Nocturne on Saturday Night Live... Literally

Hmmm...

My television seems to have sprouted a sugar glider.

"Mom, bring me some snacks!"

Christmas Fun

Merry Christmas to those who celebrate and Happy Holidays to everyone else!

Best Wishes,
Elizabeth, Emma, Moses, Morgan, China, Northstar, Nocturne, Meijer, Jack, Marble, Coco, Mr. Teeny, Darling, Dear, Inca, Francisco, Glorfindel, Erestor, Barbados, Napoleon, Wellington, Bermuda, Bean, Bonaire, Curacao, Carob, Itsy Bitsy, Ipo, Hula, & Aloha

New-ish

Yes, I'm finally posting pictures of the "new" 55 gallon crabitat. To give you an idea of the size, it's 48" long. Above the tank is a magnetic dry erase board where I put each crab's original shell after they change out of it. Below the tank is the piece of antique furniture I sacrificed to make it into a proper tank stand. I had to cut it's legs off or else I would've had to use a step stool to reach inside the tank.

Here's the left 3/4 of the tank. Included are: giant resin bonsai tree, green hemp nets covering the back wall, yummy oak leaves, ye old shell shoppe, purple barnacle cluster, terra cotta hidey tunnel, cholla wood, bendy jungle vine, two moss pits, and plenty of fake plants.

This is a top view of the left side with the hinged glass Versa-Tops pushed back. Usually they're completely closed to maintain about 80% humidity. You can also get a better look at the two moss pits. Sitting on top of the corner moss pit is one of the many cuttle bones scattered around the tank. I call them surfboards because the crabs like to sit right on top of the cuttle bones and pick away at them.

Here's a top view of the right side of the tank. Included are: more of the green hemp nets, food dish, salt water and fresh water pools with pieces of coral placed in them as ladders to help the tiny crabs get out, cholla wood, the third moss pit, plenty of fake plants.

On a happy note, although Rosey passed away, the two crabs I adopted along with him that day from Petsmart are thriving. Both Carob and Itsy-Bitsy have been underground since I introduced them to the 55 gallon. Along with de-stressing, both decided to molt. Carob just came up a few hours ago. I checked him over briefly and he has regrown his broken leg tips and looks very good.

Bitsy came up a couple nights ago and he looks fantastic. When I got him he was entirely missing his outer right leg and had several broken leg tips.

Before:

After:

I'm in love with this post-molt picture of Bitsy because the crumbs of coconut fiber bedding that cling to his eyes gives him an evil look. Bitsy seems very healthy now with his fat big pincher and some bright orange coloring on his legs.

As Requested: Sugar Glider Antics

I finally explored the movie-making software on my computer and put together this video. It's a compilation of several clips recorded last summer just before I switched the gliders from their old cage to their custom Reptarium.

I often hang silk leaves around the enclosure for North because he likes to gather them up using his semi-prehensile tail and carry them back to the sleeping pouch. On many occasions I've seen Nocturne try to do the same thing, but he just can't seem to get the leaves secured with only his tail. One night after I had re-set all the leaves, Nocturne came popping out of the pouch to drag the leaves inside. I would then remove the leaves from the pouch and re-hang them on the toy above and he would do it again. He pulled the leaves into the pouch at least a dozen times and I caught four of them on video.

It may sound a bit cruel to remove the leaves from the pouch when one of the gliders has worked hard to make a leafy nest. However, if I don't remove the leaves the gliders spend all day fussing and shuffling around in there and don't get any sleep.

Let It Snow

It's snowed for most of the day. I meant to spend some time outside with the dogs and take pictures, but I didn't get around to it. The photo posted is an older picture of Moses avoiding the snow up on the front porch. Moses doesn't have a double-coat, despite his chow chow heritage, so he gets chilly a lot quicker than Emma. Of course, polar bears would probably catch a chill quicker than Emma, who happily lays around in the snow for hours at a time.

I hope to post some pictures soon of the hermit crabs' upgrade from the old 29 gallon tank to the new 55 gallon. Everybody has been moved to the new crabitat except for two of the little guys.

Rosey, a small purple pincher I bought from Petsmart less than a month ago, has passed away and I'll have to go out and bury her tomorrow. One of her legs fell off when I picked her up yesterday so I knew she wouldn't make it much longer. I sat her in a little divet in the substrate in the warmest corner of her isolation tank and she died sometime during the night.

Thanksgiving

My sister, brother-in-law, and their two dogs were here visiting for a week during Thanksgiving. The house is always so quiet and empty after they've gone back home to North Carolina. It's amazing that any place containing Moses could ever be considered quiet, but the extra people and pups really seem to fill the house.

For the uninitiated, the participants are:

Moses- The largest and barkiest of the dogs, Moe is an adorable, egomaniacal chow/golden retriever mix from the Cincinnati SPCA.

Emma- Adopted from a shelter in rural Indiana as a keeshond mix, Emma has overcome extreme anxiety and "fear pooping" issues to be the moderately neurotic dog who leads the pack.

Llewellyn- Named after the Welsh King, Lew is a rescued breeder from an Amish puppy mill who is the easy-going, beloved son of my sister and bro-in-law.

Ellie- Some sort of spaniel/border collie/?whippet? mystery mix, Ellie is vacant, sweet, leggy, and rightfully doted on by my sister and bro-in-law.