Torrie A

I am a student living in Ontario, Canada.

I moved into an apartment recently, that has nothing about pets stated in the lease, though the landlord told me when I moved in that he was no longer allowing new pets in the building (those that lived there already because they are grandfathered into the building are allowed to stay until they pass away, so as of now the building is still swarmed with all sorts of pets).

He did however say It was okay that I bring my pet snake with me.

I'm looking to get another snake, and I've started having to keep live rodents as a food supply for the snake....my landlord is not aware of this, however I'm wondering if I can be evicted for this should my landlord ever find out? We did have a verbal agreement to no animals, but he approved of my snake, and there is nothing about pets in the written lease..

Does he have grounds to evict me should I get caught with any additional pets in my apartment?

About 2 months ago I got my first ever abscess. It was on my arm, about the size of a toonie, red and purple, extremely painful. Lasted a good couple of weeks and then eventually it ruptured, took about a week to drain, and then healed up. Not long after, another abscess appeared on my thigh, exactly the same as the other, and eventually it too ruptured, drained, and healed up. Now about 2 weeks later I have ANOTHER one that has appeared on my inner leg (close to groin area).

I'm wondering if these are just a weird coincidence or if they could possibly be connected? Like if the infection causing the previous abscess did not actually drain completely and the infection "moved on" to another part of my body?

I'm planning on getting 2 ferrets later this year, once I've moved houses and settled in. I've done plenty of research, but I'm stuck on which gender to get..

I want to get one of each (obviously they will be spayed and neutered). Would a male and female pair get along as good as say, 2 females or 2 males would?

Also, I know males are bigger, but from experience is there any other way that males and females differ from each other, like personality wise? Is one generally more active or harder to train than the other? Thanks :)

I've been doing research on owning ferrets as I plan to get a pair sometime this year. :)

I've decided I want to feed a half kibble, half raw diet...but I'm a little confused about how I should achieve this.

I already have my mix of healthy kibble brands picked out, but as for the raw part I want to offer whole prey. I own snakes so I was thinking I could just give the ferrets pre-killed rats as I already have them on hand. Would just rats be healthy as the raw part of their diet, or do I need to switch it up and offer chicks and other things? How many times a day should they be given a whole prey and what size prey should I be offering them?

Thanks! :)

I will be taking my cat to the vet next week, but I'd like some opinions before then.

I have a 16-17 year old male cat who is slightly over-weight. Just today I noticed when he got up from his nap his walking was a little strange. I determined it was his back right leg that he was almost limping on. There was a faint clicking noise (like a faint knuckle cracking) every time he stepped.

He appears to be in no pain, and continued to lay down and get back up easily like usual. He's still walking, running, and jumping. I applied slight pressure to all parts of the hip, leg, foot, and toes and got no response that showed pain or discomfort.

Does it sound like an injury of some sort, or is he just developing arthritis from old age? If it is arthritis, does anyone have experience with anti-inflammatory medication from the vet? Does it help a lot? Thanks! :)

I've offered my ball python a f/t rat, and he didn't seem interested at all. Can i leave it in his tub on the hot side? How long is it safe to leave a thawed rat sitting out for? Thanks!

I have a 5 and 1/2 month old ball python, that I'm having problems with lately.

He went off feed for about a month at the end of September and lost a good amount of weight. At the start of November he ate once, and then went into shed, so i did not feed him that week while he was shedding. He hasn't ate a meal since then. I've been trying to get him to eat frozen thawed rats, instead of live. Last week, he struck it, constricted it, but then didn't eat it. This week he had no interest in the thawed rat.

Should I just continue to feed him live until he gets his weight back up to where it was, and then try switching him to f/t again? Or should I just keep trying until he eats the thawed rat. I'm worried about him eating live, because he is not very good at it (often doesn't strike the face) and he will likely get injured. At the same time, he is down about 50g from his weight before he stopped feeding, which seems like a lot to me! Suggestions?

Thanks!

My male ball python is 4 months old and weighs roughly 450g. I haven't managed to get him switched to fresh kill or f/t just yet, so he is still eating live at the moment. His temps and humidity are still fine, and nothing in his habitat has changed drastically.

His last feeding was 3 weeks ago, and he did get a little scratched up by the rat (a few small scratches on his head). I'm not sure if he is refusing food because of this incident, or simply due to winter and fasting? He still seems hungry (he is active all the time and always wants out of his cage, which is his usual hungry behaviour) but whenever he is in his feeding tub with a rat he just climbs right out and wants nothing to do with it.

Is he at a good enough weight that I shouldn't have to worry about him missing meals for a while? How much weight can he lose before I should get worried?

Also any tips on getting him to eat would be great! Thanks :)

I had a rat that died as I was on my way to bring her to be euthanized at the vet. She has had heart/respiratory problems her whole life. Immediately after she died I noticed what looked like dark red/brown blood coming from her ears and her vagina. Anyone know why this happened? I've never seen this when my other rats passed away. Thanks!

I have owned pet rats for years now (comments to yourselves if you don't like rats please).

Just recently I've noticed that right after I clean their cage or have them out to play I will sneeze constantly for a good 20-30 minutes. It also becomes very hard for me to breathe and I get rashes on my hands.

Could I have suddenly developed allergies? I feel like it gets worse every day, is it possible for allergies to slowly get worse? I've never been allergic to anything before, so I'm unsure about all this. Thanks!

This is my first snake, and he's about 2 months old now. He's really healthy..eats well, and has perfect full sheds. Now that he's adjusted and doing well I'm trying to start handling him more. He loves to move around on my shoulders and arms and stuff, but I never know when I should put him back. Whenever I bring him to his cage he tries desperately to climb right back out. Should I take this as a sign that he wants to explore more? Would a stressed out snake want to return to its enclosure?

