zebe912

I was gone for the last week and my husband was caring for our hamster. Upon returning home I noticed she had a big bulge in the center of her abdomen. It seems fairly palpable and she doesn't seem to be in discomfort (she hasn't been fussing or biting if I move her). My first thought would be pregnancy except for the fact that's impossible because I've had her too long and don't own males.

She hasn't been pooping when I have her out in her ball, so I assumed it was constipation. She's always been a big pee-er, and now she's barely doing that either. I've been giving her extra greens & drops of olive oil to help get her system moving, but so far nothing has happened.

We don't have a vet in the area (my cat sees the one I have back home), so I'm hoping to solve this without having to locate a pocket pal vet around here.

Any other ideas about what might be going on?

I have a VERY sensitive gag reflex, especially to slimy or oily products like jello, yogurt, pudding, etc. Now I have to take a fish oil supplement and while the taste doesn't bother me, I just can't swallow it. I need to use up this bottle and then I'll decide whether I should switch to capsules or if I can handle it this way long term.

In the meantime, I need to find something that i can mix the tsp of fish oil with so that I won't have the oily texture in my mouth when I swallow. It isn't the taste that is the problem, but the fact that there is no "traction" to get the oil down my throat....any ideas? This morning I tried a mouth full of pastry then a shot of oil and then swallow, and I just barely got it down. I think it needs to be mixed already before it is anywhere near my mouth.

I have a VERY sensitive gag reflex, especially to slimy or oily products like jello, yogurt, pudding, etc. Now I have to take a fish oil supplement and while the taste doesn't bother me, I just can't swallow it. I have a bottle I need to use up and then I'll decide whether I should switch to capsules or if I can handle it this way.

In the meantime, I need to find something that i can mix the tsp of fish oil with so that I won't have the oily texture in my mouth. It isn't the taste that is the problem, but the fact that there is no "traction" to get the oil down my throat....any ideas? I tried a mouth full of pastry then a shot of oil and then swallow, and I just barely got it down.

We have two kayaks that we want to be able to use, but we only have a 4 door Saturn L200 and a 2 door Toyota Celica. We can't afford to have an entire roof rack system installed, so we're wondering if there are any temporary systems that would work on a sedan? Or, should I just use rope, foam, & carpeting and knot the heck out of them? Any idea whether two kayaks are even going to fit on an L200? The kayaks are approx 12" in depth and 24" width. Serious replies only please.

One of my neons has been hiding and not eating for a couple of days. I just finally got a glipse and "he" appears to have some sort of growth, parasite, or fungus on one side of his body near the pelvic fin. Swimming seems to be okay, but like I said, no eating and hsi mouth is moving quite a lot like he might be gulping. He stays low in the tank though and the other fish seems to be fine. I can't get close enough to this fish to see what the abnormality is. Sometimes it looks like a growth and sometimes like the "fuzz" of a fungus (but it is only in one small area). It does appear to be external more than a bulge under the skin. Any ideas? Serious responses only please. Water is due for partial chage tomorrow but parameters all seem to be within bounds.

I've been watching this fish for a while and trying to collect clues, but "he" has me baffled. For the most part the fish acts normal and healthy. The color is the same as my other neons, it still hangs out with the other fish most of the time, and I don't notice any external parasites or damage. However, instead of having the traditional elongated oval shape of a neon, it's "stomach" goes straight across and is even a little concave. My first worry was that this signified neon tetra disease, but I don't notice any other symptoms at all. I'm worried about "him," but can't for the life of me figure out whether he's sick, or if he just doesn't eat a whole lot, or what. (I've seen him eat at least on occasion, ) I got the fish a few months ago, and he was shaped normally. This seems to be something new over the last month or so. I had a high ammonia level for a couple of days and have been doing partial water changes every day or two and that has appeared to clear up.

I've been on hormonal contraception for many years and have gone through the injection, patch, ring, pills, etc. and have exhausted all of those options for various reasons. The only thing left is going back on the pill, which doesn't agree with me. With that there are worries about the long-term side effects of HBC use like liver damage.

I'm sensitive to latex and spermicide, so I can't use a diaphragm, cervical cap, or traditional condoms. Because we do want to get preg. in a couple of years, the 5 year IUD isn't an option (this is also why husband doesn't get vasectomy yet). Right now we use polyurethane condoms, but they cause so much desensitization for both of us that we might as well not even try.

So is there anything left that we can use to help prevent pregnancy until we've been married a little longer and are ready to move on to the parenting part of our life? I want to have a full relationship with my husband, but right now, PG fear is holding us back.

