - I never remember these problems. I know males are bubble nesters, but this seems awfully excessive and I'm positive they come from the filter. I turned the filter off to get rid of the bubbles since I read that bettas breath through water and air.

I'm just worried about the little guy and I don't want him to get hurt (or worse, die).

We just recently received two cats, a 30lb maine coon and a calico. The lady was afraid the maine coon would suffocate her baby and some other silly things. I'm working on getting the maine coon to lose weight (it will take a while, I've accepted this), but another problem we have with him is that whenever he uses the litter box, he always gets poop stuck on his fur. The people used to cut his hair really short to keep him from getting too hot, but I want his hair the grow to its natural length (it just looks bad; the fur looks unhealthy which I'm hoping the diet change will help). I had a friend who had a maine coon and I never remember her being dirty and I've never seen a long hair cat with waste on its tail and fur. Is there a trick to keeping long hair cats clean when they use the litter box? We have four litter boxes; I just bought a jumbo one and will buy another since I have four cats now, and the boxes get cleaned daily.

I have a '96 Honda Civic hatchback cx which is a manual. To my knowledge, the timing belt has never been replaced. I asked my brother (he bought it used in '98) and he said he's never done it and I know I haven't in the two years I've had it. The car is up to 173,000+ miles. Should I get it done? How do I know when it needs to be done? How much will it be?

I have straight hair that is horrible to curl. It just doesn't hold a curl to save it's life, but it looks gorgeous when it is curled. I love hair that is slightly wavy and tossled looking and would love to be able to get that. I don't want my hair to be stiff or crunchy though. Is there any way to achieve this? What kind of products can I use?

The only thing I can visually tell is that the Bradoon is smaller, mm wise. My horse is 14.3hh, but has a 5" mouth. 21mm bits are too wide for her, she can't properly put her mouth around - even 16mm are a bit big (the O ring looks huge and seems to take half her face). I can't remember what type of bit I got originally, I think it was Sprenger, but I don't have $70 right now for a bit. I was wondering if JP were good bits? I'm assuming Stubben bits are good considering their tack is amazing. What's everyone's experience? My pony and I do dressage, if that's of any concern - we don't compete anymore, but just for reference, are bradoon bits allowed in shows?

Our air conditioner just went out and it will be a few days before we can get it fixed. It's been in the low 80s. I know bunnies can't pant or anything, so I'm wondering about how to keep her cool. If I put an oscillating fan by her cage, will that be detrimental to her health? Any tips or ideas?

My girl just turned 20 years old and last year I noticed that the flies are bothering her eyes a ton. She has a fly mask, but this year the stable is doing this whole pay extra to put on the fly mask - or you can leave it on all the time. I'm thinking of doing this because, even though the place I ride at has about the best natural fly control I've ever seen at a barn, I don't want them bothering her in her stall. Would it be ok to leave the fly mask on? I got out there 4-5 days a week to ride. The place I ride at is very careful - they constantly check stalls and fences for edges that halters and such that could get hung on. The fly mask is velcro.

Hi! I'm looking into switching my major to pre-vet and eventually going to veterinary school. I have to transfer uni's anyway because mine doesn't offer the major (or anything that will be able to lead to vet). I think I have my eyes on Ohio State for vet. While doing my pre-vet, would it look better if I worked as a vet tech (you don't need certification in my state for this) or volunteered at a shelter and helped the vets? I know vet school is difficult to get into, so I would like to make my application for that as strong as possible - any tips will be appreciated!

Thanks!

*Originally posted in University, but got no answers, so I'll put it here which would have probably been a better idea to begin with*

I was just wondering, I've always shaved my legs, but I for some reason am horrible with a razor and end up butchering my legs - and then when I dry off, find patches that I could've sworn I got! I'm starting to get fed up with shaving (yes, I've tried all different sorts of razors...I think I'm just inept). Plus, I get ingrown hairs and bumps - I change my razor frequently (I heard every 4 shaves) and use lotion afterward (Aveeno), but it just doesn't work.

