Aquila

Love the day gecko photo! Here are some of my 'headshots' The sun bears always come out looking so silly!

"If a cow could, he'd kill you and everyone you care about" - Simpsons Maybe you should teach that cow a lesson, and turn her into a steak! Jk, animals will be animals! I'm glad to hear you are ok and didn't suffer any more serious injuries!

Cheers for that reading material

That is great that you have worked out this situation with reasonable compromise! I am sure that you will not have to regret your decision, and everything will work out You may even gain some more aquarium buddies in the long run. The new flatties seem to be a step up from the old ones so look on the bright side! I would just like to add a word of caution about the cat/bird situation. I bet you are already aware of this but cat saliva contains a bacteria called Pasturella which can be deadly to parrots. If this bacteria gets into the bird's blood it usually causes rapid sepsis (1-2 day). I know you will keep Rusty safe and I don't want to scare you. Just double checking that you are aware of this and make sure the cat has no physical contact with him. I don't know if this bacteria would cause any problems if say the cat and bird licked the same surface...but maybe that is something you can research.

You are right to be cautious with spinach. Mature spinach actually binds calcium and can cause problems with digestion. Baby spinach is better but don't over-do it either. There is a bit of a debate with beardie owners about it, but most agree its good occasionally. Mesclun is great otherwise...just pick out most of the spinach when you feed it, or avoid it in the bin at the supermarket. It depends on the batch they get in, sometimes it has too much baby spinach ratio to other greens, but just try to target the other stuff. Kale is typically included in the mix Broccoli and baby spinach shouldn't be given regularly, but is good to boost the their diet occasionally. Carrots are tasty and have Vitamin A, but not calcium. All other lettuces are useless.

Sorry, I wasn't talking about any ingredients in Melafix. I was referring specifically to formalin. I don't know anything about what Melafix contains... But in general, most medications contain ingredients, which if taken in large amounts will be toxic to your fish or you. The key is to follow the instructions so that you do not over dose... and in my opinion avoid anything containing formalin/formaldehyde at all cost.

I agree with all of this as well. I've used it several times in the past during my days working for the ichthyology department at uni. It is terrible stuff. We used to top up the preserved specimens with the stuff and even though the room was being ventilated and we had masks on with goggles, it still burned your eyes and throat. I don't like to think about what kind of damage my body has been exposed to from doing that. I wasn't aware at the time of it being such a potent carcinogen. The policies at the uni got changed a few years later and they were forced to switch to ethanol. Formalin/formaldyde is still used in preservation, but now now they use it to fix the tissue at the beginning, and then switch to store in ethanol. Thankfully all the dissection animals which are forced upon uni students are now formalin free when they arrive to the labs. I see no justification for using it as a med. Its just not worth it. There are other meds out there that do the job. Bleach is a better alternative as a disinfectant, and ethanol is too, but it just evaporates quickly (good to clean surfaced though). I wasn't really aware how easily available it was to the general public either. FOR THE LOVE OF GOD PEOPLE, DON'T LET IT TOUCH YOUR SKIN OR BREATH IN THE VAPOURS IF YOU ARE SET ON USING IT!!! And spread the word to other aquarium hobbyists!