I have four neon tetras and a couple of days ago one of them started swimming nose down in a jerky manor kind of like it is "bobbing" up & down. It also seems to have a distended "stomach," like a bump on the very bottom right before the red pigmentation starts. It swims mostly towards the bottom 2 inches of the tank, but I think I saw it go up to feed. I'm not noticing any scales sticking out or problems with eyes. So far it seems to be staying with the school for the most part. I checked the water and according to my test strips Nitrate is between 5-10 ppm, Nitrite is 0, hardness is around 180, alkalinity 180 and pH about 7.4. So none of these seem so out of range that they would be causing a problem. The tank temp is about 74.

Should I QT "him" just to be on the safe side, or treat the whole tank for something? I cut back on feeding this weekend hoping that might help, but I haven't noticed any difference.

Just today my fish started hanging out towards the top of the tank & it looks like they are "nibbling" the top of the water. Basically it looks like they are going after food, but I haven't fed them recently. Because of ich, I'm treating the tank with salt & heat. As a result the tank has become pretty cloudy, despite a water change. I was hoping to wait on another change until tomorrow when I can start reducing temp again. Is this new behavior something I should be worried about or are they just trying to tell me they are hungry?

As part of a disorder I have, my scalp is really itchy. I know it isn't dandruff related or lice, or anything like that. It isn't flaky, but just itchy, especially where new hair is just starting to grow in. I already have a special shampoo and conditioner that I use to help with the regrowth, so that isn't an option. What else can I put on my scalp to keep it from itching so much? Homemade treatments would be great since hair care products always seem to be so expensive.

As part of a disorder I have, my scalp is really itchy. I know it isn't dandruff related or lice, or anything like that. It isn't flaky, but just itchy, especially where new hair is just starting to grow in. I already have a special shampoo and conditioner that I use to help with the regrowth, so that isn't an option. What else can I put on my scalp to keep it from itching so much? Homemade treatments would be great since hair care products always seem to be so expensive.

Every so often my neon tetras are swimming in rapid zig zags all over the tank. They sort of seem to stay together for this, but usually they stay lower & slower in the tank. I see signs of ick, so I'm wondering if this is flashing behavior or something else.

I already know that I need to put some salt in the water, try to raise the temp, and adjust alkalinity. I can't make it to the pet store until the weather gets better though. Anything I can do in the meantime?

One fish has what almost looks like a furry saddle surrounding its dorsal fin. At first I though this might be NTD discoloration, but it now looks more like it is over the scales rather than in the fish's body. This isn't part of the ick is it? I qt'd it, but again, I don't have any treatments until I can get to the store.

I want to create a fabric headband, about 2-3 inches wide and probably 30 inches long so I can tie it in back. I want at least one out of jersey knit type fabric and then I might use some silky solids for others.

I plan to cut it with seam allowances for creating it like a casing, finishing one end, then turning it right side out & stitching the opposite end closed so all the edges are finished.

I can't decide whether it will lay better if I cut with the grain, against the grain, or on the bias. Sewers...your opinions please.

I have tetramin tropical crisps for my neon tetras. They seem happy with them, but I would like to supplement their diet with other things to keep them healthy. What are some good options to round out their diet and don't have the chance of carrying NTD into the tank? If I do brine shrimp, should they be freeze dried or live (husband has sea monkeys)?

Last night I wrote about a neon tetra who was swimming funny: jabbing downward with his head and then floating on his back. I put him in a qt tank and figured he'd be dead by morning. I figured it was probably NTD, yet there was no discoloration.

Today, he's swimming normally and seems to be fine. The other four tetras in the original tank all seem to be okay as well. So how long should I keep them separate to watch for any recurring or new symptoms in the qt'd one? The only qt set up I have is a small bowl with no filtration, so I know it isn't the ideal situation. Still, I don't want to put him back in the original tank if there might be something still wrong other than digestive issues.

I have had my 5 neons for just over a week. They all seemed to be doing really well after aclimating to the tank. They've gotten a voracious appetite it seems and come to the front corner seemingly to "ask" for food (usually they are towards the back). Tonight I noticed one doing the funny downward thrusting that most people equate with NTD. I don't see any loss of color though and this seems out of the blue. They all seemed fine, and I was sitting near them most of the day. I've quarantined it and now it is breathing but floating belly up most of the time. Without the color loss, should I try an anti-biotic treatment, feed a pea, or just assume it is a goner and put it out of its misery?

We got a kids beginner aquarium kit today. It's the tank, light, filter, conditioner, food & bubbler. However, there aren't any instructions with the filter or bubbler. I got the filter mounted & running, but the bubbler (from the same line of products) doesn't seem to have anywhere to connect. Should it be connected to the filter outlet, or are we missing some piece of equipment?

My pressure cooker doesn't have canning instructions in it, but what would the difference really be between a cooker and canner that would prevent me from being able to use the pressure cooker? Am I better off just doing the boiling water bath method?

I need photos to make a re-creation.