I don't want to get waxed...I have a low pain thresh hold I think - it just wouldn't work.

Does anyone use lotions like Nair, etc? How do they work? How long do you stay smooth? Does using a lotion prevent ingrown hairs?

Thanks!

As some of you know from my previous question, three weeks ago we found a dog and got her spayed last Tuesday because we felt kicking and found she was indeed pregnant and not just fat. The vet said she would have delivered any day this week. She keeps going into my closet and grabbing old sweaters off the shelf in there, moving books and binders around my closet (it's a walk-in) to her specifications, then lay down.

Is it possible for her to still have the nesting instincts she would of had when having her litter since she was spayed so close to the due date?

And please, I don't want any answers about how cruel it was to spay her so close. The vet said it was safe for her. I didn't want to bring more unwanted animals into the world considering life hasn't been so great for their mother (who would have been put to sleep by the shelters for her looking like a pitbull which is why we took her in, and not knowing who she was bred to, the puppies might look even more so).

I'm thinking of going into pre-vet. I was wondering if veterinarians have to pay special insurance and such. Do they suffer malpractice charges?

I know it sounds horrible, but we're going to have to get an abortion for our female dog. We found her two weeks ago, abandoned at the dog park we take our other dog to. It looked like she had either had puppies or was going to - we took her to the vet and they said it was too early to tell unless they did an X-ray and even then it might not show up yet. We were going to get her spayed through our local humane society since it would be cheaper, but they don't have a free appointment until June 1st. Sitting and eating tonight, my mom and I realised movement in the girl's belly - definite kicking. So now we realise she needs to get spayed immediately - we can't handle puppies at this moment (too many other animals and other commitments) & we also don't want more unwanted animals coming into the world - especially when their mother was also abandoned. I know women who have abortions suffer psychological trauma - do dogs? I'm just worried because we can't tell her what happened or why.

My boyfriend just got my a nintendo ds lite for my birthday and we were playing with it. Whenever I make an option change (even time), it makes me turn the system off - is there a way to by-pass that so I can just go back to the main screen and play my game without shutting it off? Is there a way to exit my DS game and play my GBA game without turning off the whole system and restarting?

My mom was holding one of our cats and our dog jumped up to get the cat and bit my mom instead. She refuses to go to the emergency room because a) she doesn't want the blame pinned on our other, much larger dog (irrational in my opinion), b) our state has a 2 bite euthanasia policy and she doesn't want one on the record and c) she's drunk (probably the biggest reason). The bite was her fault since we know that dog doesn't get along with cats but she brought the cat out anyway.

I'm not a doctor, so I don't know how serious it is. It was bleeding profusely and had fat coming out. We got the bleeding to slow down and I went out and bought some stuff. I put hydrogen peroxide on the wound, then neosporin, followed by some gauze and I wrapped it up in a bandage that would allow the wound to breathe but allow drainage. Is this the wrong thing to do? Is there anything else I can do to help her? I've never handled a wound like this before.

I noticed on Answers some people have actual pictures of dogs and such for their avators as apposed to the people you create. How do you do that?

On Monday when my mom and I took our dog to the dog park, there was a dog abandoned in the area where you take the dogs leash off and then let them go out and run with the other dogs. She had no collar, no tags, and is either pregnant or was very recently pregnant (our vet told us if she is right now, its too early to tell, but she has had puppies). We took her to the shelter and the lady found no microchip. When asked if they could take her she said that she looks like a pit bull and she would immediately be euthanized, that this was now the law in OH. The vet said she is NOT a pit bull, but a shar pai mix - probably with a beagle. She is so sweet and it upsets me that she would have been wrongly put to sleep.

How do humane societies and shelters determine if the dog is a pit bull mix? I was unaware of this legislation in my state and want to fight against it. What can I do and how can I contact other people already fighting against this?

My female cat will scratch the floor around her food bowl and then walk away. Is this a way of marking territory or a way of telling us she doesn't like what we just fed her? She does this mostly when we give her wet food. We also have a male cat (her brother), but he doesn't do the scratching thing.