Shine-Dalgarno

So, I got pulled for my front L plate not being quite visible on my 125 cc motorbike today, the cop issued me a ticket and advised I "could be looking at 3 points on my license plus up to £1000 in fines". I will find out the penalty, if any, in the post in a few weeks.

My insurance is due for renewal by the 15th of March (at the latest!) but I can't declare a penalty that hasn't been issued yet and it's unlikely to be issued in time....

I'd prefer not to have to call my selected insurance company - you know what it's like, I'll be paying more for my phone bill than the insurance!

Any advice please?

Please see the video:

https://vimeo.com/188319536

The larger, darker guy is my original and the other two I have just introduced.

He seems pretty excited and is chasing them both around.

My only concern is that they are females!

What do you think?

I have a Honda CG 125, 2008 plate.

I have it's service history but from what I can see I think it's taken a bit of a beating in it's earlier life.

I bought it in March and it got new:

Chain & sprocket

Fork seals

New battery

Indicator bulbs

Number plate

And the starter motor thoroughly cleaned

I clean my chain and keep it lubed and have checked/topped up my oil with 10W-40 multigrade.

It will not start without choke, period. It doesn't matter how warm it is outside or how long I've left it for (2 days or 2 minutes) it requires full choke (won't start on half) to start!

I take it for a fairly fast, long ride at least once every 2 weeks (over 15 miles) but windy Welsh country roads don't really allow me to flog it flat out. It gets a fast 10 mile round trip twice a week to the yard and is used every day to commute to uni (5-10 minute drive).

I assume this isn't normal, so what could be wrong with it?

Also, the clutch can sometimes stick in neutral and refuse to go down to 1st, lots of stamping and fidgeting the bike around will eventually get it in but it's incredibly embarrassing when I'm at a junction and can't move...

Opinions and advice greatly appreciated!

So I'm riding a horse that has next to no withers and is a very round shape. His saddle fits him very well in general he has no problems with his back and is in very good condition (not fat at all) however the saddle slips VERY easily! All you have to do is lean so so slightly to one side and it moves. It's a synthetic saddle he's in, with a bog standard, thin numnah (as it's summer time here).

I do not own the horse, so would either need to get something cheap, or speak to his owner about something more expensive. I am a well balanced rider, so in the school this isn't too much of an issue, but with hacking and jumping it's a bit of a problem!

So what are your suggestions?

Do the rubber sticky grip pads actually work?

Do you put them under the saddle cloth & saddle, or between?

Would a thicker numnah help?

Or a breastplate?

Advice is appreciated! :)

I recently bought a second hand Honda CG125, 2008 and everything has been fine - until now.

I did a stupid, put it on the stand on a hill and of course it tipped and fell onto it's right side (if you're sat on it).

There is some cosmetic damage and the front indicator bulb has gone, but the biggest problem is it won't start now!!

Something leaked when it fell over (??), but I got it up with in a minute, didn't try to start it just rolled it in neutral into my yard.

Once in the yard I tried to start it and the engine rolled over and there was a loud ticking sound. I stopped, waited for a minute and then tried again and there was NOTHING - no ignition, no engine. I turned the bike off, did some quick googling and went outside to try it again, this time the electrics weren't working at all!

It's been an hour or two since now, and the electrics have started working again. The ignition is on a button, and when I press it the lights dim, but still absolutely no ignition or engine.

Any ideas what's happened? Is there any way I can get it started at home myself?

I am inexperienced with bikes, so please include details!

Help is GREATLY appreciated!

So I have 2 rosy barbs and a platy in my tank. They are all in perfect health, I had the water tested last week no problems, fed once every 2 days etc.

One of the rosy barbs is a lovely, very rich colour, while the other is very pale and the black on his fins has also faded.

The pale one is not showing any other signs of ill health, he s swimming and eating fine etc.

But why has he turned so pale? And is it something I should do something about?

TIA

My rat Luna (5-6 months old), recently got a new cage-mate (Teddy, ~3 months old) after her sister died suddenly, they were introduced successfully and have been living together for 3-4 weeks.

There was always a lot of dominance behavior, mostly from Luna (pinning Teddy down) and lots of squeaking on Teddy's part. Everything was fine, not a scratch on them so I assumed a successful introduction and that they were just playing.

The past 3 days, I've noticed Teddy displaying more dominance behaviour over Luna, and rough & tumble in general. I've checked both of them (Teddy is a rex so it wasn't easy!) and only Luna has marks - 1 very small bloody scab on her back, one on her belly, one on the underside of her neck and a scratch on her hind leg.

Everything I've read suggests everything is fine until blood is drawn... Which it has now...

That aside they're fine - I see them grooming each other and they sleeping the nest together every night

My question is, is this fighting? Or is it playing (albeit roughly) and establishment of a hierarchy? Should I be worried? And should I be thinking of separating them?

Luna (5-6 month old) lost her buddy/litter mate a couple of weeks ago, and this Wednesday I got her a new friend.

Teddy is a 10 week old female rat.

Their cages have been next to each other the past few days, and they certainly like to be near one other - though Luna is a bit cooler than Teddy.

