Month: June 2018

cool-critters:

Regal ringneck snake (Diadophis punctatus regalis)

This colorful beauty is a subspecies of ringneck snake endemic to the southwestern United States and northern Mexico. They are among the larger of the ringneck snake subspecies, growing from 20 to 87 cm long. The regal ringneck snake is found in the mountains, not in the desert. The regal ringneck snake, unlike other subspecies, is almost exclusively ophiophagous, having a diet that consists primarily of other snakes. They have enlarged rear teeth and a weak venom that serves to immobilize their small prey, but is harmless to humans. Ringneck snakes are nocturnal, secretive snakes which spend most of their time hiding under rocks or other ground debris. If threatened, the ringneck snake typically hides its head and twists its tail in a corkscrew type motion, exposing its brightly colored underside, and expels a foul smelling musk from its cloaca.

photo credits: imexcursions, imgur

“I am POISON do not eat” 

rockjumperbirdingtours:

Photo of the Day – The Black-throated Parrotbill (Suthora nipalensis) is found in the northern region of the Indian subcontinent and adjoining parts of south-east Asia. Some of the countries it can be found in include Myanmar, Bhutan, India, Nepal, Thailand and Vietnam. It is mostly found in tropical and subtropical moist montane forests.

This lovely photo was taken by Glen Valentine in Myanmar

This looks like a bird that was drawn by someone who’s never seen a bird up close before. It’s got all the right parts, but the beak is weird, and the eyes are even more so.

Cute, tho.

It’s raining hard and there’s lightning and thunder, and I just went out on the porch in the cool, wet air. Which means I now have the rather strong, very specific urge to go to a deep body of water, preferably an ocean, and jump in facefirst in order to dive to the bottom.

I don’t know why this happens. It’s a specific urge, and not at all intellectual. I mean, I sure wouldn’t mind being able to do that, but it’s not a conscious want.

I wish I could oblige it. 

Also, there was a fuzzy little adolescent raccoon hiding beside the porch, and I scared the fuzzy little pants off him. I wish raccoons weren’t so feisty, they look so soft and I’d love to touch one.

Alright, I have new OCs. 

One of ‘em is a harpy/avian/etc named Ashen. Former flagellant in a temple that burned down along with the city it was in. Currently having a MASSIVE crisis of faith. 

The other ones are two orphaned, unusually large Cybertronian symbiotes, Wreck and Ruin, who have been paired artificially with a small and rather concerned symbiote host named Tidbite. They are not a good match, which is less than excellent given that they’re permanently bonded now.

Anybody wanna hear about ‘em? Message me.

Random question! I’m moving Monday only like ten minutes away and have a 10 gallon planted betta tank. I saw you moved not long ago, and wondered if you have any general advice applicable to me to make it as stress free and safe as possible? Please feel free to ignore if you dont or don’t have the time/energy to answer!

snowflakeeel:

I’d say the most important thing is to try and keep the temp stable during transport and the time it takes to set up the tank (the drive may only be 10 minutes but it might take you a while longer to set up the tank)
You should just be fine putting the fish in bags or in a cup (my friend once used a Yeti cup to keep her fish at a stable temp in the car) you might want to try and insulate bags with styrofoam or paper or something.
probably don’t feed them the day before the move as well so they don’t make as much waste in the transport container.
If it’s going to take you several hours to get everything set up for some reason, it might be good to get a bubbler to add more oxygen to the water.
Best of luck! I’m sure you’ll be fine!

No need for a bubbler with a betta, it only adds stress by pushing them around. They can breathe oxygen from the air just fine.

For a small tank, don’t feed the day before the move, then move it like this: 

1: Drain all the water. Keep 2 containers of water back. Put the betta in one, and the filter media in the other. Leave the plants in the gravel, they’ll be fine for 10 minutes. A bag or any kind of cup with a secure lid will work for holding both the media and the betta. Don’t put the betta and the filter media in the same container. 

2: Remove heavy driftwood, rocks, etc, anything that could shift around and cause damage. 

3: Lift tank, do NOT balance it on the edge of anything even for a moment (this will break it), take it outside, and put it in the car. 

4: Drive to new place with all items. 

5: Fill tank with dechlorinated water, put filter media back in filter, etc. Betta will be fine in an OPEN container for several hours. If needed, betta can be acclimated to a bucket full of clean water and stay there overnight as long as it’s heated. 

6: Assemble everything, acclimate betta, release betta, leave the lights off for a day or two. 

7: Just in case, check water parameters later in the day and for a couple days after, in case anything gets stirred up from the gravel and you need to do a water change. 

8: Feed the day after the move. 

Don’t put anything in the container with the betta while moving, it’ll slosh around too much. While getting the tank ready, put something soft in the container for the betta to hide under. Make setting up the tank a relatively high priority, but only once the stand is ready. The best you can do to reduce stress is keep the betta in dim light and move it as little as possible.