kiffie

:o

It is just my Bob. I thought he made for a good icon. :/

Sorry. :(

Well, according to some people, box turtles need open pens and lots of room to run around and dig and be turtley. If we owned this place, I would have built him one a long time ago.

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*hug*

I felt the same way when a friend berated me over keeping my betta in a damn bowl. Please, don't fret over it. If Timmy's happy, healthy, and not miserable then chances are you're doing a good job. In fact, he's not exposed to the elements, or predators, so I think you're doing a better job than anyone could do who kept him outside.

-§parky

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*is hugged* :3

Nng. I sure hope so.

I still hope that, one day, we can build him a wondrous outside pen where he can go B| at people passing by. Or, you know, "GIT OFF MAH LAWN" in his cranky old man voice.

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Well, to be fair, being in a bowl really isn't ideal for the bettas. :/ It's partly the lack of filtration, but mostly a matter of temperature, as they're tropical fish and do noticeably better in warm water (ie a teeny tank with a safe heater).

Um. It's actually kind of ironic I saw this when I did, because there's a big thread over on a pet forum I frequent about bettas, with tons of links and stuff. I could get some for you. *hides under the couch* ._.

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I know it's not "ideal" (it's not really ideal for any fish, if you think about it) but the fact of the matter is, I've kept bettas for over a year in a bowl with no ill effects. And they can be kept in a bowl without dying. It's not like you put them in a bowl and immediately they shrivel up and die.

I don't mind people telling me that, I just don't like people acting superior and berating me over it, this girl was mean and snotty about it and that's why I got upset. I wouldn't have gotten upset had she said it like you did. I didn't like the fact that she implied I was abusing my animal, when I wasn't.

-§parky

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aaa~ well I have to nitpick that too. :o It's kind of like a less obvious version of the mistaken logic "but I kept a goldfish in a bowl for two years, so it must be okay to do so" when a goldfish's lifespan is like 30 years and their actual adult size is pretty huge. But so many generations of people kept them in bowls without filters, that now the general public thinks a goldfish only lives one or two years, and that a baby-sized goldfish is a mature adult.

I've read accounts of bettas living five or...I want to say like eight years, kept with the tank and the heat and the filter and stuff. As well as some pretty dramatic changes in color, alertness, behavior and things. Stuff and things. Scientific terms, you know. ._.

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*shrug* Like I said, if the girl had been civil about it, I wouldn't have gotten so upset. The way she said it though was so inflammatory and assinine that it made me want to slap her upside the head.

I've never heard of bettas living that long. Then again, I've only ever gotten bettas from wal-mart that are already 1-2 years old. I've never bought from a breeder, or even an upscale petshop. Just wal-mart.

-§parky

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Might be worth a shot, though. I think some of the pet forum people had good luck with some of the healthier "from a kinda cruddy place" bettas and a good setup. You never know, right? :D?

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If I ever get another betta again, I'll look into it.

-§parky

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I love how all my internet friends can have intellegent pet discussions, even if they disagree.

I wish my irl friends were like that. :/

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I *can* have intelligent pet discussions, but I admit I degenerate into ARGH I'MA COME UP THERE AND MURDER EVERYTHING YOU HOLD DEAR a little easier than I'd like. X3 I couldn't help it, Del was approached by this lady who'd let a snake get so infested with mites that you could just brush them off and your hand would be covered in blood, and they were keeping it on sand, and slkhfdhgkdghdjh

Although that was more like me yelling to myself/del instead of at the lady who was not on the internet. X3 Then I gave del many articles of science and help to print off for the lady. B|

...I never did find out if they saved the snake. :(

(And then there was the guy who was housing multiple snakes with a drastic size difference in the same enclosure, to say nothing of the fact that it was about the worst possible enclosure for burrow-dwelling ground snakes like ball pythons, and aaaaaaaa X| )

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And then there was the guy who was housing multiple snakes with a drastic size difference in the same enclosure, to say nothing of the fact that it was about the worst possible enclosure for burrow-dwelling ground snakes like ball pythons, and aaaaaaaa X|

I remember that.

At least they (eventually) fixed it. It would have been a great tank for an arboreal species, but alas, some people think all snakes live in trees. (AUGH ~~BEES~~ TREES!)

As for the mites... WTF. I want to steal animals from people like that. And then beat the people severely. Or possibly give them FLEAS so they know what it feels like to be covered in tiny, blood-sucking things. B|

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Yeah, the ball python guy got his act together, gave the snakes good seperate enclosures, and now has a rescue (unwanted older/neglected pet, not pet store rescue) iguana living in the big arboreal tank. I helped him find iguana stuff. :) So at least one of those two awful recent stories has a good ending.

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Aw, thanks Kiffie. ;D

-§parky

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I'm not sure I see why a glass tank would be bad. A glass tank without a UV light or something would be bad, but that's the light's fault. A glass tank in direct sunlight would obviously be bad too. :V

There are just some people who are weird about glass tanks. There's a couple Europeans on Arachnoboards who go fucking bonkers about snakes in glass tanks, like glass is made up of solidified poison.

If he has room and food and UV and heat and vitamins and things to hide in (do they like to hide? I dunno) then I imagine he is fine. :D

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do they like to hide?

(http://kiffie.livejournal.com/)

I think the main thing is that boxies are VERY skittish and can get easily stressed by OHGOD WIDE OPEN SPACES AND PEOPLE LOOKING AT ME ALL THE TIME AAAAAA. But, like any animal, they can become accustomed to people enough to realize "o hay they will not eet me." Glass tanks, with their giant windows, probably stress the hell out of most boxies. (Though, Timmy's so damned used to us that he goes up to the sides of the tank when we walk by and begs for food...)

And it is true that outdoor enclosures are better for them. Fresh air and lots of sunlight makes for a happy, healthy turtle. Which is why Timmy goes for walks. :D

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awww turtle :3

yeah I think he is good :D you taught him to be a whore instead of afraid of people walking by, which is either better or worse I dunno X3

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Timmy ran after the neighbors, once.

Though, it wasn't because he wanted food. He was being territorial and seriously wanted to kill them. Guard turtle.

I think he's good as far as strangers. XD

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He was hunting shoelaces. :3

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