I introduced them yesterday night and today in a large neutral cardboard box, and in a small, old cage.

No aggressive behaviour, some dominance behaviour from Luna but Teddy squeaks and rolls over and lets Luna get on with it.

I've thoroughly cleaned out the main cage and have put them both in together. Again, very good, some dominance from Luna - they're both in the hammock with Luna grooming Teddy, and Teddy giving the odd squeak.

Is it safe for me to leave them in together from now on?

Is this a successful introduction?

So I got 2 new rats - unfortunately there are no breeders and none up for adoption round my area, so I went to the pet shop.

Luna is an albino dumbo rat, who is very docile and friendly. She's adjusted well to being handled and accepts treats - although she does poop a lot.

Mimi is a coloured fancy rat, is much more more nervous, and won't come out of her own accord - I have to catch her. I've been using forced socialisation which I think is helping (?). I tuck her inside my hoody and gently stroke her, though she often struggles and wants to run around. Some of the time she'll sit in my jumper and allow me to pet her, and when I stroke her head she closes her eyes - is this because she's actually relaxed?

In the same situation she sometimes chatters her teeth - is this more likely to be bruxing or chattering?

Thanks.

My platy's fins are raggy looking and I *think* they are receding, there are no white spots or signs of infection/bleeding. Does this look like fin rot?

Please click the link for a video of him: https://vid.me/kHo9

As you can see in the video, he's not swimming well and keeps rolling. He also sits at the bottom of the tank sometimes, which I assume is exhaustion from not being able to swim well due to the fins.

He's feeding well, I had my water tested and everything was fine apart from nitrates which were very high (80). I just got a gravel siphon for water changes, which I used yesterday and I plan to repeat in a couple of days to get levels down before re-testing. My tank is 41 L, with 2 rosy barbs and 2 platys, I feed once every two days-ish and I have a Stingray filter.

He is the smallest fish in the tank but all the other fish are very healthy, do you think this is fin rot or could it be due to the water quality?

Help much appreciated!

Hi all,

I have (finally) had the approval from my landlord to get some rats, I have cared for rats (a friend's) multiple times before, I've done my research and I absolutely love them!

The rats I cared for were two mature males, and they were just lovely!

I know that females are smaller, more energetic and less likely to want cuddles. But I still can't make up my mind whether to get a male/male or female/female pair.

With males, should they be castrated? I would never breed my rats so that's not a concern, but is it advisable to neuter them, and can anyone give me a ballpark figure for how much it would cost (UK)?

Thanks in advance!

Hi all,

I have a 10.6 gallon (41.5 L) tank which contains 3 platys (all male) and 2 rosy barbs (both male also).

They all get on very well, no aggressive behaviour and seem pretty healthy.

However, recently one of the platys has taken to hiding behind the filter. I'm really concerned that he will get crushed at some point as he wedges himself right in there! When I force him out he seems a bit shocked and stays still on the bottom for a short time.

Most of the time he comes out to feed, but hes definitely smaller than the other 2 platys. I have provided plenty of safe places for him to hide (which he ignores!). The other fish are fine, so I don't think it's anything to do with the water/feeding etc.

I'm not experienced at all with fish, so do you fishy people think that this is anything to worry about? And is there anything I should do to help him?

Thanks!

My 1.5 yr old female Syrian hamster isn't well. Over the past 3-4 weeks I've noticed:

- She's itching & grooming A LOT

- She's lost a lot of fur on her belly, hind legs and back end

- She's less keen to get out of bed

- She's lost a bit of weight

- She's been having REALLY foul smelling soft, yellow-y poops.

I already took her to the vet who gave me a course of high strength ivermectin spot on (an anti-exoparasitic).

It's been 2 weeks since we began treating her (4 drops/week on her neck) and if anything she's got worse.

She is fed high quality food with access to fresh water (+ vitamin drops), her cage is cleaned at least twice a week and I haven't changed anything recently.

I can't find anywhere on the internet that references all these symptoms, so I'm wondering if any of you guys can help?

(Please note, I'll most probably be taking her back to the vets again next week)

Thank you! Xxx

So, we're moving out of our current flat in Wales, UK.

We have a fixed term contract running for 12 months, 6th June 2014- 6th June 2015. The contract then continues on a rolling basis.

Our new tenancy begins on the 1st of June, and we gave our current land lady notice of us moving out on the 14th of May.

However, she has informed us that we need to pay a notice period of 1 month - this leaves us in a REALLY tight spot for money having to pay for 2 properties.

We have scoured our contract, and NO WHERE does it stipulate that we must give a months notice. Just that we must inform the landlady of us not continuing our tenancy within 7 days of the fixed contract ending.

So, my question is - is there a law in the UK that stipulates a month's notice must be given, or are we free to move out at the end of the month (having given ample notice we will not continue the tenancy), without having to pay double rent?

Advice is greatly appreciated, feel free to ask questions as it's a complex situation.

Thank you!

