februaryembers77

[februaryembers77]

my sides are in orbit

1. the blink-and-you’ll-miss-it dig at barcyzk (watch what’s on the switch in the start of the video as he’s giving intentionally bad advice)

2. making sand homophobic instead of hydrophobic

3. he fucking. he. he eats it. he eats the sand. he eats the calcium sand.

4. calcium sand asmr

5. he eats the calcium sand 

6. the soda can

[februaryembers77]

NEED BETTA HELP

My mom has a betta that I am not involved in the care of. Decided to check on it and the poor thing definitely has fin rot, water parameters are out of whack. I bought prime and aquarium salt, how do I use the aquarium salt to treat him?

#betta fish #betta #bettahobby #betta care #betta splendens #bettablr #fishblr #fishtank #fish #petblr

[februaryembers77]

I got a new baby 💕

#vinegaroon #arachnid #arachnofille #bugs #cute bugs #bugblr #insectblr #petblr #reptiblr

[februaryembers77]

Too late, mnunch crunch

#isopods

[februaryembers77]

Spruced up Quasi's tank a bit

#gargoyle gecko #crested gecko #geckoblr #lizard #reptibr #reptblr #reptile #pet advice #pet care #pets #petblr #roses #plants #tank inspiration #animal photoshoot #animalblr #animal photography #animals #herpblr #herpetofauna #herpetology #herptile

[februaryembers77]

Exploring an abandoned farm with Charlie

[februaryembers77]

#isopods #crustacean #invertebrates #pill bug #roly poly #insectblr #insects #bugblr #petblr #pets of tumblr #daily pets #ecology #ecology meme #look i made a meme #dankest memes #best memes #funny memes #meme

[februaryembers77]

a tomato-hating man that was on my front porch a few years ago after a storm!!

[februaryembers77]

How Do Snakes Move?

This is probably one of THE most frequently asked questions regarding snakes so here is your guide on how snakes move!

1. Undulatory Motion

This is very similar to how lizards move, using lateral bending to keep their center of gravity.  Snakes will use this component to push off of irregularities in substrate, thus thrusting it forward.

2. Concertina Motion

This method of locomotion enables the snake to move by securing a point and then pushing forward.  Sort of an inching motion.  Example A shows a snake moving through a tube, and Example B shows the snake moving along a branch, both using concertina motion.

3. Sidewinding

This is the fastest method of locomotion, and it has a low energy cost making it very efficient.  This is done on a soft, loose substrate by lifting and pushing the body forward.  Only 2 point of the snake’s body makes contact with the substrate at all times.  This makes it a good heat coping behavior in the hot desert.

4. Rectilinear Locomotion

This method is used by heavier bodied snakes.  Snakes have two sets of muscles called the superior costocutaneous muscles and the inferior costocutaneous muscles.  For this type of motion first, the superior costocutaneous muscles pull the skin forward, then the inferior costocutaneous muscles pull the ribs and body forward.  Next time you see a large snake, watch closely as it moves! It’s very cool to see in action!

[februaryembers77]

Black snake up a maple tree at work! It’s showed up every afternoon for almost a week, and I love pointing it out to guests. IM HERE FOR THE GOOD SNAKE PR

[februaryembers77]

Facebook Ball Python group

The admin posted a reminder of the rule “don’t allow/photograph your snake interacting or being near predators such as cats and dogs” and people are literally responding like:

“This is so negative”

“Wow, so much for a group of nice people”

“This is ridiculous, bye”

Like it’s literally your reptile’s life at risk and you literally don’t care because “it’s so cute to see them together, they’re fine with each other because nothing has happened (yet)”.

You shouldn’t own a reptile if you cannot be responsible, and no matter how much you “know” your dog or cat, it’s still extremely irresponsible to allow them near each other; they are generally instinctual predators. Buuut you know, common sense isn’t a flower that grows in everyone’s garden..

Just a reminder of what the best case scenario of your cat getting ahold of your snake can look like:

This was an accident where my snake escaped her locked tub overnight and was found by my curious cat before me. It took months and 3 shed cycles to completely heal the scabbed and damaged scales - she still has some indents where she needs to grow a scale or two back.

We were SO lucky she didn’t get chewed/eaten alive, break any bones, develop an infection, or have any organs punctured by this.

So to see that so many people believe it’s completely okay to have prey/predator pets out and close to each other or even worse, interacting, is mind blowing.