Sorry to hear about your beardie but glad he's on the mend. When I was younger I had this problem with an Iguana. I got the iguana from the pet store and followed the directions the store owner told me...feed it carrots, and lettuce and some crickets (not ever mentioning a calcium supplement). So I did... Half a year down the line, the poor little guy was running around the bathroom and when I came to get him I noticed he was dragging his back legs! I freaked out b/c I thought maybe he had licked some cleaning products or something and rushed him to the vet. The vet took x-rays and told me that his bones were very very brittle from lack of calcium, and he had broken his back while running around! I was gutted but still hoping I could bring him around. The vet gave me a bottle of liquid calcium which i would dose him every day via syringe into the mouth and some powder I was to put on all his food. Unfortunately my little guy didn't pull through, but it does sound like your vet has also come up with a similar treatment, so that is good to hear. I was upset and felt guilty for a while too. I should have researched their diet properly, i was also mad the store owner told me the wrong information. Anyways...I was young and I learned from my mistake... Years later I owned a beardie before I came to NZ and I had her for several years while going though uni. I made sure that she had the best diet and researched food that was really high in calcium. Mesclun mix (you know that salad mix...) is REALLY good. It has collared greens, kale, baby spinach, and mustard greens, dandelion greens etc. which are very high in calcium. The breeder of my beardie told me how amazing it was and would start her baby beardies on it early. I NEVER fed my beardie any other kind of lettuce (like iceberg, romaine, or fancy) from my lesson with the iguana because its mostly just water. I would sometimes also dust a little calcium powder on her mesclun mix and other veggies. I also fed her lots of crickets, mealworms, silkworms, butterworms, etc but I dusted about 85% of them with calcium powder (aka diet supplement) everyday especially the crickets. Apparently cabbage, broccoli and bokchoy are also good but i never tried them myself. Anyways, I think your treatment is really good the only thing I would change is to substitute some of the carrot feedings for now with the mesclun lettuce. With a bit of luck Tequila will be better in no time! Already sounds as he's getting stronger Goodluck!

Awesome

Looks great! I would also recommend you move the heater a bit to the right, and then replant a few of the really tall plants in toward the center at the back to help cover it

Here are some pics of Bird! (click on them to see bigger version) Trying to inform us that he wants out of his cage... Time at the mirror This is what happens when I try to do some work... Investigating the new plant

Cheers all! Cute Sounds like you are living the life! Well his name was Billbert when I first got him but it didn't really stick. So now it is just 'Bird' or 'Birdie'. I think he likes that because he can say them! He also says 'come here' I'm happy that you enjoyed them Hahaa...I bet the cats were terrified! They were like "What do we do???" My mom is a bit weary to do the clipping herself. I even showed her how with pics on the internet. I told her to underclip the wings, that way he will still be able to fly short distances and it'd be less of a shock. She will have to get the vet to do it if she doesn't want to try. I had his wings clipped right when I first got him. Thats how he became tame quickly I think. I left his cage door open from the beginning, and a few times I coaxed him out and just set him down on the coffee table while i did homework so he'd get used to me. I'll try to get some pics up soon Aww sweet Treo Lets hope they are the last ones!

Thanks! I COULDN'T BELIEVE that it turned out to be him! I would have been so sad thinking he died somewhere cold and alone He is quite a little character... He chases my dog around (a little Shih Tzu) and tries to play with the fur on her paws, even though she doesn't want to have any part of it. He always sleeps on his swing, and leans up against the side with his head hanging sideways...kinda looks like a drunk. He is fascinated with eyebrows and lips, and will spelunk down your face while you watch TV to try and get at them. He also does a perfect impression of the microwave and my mom's cellphone...which drove her nuts for a couple weeks when she thought it was broken b/c she would hear it ring and then there was no record of the call on the display! And finally he likes to drink orange juice from your glass...he will sit down on the rim and dunk his head. I miss him so. But its not worth putting him through the stress of the flight and quarantine, plus to take him away from the house he's used to.

Oh no! :lol: I hope not! I was secretly jealous of that outfit...

Haha! Well those Monokinis are close enough

Very nice!

