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What Different Pet/ Animal Did You Have?

Discussion in 'Pets & Critters' started by Tony Page, May 10, 2021.

  1. Tony Page

    Tony Page Veteran Member
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    The pond hole has been filled in we will add a little more dirt because we expected it to settle more after heavy rain. My wife tells me we installed it about 30 years ago before my middle daughter got married, her fiance right now our son in law help put it in.
    Thinking back at all the Fish and amphibians, I recall going to one of the largest pond suppliers in the area, I would buy my water plants there, occasionally fish and frogs.
    One time I picked up a few fish they had their that was hard to come by called Golden Orfe. What enjoyable fish to watch, unlike Koi, or Shubunkin which just swam around and looked pretty, they traveled in schools at times at fast speeds and liked to jump out of the water, into the falling water of the waterfall. Enjoyable to watch.
     
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  2. John Brunner

    John Brunner Senior Staff
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    We got our stuff from a guy right outside Tysons Corner, Virginia...one of the most congested places in the DC area...and one of the richest. This was back in the early 60s. I recall the guy's entire property was acres of shallow pools where we would get the exact items you describe, with his small house up front. It was fun as a kid because you were in the middle of an unending rice paddy full of lily pads, fish & frogs.
     
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  3. Tony Page

    Tony Page Veteran Member
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    Yep! Very similar to this pond supplier.
    Some of the more expensive plants that couldn't handle the winter like Egyptian papyrus, I would pull the pots out of the pond, and overwinter and tubs in my basement.
     
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  4. John Brunner

    John Brunner Senior Staff
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    Ma, you were dedicated! I don't recall how our plants overwintered, but I know we didn't do anything special. The fish just went into a suspended state of being.
     
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  5. Tony Page

    Tony Page Veteran Member
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    My pond had a liner I had to take precautions. The pond had a deep spot that didn't ice up where the fish would stay in the winter while in hibernation. I would let some of the leaf fall stay at the bottom of the pond for the frogs to hibernate, then net it to catch the remainder of the leaves. Except for the plants that floated the rest were in pots. The lilies and lotus could stay in the pond as long as I moved the pots to the deep end. Only the tropical plants I had to move and put in the basement.
     
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  6. Mary Stetler

    Mary Stetler Veteran Member
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    Go ahead and get one, John Brunner. Just read up ahead of time. They are quite fragile. (but very soft):rolleyes:
    Rodents all have teeth issues. Their teeth grow until they die. They just need wood etc to chew on. Someone is chewing on the frame of my garage door. Has been since we've lived here. The chew goes up about 6 inches. Mostly just takes the paint and a minimum of wood off. Stops shortly after I repaint but starts up eventually. I don't know what it is.
     
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  7. John Brunner

    John Brunner Senior Staff
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    PROS

    1. They Are Low-Maintenance Animals
    2. They Can Live a Long Time (15-20+ years)
    3. They Are Very Clean
    4. Less Susceptible To Fleas Than Dogs & Cats
    5. Don’t Require Much Attention
    6. Can Live Alone or in Pairs and Groups
    7. Are Entertaining and Affectionate

    CONS

    1. Require a Temperature-Controlled Environment (60°-70°, any warmer will kill them)
    2. You Have to Give Them Dust Baths Fairly Regularly
    3. They Have Specific Dietary Needs (Lots of normal foods can kill them)
    >Do not feed them asparagus, avocado, peas, cabbage, corn, lettuce, broccoli, spinach, rhubarb and rhubarb leaves, banana, sunflower seeds and peanuts.
    4. They Are Crepuscular Animals (Active at dusk and dawn)
    5. They LOVE to Chew
    6. The Initial Costs Can Get High (A few hundred dollars just on the basics, not including the critter.)
    7. They May Take a While to Bond With You
     
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  8. Mary Stetler

    Mary Stetler Veteran Member
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    Oh pooh!
     
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  9. Tony Page

    Tony Page Veteran Member
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    Too!!! Much!!! Get a stuff animal
     
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  10. John Brunner

    John Brunner Senior Staff
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    You reminded me...their pooh does not stink. And I don't mean that they're uppity ;)
     
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  11. Tony Page

    Tony Page Veteran Member
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    Just remember not to mistake it for brown rice.
     
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  12. John Brunner

    John Brunner Senior Staff
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    Rabbits to raisins.jpg
     
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  13. Tony Page

    Tony Page Veteran Member
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    About 3 weeks ago my daughter bought for my grandkids an axolotl for a pet. It's a salamander that lives in the water so it's more like a fish because you really can't handle it, but they love feeding and caring for it and watching it. I'm told they are found in only one location in Mexico so they're rare.

    20220803_000518.jpg
     
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  14. John Brunner

    John Brunner Senior Staff
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    When most amphibians are young, they live in water, and they use gills that can breathe in the water. When they become adults, they go through a process called metamorphosis, in which they lose their gills and start living on land. However, the axolotl is unusual in that it has a lack of thyroid stimulating hormone, which is needed for the thyroid to produce thyroxine in order for the axolotl to go through metamorphosis; therefore, it keeps its gills and lives in water all its life, even after it becomes an adult and is able to reproduce. Its body has the capacity to go through metamorphosis if given the necessary hormone, but axolotls do not produce it, and must be exposed to it from an external source,[33] after which an axolotl undergoes an artificially-induced metamorphosis and begins living on land. One method of artificial metamorphosis induction is through an injection of iodine, which is used in the production of thyroid hormones.

    Fascinating.
     
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  15. Tony Page

    Tony Page Veteran Member
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    Yea, I was about to say that. Haha
    I read some where they get to be 17 inches, we're going to need a bigger tank.
     
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