I don’t care if your cat runs from your reptile or is indifferent to its presence - it’s a huge risk that you shouldn’t be taking with your reptile’s safety just for the sake of it being “cute” and “quirky” period.

/Rantover

[februaryembers77]

Bruce looks awfully pretty in the sunshine ☀️

[februaryembers77]

KLEPTOGENESIS IS SO COOL

I’m so fascinated by the unisex Ambystoma and y’all should be too!!

The Unisexual Ambystoma is an all female group of salamanders native to the Great Lakes and the North Eastern United States.  They are most commonly a triploid species (but they can have multiple variations of polyploidy).  But what is SO COOL about them is they steal genomes from males of 5 other species (A. laterale, A. barbouri, A. tigrinum, A. texanum, A. jeffersonianum)!!

The unisexuals pick up and use genomes of sexual species every time they breed, but those genomes do not pass onto the next generation.  The genes they “steal” are adapted to the conditions of the local sexual males.  They’re like the ninjas of the world of herpetology!!

Imagine that!  A lineage made up of only women that, generation after generation, collect genetic material from males of other species that they can distribute to their offspring in pretty much any configuration.  Science still doesn’t know how the mother “chooses” the genes she gives to her daughter, and that is FASCINATING!

And this has been going on for millions of years! It is hypothesized that the Unisexual Ambystoma comes from a cross between A. laterale and A. barbouri.

But those two no longer have the same geographical range.  This means that the production of new Unisexual Ambystoma populations is not ongoing.  This group of female salamanders have been surviving solely by stealing genes from other species!! That’s so freaking cool!!!!!!

[februaryembers77]

There is no need to scream at me sir

[februaryembers77]

Genetically unhealthy reptiles

So there are quite a few unhealthy reptile morphs out there and I only discovered most of them by fluke, so I thought I’d make a masterpost. There are likely many more which I haven’t heard of yet, so feel free to expand on this post with others.

Enigma Leopard Geckos

The Enigma morph is one that covers the Geckos body in little spots that look like freckles, very cute but it comes with a devastating condition known as “Enigma syndrome” This disorder affects a Geckos fine motor control and results in many secondary symptoms such as stargazing (looking upwards frequently), walking around in circles frequently, wobbly and difficult walking, seizures, and an inability to catch prey due to their aim being affected from this condition. Overall it significantly decreases their quality of life. An animal may not demonstrate this condition for many years, it can come on years into their life. This is a dominant genetic disorder meaning any animal which is an enigma will pass this onto offspring. Even ‘healthy’ appearing animals will carry this gene and pass it along to offspring. The Enigma morph needs to be phased out completely since all who are Enigma have the potential to develop this disorder.

Sunkissed Corn Snakes

The Sunkissed morph is pictured above, rather striking in its vivid colouration. However the price for it is something known as "Stargazing Syndrome” which is pictured in the right side photograph. Stargazing syndrome is a vestibular syndrome (balance affecting condition) which prevents normal functionality of the central nervous system and causes these snakes to twist their necks and heads upwards towards the sky. Basically put, these snakes can’t work out which way is up and are often found upside down on their backs. It affects these snakes by causing difficulty moving, disorientation, inability to right themselves into a normal position if on their backs, and sometimes even tremors and seizures. Once again a genetic disorder, however since its recessive you often won’t know if the snake is a carrier or not. The only way to tell if a snake carries the stargazing trait is to breed them; any who prove to carry this trait should never be bred again.

Spider Ball Pythons

The Spider morph is absolutely stunning, characteristic of that 'drippy’ black patterning on the body and a rather unique head stamp/pattern. It can come in many varieties since it’s commonly bred into other morphs such as pied, banana, etc. However it causes something called “Wobble Syndrome” which is a severe neurological disorder. This is hypothesised to be caused by an error in the neural crest during embryonic development. The neural crest is responsible for arranging neurons in the correct positions and depositing pigmentation. This morph alters where pigment is usually placed in the body, giving them the gorgeous appearance, however it consequently prevents neurons from reaching their correct positions, hence the neurological disorder. Wobble Syndrome causes many severe and debilitating issues to the snake. The most noticeable being 'corkscrewing’ which is where the snake will flip it’s head and neck upside down, right way up, and upside down again in quick succession. However they are also affected by head tremors, difficulty moving, lack of coordination, inability to right itself if upside down, torticollis (neck spasms), poor muscle tone, and difficulty eating due to head wobbling and missed strikes. Wobble Syndrome is a dominant genetic disorder meaning any snake which expresses the spider phenotype will suffer from and pass on this disorder to offspring. It can range from barely noticeable to severe, and an animal may not suffer at first, but can develop the disorder after several years of being 'healthy’. The Spider morph needs to be phased out completely since all who are Spider have the potential to develop this disorder.