I realize rat-lovers will probably dislike this question, but I figured rat owners will know more about baby rats than snake owners.

I have a young ball python who is still on live feeding, and eats rat pups (hoppers). I'm guessing they are about 2.5-3 weeks old. I need to know how long one of these babies can live without its mom. I don't want the baby rat to suffer, so I've been buying them the same day (like an hour before) I feed my snake, so that its only alone for as short a time as possible. If I bought the rat say a day or two before feeding day, would it be able to survive, and not starve/suffer? Could I feed it rat food and just give it some water?

Thanks!

I have a male ball python that is almost 2 months old. He weighs about 150g (probably more but I haven't had a chance to weigh for a few weeks now as I don't have a scale). His first feeding with me, I fed him a rat hopper, which he took willingly and ate it just fine. Is this enough for him though? (He gets fed once a week). What is considered a healthy amount of weight to gain each week/month for a male BP, and at what age/weight should I start lengthening the time between feedings(once a week to once every 2-3 weeks)? Thanks! :)

I'm getting a ball python tomorrow and there's a few things I still need to know.

1) I'm picking him up from a breeder who lives a few hours away. What should I keep the snake in during the car ride to ensure he is safe and as least stressed as possible. Will he be okay without heating for the trip, or do I need to find a way to keep him warm? (Its fairly hot out where I live so If I kept the air conditioning off/low it wouldn't get too cold)

2) Should I feed him in his cage, or move him to a different cage to eat. I've heard if you feed a snake in its cage, it will start to assume its getting fed whenever you go near it. If I do feed him in a different cage, how long do I wait before moving him back to his permanent cage and how can I do so without stressing him and causing him to regurgitate his meal?

3) I happen to also have pet rats that live in my bedroom. Should the snake's cage be put in a different room? I'm worried that the constant smell of food will make him aggressive all the time.

Thanks! :)

I'm looking at getting a ball python. I've been doing research and I've decided to go with a tub/bin cage. What do you think is an appropriate size tub for a young BP (he's weighs roughly 100g)? I've read everything from 15 to 32 quarts.

What do you think is a good size?

I've been working on introducing my 2 baby rats ( roughly 3 months old) to my current rats (who are almost 1.5 years old). The babies are still very energetic and like to rush at the older girls and try to play with them right away, which has made this process very difficult for me, as my older girls aren't very rough and don't enjoy play fighting anymore. The one has pretty much accepted the babies. She gets along well with them and no longer shows any signs of aggression. My dominant girl though, has some health problems and can be quite a grouch. She will ignore the babies until they come right up to her and touch her, and then I have to separate them because they start to fight.

None have ever been injured during intros, but I'm not sure what to do at this point. Should I just let the aggressor rat establish herself by roughing up the little ones, as long as they aren't hurt? They are all very vocal rats so I get nervous when they start rolling around and squeaking, so I immediately separate them. :/ Am I just being too cautious by not letting them sort their pecking order out?

Sorry for the long description! Any help is appreciated! :)

I've been trying to introduce my 2 young female rats to my 3 older girls. 2 of the girls are doing great with their new friends, but the third one gets very puffy and often starts kicking/squabbling with Skyla, one of the new babies. There is usually one or two faint squeaks. There has been no biting or injuries, but I always separate them as soon as any behaviour like this starts. Should I just let them be as long as they aren't injuring each other and see if it gets better? Maybe I'm just not giving them time to get their battles over with?

Not sure if I should continue to be so cautious or if I should just let them wrestle a little as long as there is no harm done. Thanks!

Cuddles is a 14 year old, male, indoor cat. Over the last few years, his health has been decreasing and recently its gotten to the point where I'm considering having him euthanized soon.

He still eats regularly (at least twice a day, though the odd day he'll have no appetite), but still continues to lose weight. He is almost always hungry, but he's basically just skin and bone. His back legs are very weak and he doesn't sit or walk properly anymore due to how much muscle he's lost. He was once quite a lap cat and attention needy, and now shys away from the family and likes to curl up alone under a table or in a quiet room. He has little to no energy most of the time.

I've taken him to the vet multiple times, had him blood tested (no kidney or liver problems and nothing odd in any of the blood screens) and he isn't hyperthyroid. He was x-rayed and everything was fine, and was given a medical mobility support food. The vets can't find anything wrong with him.

He loves to be fed water from a syringe, so I was wondering if there's anything I could try syringe feeding him that might give him more nutrients or help him gain some weight? Can anyone think of anything? Or any human food that might help him bulk up or give him some energy? I'm willing to try anything. This is my last hope for him :(

I'm looking into the septum piercing. Its making me a little nervous though. I already have 4 ear lobe piercings, an industrial, my smiley, my labret, and the top and bottom of my navel pierced. I'm pretty good with pain (the only one that hurt was my industrial). Is a septum generally a more painful piercing? I know pain is different to everyone, but do most people find this to be a painful one to do? Is it an area that's likely to swell a whole lot?

Also, its the "sweet spot" that gets pierced right? Not your cartilage near the top, or the tough skin at the end of your nose, but the soft skin in between right?

Can this piercing be easily hidden? I've heard you can just take the ball off the hoop and flip it upwards. Does that work well?

Thanks a bunch :)

I got my smiley (upper lip frenulum) pierced today. Once it is fully healed, how long (roughly) would I be able to take out the jewelry for, before the hole closes in completely (a few minutes, few hours, days)?

Thanks :)