Victoria S

I have acquired some used aquarium ornaments from a friend and to get them cleaned before placing in my cycling tank I'm scrubbing with white vinegar and warm water but one in particular is fizzing in places... I'm wondering if it is old deposits coming off or if the ornament is unsafe, maybe losing it's coating? Any advice would be appreciated as can't find info on this and don't want to make blunders at he first hurdle

hi there, i'm wondering if anyone might have a better idea what i'm facing than i. i went out to the horses as usual, to find my big tb mare with bald patches on her legs with scabs in some... thought she might have had an accident in the loosebox (she is really fizzy), to find she was otherwise sound. took off her rug and found large bald patches under the stomach where the surcingles lie and a bump on the wither. i took off the rub vest and the bump's gone down, but the patches are spreading. my gelding now also has them. they are currently shedding their winter coats, they're about a month early this year, but not particularly itchy for it... i checked for lice... all clear. rang the vet and he said just to use invermectin wormer (apparently it helps with mites) and see how it goes, since with it being on two horses it looks paracitical and theres a lot of flaky skin (also the mare had persistant dermatitis last summer on both hind cannons, leading me to believe it may be mites). there is no undercoat underneath the bald patches and it is purely localised to the belly from the girth straight over the stomach on both, the odd patch on the mares legs, and over the stifles of both now (today), though from what i remember about mites, they usually itch more thin-skinned areas and easier to access spots, (round the head, tail, shoulders etc, which are all fine), though i've not seen them itch even as much as they would usually in a coat shed... could this be something else i'm looking at? i half wonder if the coat is coming off with no underhair due to them changing earlier than normal, but never seen anything just like this before.

also the scabs on the mares legs appear to have been bites by herself rather than paracitical, as they're quite big, yet there aren't many patches like i'd expect with itching either, otherwise all the bald spots are smooth, though their manes have flaky skin in the roots. any experience would be appreciated. the vet wants to wait a week or so after the invermectin's had a chance to have worked before he comes out, as they're tightly booked and he doesn't see it as emergancy unless theres any further changes.

Hi there, really getting stressed. my mothers side of the family seems to have a genetic mental issue with varying severity. my particular concearn is my mother, she is constantly in bitter, anti-people frames of mind, sometimes spending 3/4 of her awake time blaming people for everything she or anyone else sees is wrong, but is easily influenced by people she sees as good and this can change frequently or she can repeat the same things several times daily for years. she can be cruel, very immoral and always sees herself as victimised and can never see logic, only sees what she wants when she wants. mostly this is created in her head to the point where i think she believes these events herself and she takes turns where there is no reasoning and she will go to extremes. any thoughts? this is defo not new and im not much good at possible mental health diagnosis, thanx x

i actually agree with dew claw removal as long as its not merely for cosmetic purposes. i own lurchers and the two older ones have broken, dislocated, ripped at a 90 degree angle and fractured their dew claws so many times even when at home not working and it is far more painful than having them removed under anesthetic, although i prefer to have them done at 2-5 days of age where it is virtually painless when done correctly. the howls that come from a dog that tore its claw on the sofa makes the hair stand on the back of your neck and the pups i have due in a couple of weeks will have theirs removed to avoid future trauma so is not an inhumane thing to do in all circumstances. hope this helps.