Jaguar Carpet Pythons

The Jaguar morph has to be one of the most visually stunning morphs out there, it’s characterised by it’s gorgeous spots which resemble a jaguars. However the price they pay for their beauty is once again, “Wobble Syndrome”. Jaguars are identical to Spider Ball Pythons in their suffering, and it’s even thought that the Neural Crest deformity is the cause for these guys too. It is important to note that there are several species who can carry the jaguar gene. The gene originated in Jungle Carpet Pythons but has since been bred into other Carpet Pythons (CP for short) species such as the Irian Jaya CP, Darwin CP, Coastal CP, and Diamond CP. Pretty much the only difference with the Jaguar morph is that it is not a dominant gene like the spider morph, and it’s not a recessive gene like the sunkissed morph. The Jaguar gene is a co-dominant mutation. What that means is that the Jaguar gene is visible along with whatever other gene the snake carries. You almost always have two genes for something, and in codominance neither of those genes are recessive to the other, and neither are dominating to the other either. This means both genes express, so to put that into a visual sense (but not genetically accurate!) if you bred a black and a white cat together, the offspring would be black and white if they were co-dominant. This just like the spider and enigma morph means any snake which expresses the Jaguar phenotype has the ability to develop Wobble Syndrome and will pass it along to offspring. The Jaguar morph needs to be phased out completely since all who are Jaguar have the potential to develop this disorder.

Silkback Bearded Dragons and Scaleless Snakes

Silkback bearded dragons and Scaleless snakes are exactly what they sound like, they are completely devoid of any and all scales and instead only have the layer of skin present beneath reptile scales. I admit I do not know much about Scaleless snakes, but assume they suffer the same affects as the silkback bearded dragons so have included them here. Silkback bearded dragons are produced when two leatherback bearded dragons are bred together. The leatherback gene is co-dominant (it can also be recessive) and if a dragon receives two copies of this co-dominant gene then they are a silkback. Co-dominance means two genes are working together, so one copy of leatherback and one copy of normal scales means together these genes create a dragon who has reduced spikes and scales but they still have scales! Two copies of the leatherback gene means the co-dominance has nothing to partner with, so the dragon we get is completely devoid of scales. Now, for an animal which is supposed to have scales, having no scales comes with many severe issues. The main being that they suffer extreme shedding difficulty and have no protection from sharp objects or other dragons. Scalesless animals can easily be cut or punctured from ornaments in a tank which are safe for their scaled or leatherback counterparts. Even a basking log, brick, or rock can cut them if they run against it wrong. This means their tank needs to be almost empty or only have soft, pliable decor which provides no risk of injury. This can be severely damaging to the animals mental wellbeing as there is no enrichment opportunities for the animal. Shedding wise, these animals need to be soaked in baths almost daily to maintain skin hydration, and when it comes time to shed their shed will shrink to their skin and it’s often for them to lose toes, bits of tail, or even get pieces stuck around their heads and necks which can cause severe damage. You can also not breed silkback bearded dragons (am unsure about Scaleless snakes?) pairing another dragon with a silkback will cause extreme injury. If the silkback is female, the male bearded dragon will cut her open with his claws as he mounts her and he will tear her shoulders and neck open where he holds her with his mouth. These injuries can be life threatening. Furthermore, if the silkback is male he may receive lacerations and cuts to his stomach upon mounting the female or he may be critically injured if she rejects him and bites or scratches in retaliation. If all of that isn’t bad enough these scaleless animals also have an increased risk of illness due to decreased immunity (immunity decreased due to unknown reason) and suffer extremely reduced lifespans. Scalesless animals are an incredibly unnatural and disgusting morph which needs to be completely phased out.

That’s all for my masterpost currently. There are likely many more unhealthy morphs I have yet to hear of, so please inform me if you know of any others I’ve neglected to mention and I shall research and add them here. Please do not ever support or purchase one of these animals as it encourages the breeding of severely unhealthy animals with significantly reduced quality of life. With so many healthy and wonderful morphs and species available there is absolutely no reason to ever purchase one of these.

[februaryembers77]

A cup o’ noodles 🍜

[februaryembers77]

finished toadbert's halloween costume

little wizard