So I have a budgie but he had to stay back in Canada with my parents. Although I miss him, I know he's happy as he has the whole run of the house He is about 7 years old and is very tame...like to sit on people's heads, follows my mom around the house, bombards the dog, and has to be involved in every activity...even when you are trying to cut veggies! Normally in the summer, he is placed outside in his cage in the backyard where he can call to the other birds and have a good look around. Obviously, in the winter is kept out of the -20 C weather. So onto the tale... Part 1. Last Autumn he was flying around indoors and as my mom happened to open the front door in the morning to grab the paper, he was swooping down to land on my mom's head, missed and flew out the door and swung a right around the house. My mom panicked ,grabbed his cage and ran out into the backyard to try to find him. This was the first time something like this happened so my mom was really not expecting it and kinda ran around like a headless chicken. Couldn't see him anywhere...called and called to him but no reply. She spent all day wandering around the neighbourhood trying to find him. She told the neighbours nearby to keep their eyes open, left lots of food in the backyard and waited. Periodically during the day she would go to the backyard and trying calling him in a special chirp that he is used to...but nothing. Evening rolled around and still no bird. At this point the temperature had started to drop and was only about 5 C. My mom was obviously really upset because she thought he was lost and knew he wouldn't likely survive over night Around 8-9pm the doorbell rang. Next-door-neighbour Bob was at the door and told my mom he heard some weird chirping coming from our backyard but said he couldn't see anything in the darkness. My mom ran out and called to him .............. nothing................nothing...................and then CHIRP! She couldn't believe it, it was definitely him but where was it coming from! she took a few steps forward and again she called.......moments later CHIRP! This time she could tell it was coming in from around the house. She turned the corner and looked...finally she saw him! He was clinging to the window panels looking into the living room! She walked up cautiously and talked to him because she was worried that he would get startled and fly away again. He didn't even move, she reached out and basically was just able to pick him up off the window (normally he is a bit finicky and normally doesn't like being held like that). He was really cold and stiff and didn't fight at all. She brought him in placed him back in the cage on a hot water bottle and covered him with a towel and she left him in peace. About 1 hour later, he crawled out and then went straight to his food dish and pretty much just ate for 10 minutes straight. When he was done he started chirping and mumbling and grumbling and making all kinds of excited noises to my mom in what seemed to be a glorious tale of what he had seen during his adventure... Nonetheless my mom was just glad that he managed to find the house again in the dark! Part 2: Well obviously security would have to be increased since his first breakout probably gave him a taste for freedom and he obviously didn't realize the real danger he was in. Although he did seem to sense that my mom saved his life because he became even more attached to her and would actually look for her in the morning before she even got out of bed! Both my mom and step-dad always made sure the doors weren't opened just when he happened to be flying nearby and would always try to put him back into the cage before they left the house. Well one busy morning this early spring my mom was leaving and trying to convince him to get back into his cage and my step-dad just happened to come back from an early meeting. As he was coming in through the garage door, the chaos caused by the dog barking and my mom grabbing her things to leave, the bird came swinging around the corner and once again tried to land on my step-dad but noticed the door open and flew straight out and round to the right again! They both ran out into the backyard...and found him pirched up high in one of the trees. They tried to call to him and coax him back into the cage but he was happily bobbing around on the branch and investigating the other birds nearby. They tried for half and hour and then my mom was really running late and had to go. My step-dad kept his cage out in the backyard and tried to coax him down so more but he just kept flying happily from tree to tree and getting further away from the house. Realizing there was nothing he could do, he left the cage in the backyard and also had to go back to work for a bit. It was a nice warm day so sooner or later he figured he'd get hungry and come back to his cage. He left for work for a couple hours and hoped for the best. When my parents got back they looked out but unfortunately he was was not there. The went outside and began their search. They searched all afternoon and all evening but nothing. They walked around the neighbourhood and asked people whether they saw him. Although the temperatures were warm, the wind got really strong late in the evening and they became very worried for his safety. They were forced to give up late in the night and went to bed. Next day was saturday and so they began their search again. Nothing If he had survived the windstorm, he was definitely in trouble now because it got a bit colder (about 12 C) and it had started raining. Sunday nothing...Monday also nothing. Well...this must be it. He must have died of hyperthermia...mom was really upset and kept crying over the days. Finally on tuesday they called me to tell me what had happen. I told them i'd make up a missing pet poster for them...maybe someone managed to take him in before it got too windy on that friday and they could put it up on the neighbourhood mailboxes. If no one took him in, he had surely died. I also remembered (as i emailed through the poster) that they should call the local humane societies to see if anyone had brought in a budgie matching his description and so i told them to call in the morning when they woke up. Well, the next day, my mom and step-dad started calling the humane societies nearby. At first no one had a description of such a bird, but then finally once place said that someone had indeed called in a found budgie with that description! My mom, excited, started writing down the phone number of the lady who called...but then she realized the area code would put this women on the other side of the city! She asked the humane society lady where this woman had said she lived, and sure enough...it was about 15 km away! Well even though my mom's hope was fading she decided to call the lady anyway. She told her what bird looked like...and the lady was convinced she had our bird. She told her that they found him looking for seeds on their driveway Friday evening around 9pm, and that her husband called her and and she brought a towel. They draped it over him quickly and brought him inside. They were bird lovers themselves and owned several cocktails and a cockatoo i think. So my mom pack up a shoebox in to the car and headed over. When she got their house the lady took her into the room where they had him...and sure enough, IT WAS HIM. The final test was passed when the lady opened his cage and he flew to my mom and landed on her shoulder and cuddled up to her face. The lady said that they liked him so much because he was so friendly and curious. He talked non stop during his 5 day stay! They even named him 'Lucky' and decided that if he ended up finding his owners, they will probably want to go out and buy a budgie of their own! They had printed out posters and put them all around their neighbourhood because he was someone's pet for sure. It wasn't until monday, that they called the humane society to report him. So there you go. 'Lucky' has had 2 close calls with the wild outdoors. He managed to fly about 15 km (with the help of the wind no doubt) in about 12 hours on his second trip and still find some bird seeds on a driveway that was heavily obscured by trees. He was even lucky enough to be brought in and taken care of by 2 bird lovers! Needless to say, if he gets out a third time, we are unlikely ever to find him again. Since he will be looking for every chance he can get now that he's had so much fun, they will have to take drastic measures to prevent him from getting away! I've suggested that they clip his wings for a bit...in an effort to debunk his ego. Its too bad, because he's such an awesome tame budgie...but he will keep trying to push his luck now! Anyways, hope you enjoyed the tales! I was very VERY happy that he got home safely