So, I'm setting up a fish tank in my office :)

It's a 15 gallon tank and I have all the bits and bobs (filter, food, de-chlorinator, plants, substrate etc) however I've yet to get the most important item - the fish!

Like most people I've always had goldfish/shubunkins which are wonderfully easy to look after!

However I think this tank would be a bit small for goldfish and I'd like something a bit different.

The tank will be in the office which is in a new building (with temperature regulators and such) and will always be warm.

I'd like a fish that can live in fresh cold/temperate water, and is easy to care for/is hardy. These will be the only fish in the tank, so there is no need to worry about social/aggressive interactions.

I've looked at barbs and danios and platys, but I'm really not sure! (I'm in the UK by the way!)

Help is appreciated!

I am a really big animal person, and since coming to university I haven't been able to have animals like I used to.

I am a 1st year PhD student, who lives with her partner in a large, 3rd story flat. I don't have too much money spare, but we are always in on an evening, and sometimes through the day as my partner works part time.

I am attracted to fostering as we're confident that we have the patience, love and knowledge to help an animal. Because we also don't spend all day in the flat and don't have a house or many bedrooms, I was thinking of seeing about fostering an older cat (especially as we lead a very quiet life!). However, here are the problems:

a) Our flat is gets hot in the summer, so we need to have the windows open (pretty much 24/7), will this be a problem with the cat jumping out and escaping?

b) How likely is it that we'll get a cat who won't mind the hamster? I have a lovely little Syrian hamster, but I would never want to compromise her life or put her in danger.

c) If I were to ask for an older, more experienced cat, how likely is it that it would be stressed enough to shred our house upon arrival? A lot of older cats already know house etiquette - but could stress cause them to get a little destructive?

Help from animal welfare workers, rescuers, current fosters etc is much appreciated!

Xxx

Hi everyone!

I part loan a horse and pay £20 a week for two days.

However, since he has gone out in the summer field, he WILL NOT catch. No one can get near him.

This has been going on for 3 weeks.

I'm not made of money - as I'm sure everyone can appreciate - and I'm getting increasingly frustrated by the fact I can't do ANYTHING with him

.

His owners can't catch him either and haven't offered any sort of solution to the problem.

I asked them to leave a head collar on him, which they didn't do... And I've offered to buy him a Fieldsafe one - however we wouldn't be able to get near him to put it on.

I have had horses that wouldn't catch in the past, but they were mine so I had the time to get them used to coming in just for a fuss and a feed, so they aren't being ridden all the time.

We can't get near him to even do that, and I don't see why I should spend £20 a week just to put a head collar on a horse.

What do I do??

I can't carry on paying for a horse that I don't even have, but I've put a lot of work in with this fella and I don't want to just throw the towel in straight away.

Advice?

xxxx

Hi all!

I recently started work at a new company (UK), and have been doing a hell of a lot of overtime, outside of my contracted 12 hours.

However, when I had my first pay check through (26th August), I had only been paid for my contracted 12 hours, for that month. When I queried this with my employer, she explained that the company works by paying overtime the following month. So I will receive my overtime for this month, next pay day.

This is a new concept for me! And I have received mixed responses from people I've asked - some say that's what some employers do, and have experienced it themselves. But others say your employer cannot do that - I'm confused!

Can anyone shed any light?

Xxx

So my Syrian hamster is just over two and a half years old, and he's starting to look a little worse for wear.

He's begun to lose some of his fur (it's incredibly thin on about ~40% of his body), has lost some condition and is slowing down a bit. However he is still eating, drinking, peeing, pooing with no problem, and is as cheeky as ever, always wanting to come out and play - which are all good signs! He is in a one tier cage so minimal climbing is required, and I remove soiled sawdust daily/scrub the cage weekly to keep it extra clean. I've added a vitamin supplement to his water which has worked well too.

My first question is: Is there anything else I could do to make him even more comfortable?

My second question is a weird one, he has taken to half filling his right cheek pouch with air! I can gently squeeze it out, but it slowly refills, I can't find anything similar on the internet :S He isn't in any discomfort with it and there is no solid mass indicative of a tumour or I'd have had him to the vets. I can't figure out whether there are lymph nodes under the cheeks that could be responsible, so will probably call the vet for advice on Monday anyway, but my second question is:

Has anyone experienced something similar or have any suggestions?

Thank you!

Xxx

F value in ANOVAs - What to do with it?

Hi all,

so I've run both a two way ANOVA and a one way ANOVA on some of my results for my dissertation.

For my 2 way ANOVA the P-value strongly suggests no interaction between factors, nor any real significance (Which is correct).

For the one way ANOVA the opposite is true, there is clearly a significant relationship, reflected by the P-value.

Lovely, but what about the F value??

I want to use it and I have come across two way of doing so:

1. If your F value exceeds 1 it is significant, if not then it is not significant.

2. Find the critical F value for your data and if the F value exceeds the critical value it is significant, if it doesn't then it is not.

I'm not sure if there is a correct application to use? Or if so, which would be more appropriate for my tests? As it is I've gone with the more complex one (2), but I'm not 100% satisfied that it is correct.

Help is much appreciated!

Xxx