Wow look at those boots! And they are back in style too! Amazing

Do you ever use a gravel vac Lindy or just change the water? Your tank seems pretty low maintenance which is pretty impressive since you have discus. I'm trying to remember if u have a lot of plants which help keep the substrate clean...

I'm guessing that all 3 females wouldn't have died from being overly pregnant...maybe one...but as you stated, all three died within a few days of each other. I believe that they have were suffering from some kind of internal parasites. How many fish remain in the tank? How many are females who look like they are pregnant? I would suggest keeping a close eye on the remaining fish for any similar symptons so that you can catch it and try some treatment before they croak.

I think that is a great idea.. I would wait till he turns right in the hospital tank and then move him with the new addition. I bet that their personalities will mesh much better from the sounds of it. Also, the new guy could probably do with some company

Well hopefully they will be really nice people who understand how a thermostat works and even want to set up more aquariums around the house! AND maybe their cat is an outdoor cat only...AND they've always wanted to buy a new fridge! If not, maybe its time for you to find a new place? I know its a hassle, but sometimes its for the best... Since I've moved, I haven't been happier. My bf and I took on the lease ourselves, and we chose some really cool flatmates. Plus we found a really cool place that is mold free and warmer with a terrific view! Please the new flattmates clean up after themselves! But out of curiosity...if the old flatties stop paying the $50 does it fall on you? Because technically don't you have an aggreement of how much you are meant to pay? They can't make YOU pay more can they? Its not what you signed to. Some people are just such idiots... Goodluck!

How cute!!! I miss my beardie soooooooo much Her name was Nazgul And I just noticed on their website that the breeder I originally got her from (and gave her back to when I had to leave Canada) still has her and is gonna use her to breed! http://www.iculizard.com/gallery/image. ... mage_id=96